Project Gunrunner: Coverup and Lies

As upset as I am about the deficit garbage, I’m even more pissed off as to the Project Gunrunner case that is unfolding now. For starters, we have what appears to be a completely moronic operation that went extremely bad! We then add to the mix the fact that the ATF which ran the operation had to have had the sanction of at least the DOJ and really also the President.

Of course, Attorney General Eric “The law doesn’t pertain to me” Holder denied any knowledge of the alleged gun running program as did President “how dare you insinuate I should be responsible for anything” Obama! No surprise here. But, something strange happened. A U.S. border agent was killed by one of the guns sold to Mexican Drug Cartel scum! And an even bigger surprise! CBS News actually investigated it, I’m sure much to the chagrin of the I’m above the law” President and AG. The results of the investigation by CBS have led to a Congressional investigation. And what have our wonderful officials done? Stonewall. Lie! Everything but own up to the fact that they have the blood of a decent man on their hands!

This from the same people who refused to go after the Black Panther thugs in Philly, in effect another cover up! They denied any knowledge and yet Holder apparently knew about it in 2009!

1,000’s of people have been killed, many by the guns these idiots let go over the border right after our lying leader ranted about the fact that most weapons were being purchased here and shipped to Mexico, another fabrication from Mr. Bignose.

Below are various items I’ve found all over the net and news:

From Skookum at flopping Aces:

“Attorney General Eric Holder admitted and boasted about operation “Gun Runner” on April 2, 2009 to Mexican officials in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Last week, our administration launched a major new effort to break the backs of the cartels. My department is committing 100 new ATF personnel to the Southwest border in the next 100 days to supplement our ongoing Project Gunrunner, DEA is adding 16 new positions on the border, as well as mobile enforcement teams, and the FBI is creating a new intelligence group focusing on kidnapping and extortion. “

From Curt at Flopping Aces:

“In a blockbuster development in the Operation Fast & Furious gun-running scandal, Acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson secretly testified before House and Senate investigators on July 4 with his own personal lawyer present, former United States Attorney Richard Cullen, without the knowledge of the ATF or the Department of Justice.

This morning, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley released a copy of a letter they sent to Attorney General Eric Holder on July 5 about Melson’s testimony. Melson’s revelations raise even more serious issues not only about the operation itself, but about apparent attempts by the Justice Department to mislead Congress on the details of the operation.

The transcript of this interview has not been released of course but the letter from Issa and Grassley is pretty startling itself.

…His interview had originally been scheduled through the Justice Department to occur on July 13 in the presence of DOJ and ATF counsel. As you know, however, under our agreement Department witnesses who choose to attend a voluntary interview with their own lawyer are free to exercise that right rather than participate with counsel representing the Department’s interests.

After being made aware of that provision of our agreement, Acting Director Melson chose to exercise that right and appeared with his own lawyer. We are disappointed that no one had previously informed him of that provision of the agreement. Instead, Justice Department officials sought to limit and control his communications with Congress.

No evidence of cover up….yet.

But there are two twists to this story that should ring some alarm bells.
The first one, DOJ officials failed to tell Melson he could testify with his own lawyer instead of department lawyers. That is curious.

The second twist?

He was about to be ousted from his position when he tried to tell the DOJ that the ATF operation was in fact FUBAR’d

Contrary to the Justice Department’s denials, according to Melson, ATF agents specifically witnessed transfers of weapons from straw purchasers to third parties without taking any further action. Melson claimed that it was not until the public disclosure of the operation that he personally reviewed the “hundreds of documents” related to the case. He said he became “sick to his stomach” when he learned the full story. Even more shocking is that some of the “gun trafficking ‘higher-ups’ that the ATF sought to identify were already known to other agencies and may even have been paid as informants” by agencies such as the FBI and the DEA.

Melson provided detailed information and documents to the Office of the Deputy Attorney General at the Justice Department. But that information was not given to Congress by then-Acting Deputy Attorney General James Cole. In fact, “Melson was not allowed to communicate to Congress” and “Justice Department officials directed [ATF’s senior leadership] not to respond and took full control of replying to briefing and document requests from Congress.” According to the letter Issa and Grassley sent to Holder, it was “two days after [Melson] told [Cole] about serious issues involving lack of information sharing” that the Wall Street Journal suddenly reported that Melson was about to be ousted by the Obama administration.”

“Guns were found at the scene of a high profile kidnapping and murder in Mexico involved in what has been described as a government operation gone terribly wrong. This is the latest revelation in the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious. The murder of Border Agent Brian Terry, allegedly committed with these guns, has brought scrutiny to the operation.

William La Jeunesse confirms that two of the guns sold to the Mexican cartels under the secret U.S. government program were used in the kidnapping and murder of Mario Gonzales Rodriguez, a lawyer and brother to a prominent Mexican official.”

“For an additional amount for ‘State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance’, $40,000,000, for competitive grants to provide assistance and equipment to local law enforcement along the Southern border and in High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas to combat criminal narcotics activity stemming from the Southern border, of which $10,000,000 shall be transferred to ‘Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Salaries and Expenses’ for the ATF Project Gunrunner.

Notice that’s $40,000,000 for Southern border enforcement, $10,000,000 of which specifically for Project Gunrunner. What does $10 million pay for here?”

From Standing With Arizona on You Tube:

“The scope of Eric Holder's disastrous 'Fast and Furious" ATF operation just keeps expanding. Now a single traffic stop in Phoenix has revealed 43 automatic weapons with serial numbers traceable to the the ATF scandal - taken from 4 illegal aliens arrested in the stop. How many AK-47s has this Administration put in the hands of gangs throughout the U.S. How many children will die in drive-bys using weapons Holder GAVE to criminals? And with the ATF Director now saying the DoJ obstructing the investigation, the House GOP must not stop until all responsible are rotting in jail. And what did Obama know and when did he know it?”

“Meanwhile Thursday, Mexican police released a videotaped interview of Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar, in which the recently captured No. 3 leader of the Los Zetas drug cartel said “all the weapons” the Zetas use were “bought in the United States” and that “even the American government itself was selling the weapons.”

“Hume: This is a real scandal. And once again we have the classic question “what did the Attorney General, for example, know and when did he know it.” This Obama Justice Department reminds me of nothing so much as the Nixon Justice Department. You have the scent of high level knowledge, of serious wrongdoing, and you have the smell of cover-up and I think the stench of cover-up on this gunrunning operation is very strong indeed.”

“Virginia O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Tampa Field Division, ran a gun-running investigation that was walking guns to Honduras using the techniques and tactics identical to Fast and Furious, it was reported to these correspondents this evening via private correspondence from a proven credible source.”


“Are high-profile suspects in Mexican drug cartels also paid informants for U.S. federal investigators? If so, could a brewing scandal in Washington implicate more U.S. agencies in the ongoing drug-related violence in Mexico?

“Kenneth Melson, the embattled chief of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), made the earth-shaking revelation in testimony early last week, The Times reports. Melson reportedly told congressional leaders that Mexican cartel suspects tracked by his agents in a controversial gun-tracing program were also operating as paid informants for the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the FBI.”

Folks, this is a major breakdown! Not only do we have a badly run operation which resulted in murder of the most heinous kind, but even worse we have a cover up that appears to go straight to the Attorney General and the President! The stonewalling and cover up we are now seeing combined with the lies are in my mind criminal acts by Mr. Holder and the President. The great Alan West put it best below!

“Appearing on Nashville radio host Steve Gill’s show last week, West said Obama would be “complicit” with what he sees as Justice Department attempts to slow down and avoid a congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious and Project Gunrunner if he didn’t push his attorney general to resign. “The president needs to realize that Eric Holder needs to be removed from the Department of Justice,” West said after detailing why he thinks Holder should appear before an investigative committee to testify about how the DOJ has handled its response to the Operation Fast and Furious investigation. “Or else I believe president Obama is complicit and he is in approval of the actions of his Attorney General.”

Mr. West is correct but it has to go further than that! What is going on as to this is as I said criminal! In my mind, the actions of the AG along with the lawless jerk in the White House in fact constitutes an impeachable offense! People died because of this operation and in turn people are lying! Testimony has been given that ATF and others were told to stonewall and dodge!

I have ranted more than once about President Scumball, but this is the absolute bottom of the barrel! Of course, the deficit B.S. is putting a blanket over this story, but it must be made public. The electorate needs to know this President is a law breaking piece of crap! And thanks to him and his out of touch administration and DOJ, innocent people have been killed. This President as well as his selected officials disgust me! They have taken this country to the bottom of the barrel both respect wise and honor wise. Does anybody care?