w00dc4ip, on 21 June 2012 - 03:45 PM, said:
Tompo,
Like many things, it isn't the crime but the cover-up that is going to cause all the problems. The problem with F&F was not just that it was a bad idea and poorly executed, but that the people in charge tried to keep it going and keep it quiet even after it clearly should have been known that it was a bad idea, and then they tried to claim they knew nothing about it once it did finally all blow up. Additionally, a lot of the people with boots on the ground were ordered to keep going after they indicated that there was going to be "blowback". And then, when a US Border Patrol Agent was killed with a weapon linked to F&F, the "boots on the ground" were ordered to cover it up. At that point, you got whistleblowers, and the question then became how high up in the "chain of command" did this operation go. That question still hasn't been adequately answered, and this is where Issa's investigation should ultimately lead.
Holder flat-out lied to congress, under oath, when he claimed (the first time he was asked) that he had no knowledge of the operation. Subsequently he's "retracted" more and more of the "statements" he and his department have made in person and in official documents sent to congress in response to subpoenas. Holder's actions with respect to Fast and Furious are probably not criminal, and they seem to be politically motivated (at least as much as Issa's investigation is politically motivated). Holder's actions with regard to the investigation into Fast and Furious are looking more and more to be not only politically damaging to the president, but criminal.
Issa may have gotten very lucky in his pursuit of this issue, he chose to investigate something that could have been politically damaging, and instead got the Attorney General of the United States to commit perjury. Then, to make matters worse, the president invoked executive privilege, so he’s no longer at arm’s length from this investigation but knee deep in it. This isn’t going to go away or go well for Obama at this point.
yes, the program WAS a bad idea. However, the committee investigating this claims to want to find the truth. Yet, how do you find the truth, when you never interview, under oath, any of the Bush admin, Justice Dept, where the program originated? Holder has been before the committee NINE times.
As of this point, Holder has not lied under oath. That's just your opinion. As the Attorney General, it's reasonable to assume he's not 'read in" on EVERY ongoing investigation or Justice Dept program.
Holder and Obama, could not--by law--release the documents Issa demanded. That's why Issa had to re-write his own subpoena.
This is going nowhere, criminally. There is no precedent to prosecute a sitting Attorney General when the POTUS has used Executive Privilege.