A quick update from a longtime D.C. political operative who indicated two years ago the Obama administration was facing a serious political crisis rooted within the Department of Justice. With a contempt vote now looming over Obama Attorney General Eric Holder, and Barack Obama’s use of Executive Privilege in refusing to comply with Congressional requests for related Fast and Furious documents, – that political crisis foretold to readers of the UlstermanReport has now arrived in full.
I’m watching the news reports same as you. Made a number of calls back to my people in D.C. Getting many different versions of things but they all share the same thing and that is a real sense of urgency and shock at a couple of things. One is the use of Executive Privilege by the Obama White House. That makes a direct tie to the administration now. The perception of that is now the reality of it. Obama owns Fast and Furious. He can’t walk that back. It’s his. He is telling Congress he won’t hand over docs. The line in the sand was placed there by the president himself. That alone has people really scrambling now to figure out how deep this thing could go. Will it hurt the re-election. Will there be blowback against the party. Basically all the things I told you were concerns before have now become concerns. And some of them I told myself months and well over a year ago to prepare. Some listened. Some didn’t. Poor bastards who didn’t.
Second, something just now breaking out is Holder walked back a Blame Bush statement he gave to Congress just last week. Fast and Furious was nothing like anything the Bush boys did. Bush era program was much smaller and had the full cooperation of the Mexican authorities. Holder lied when he attempted to link the two and now he is already trying to correct that testimony from one week ago. This kind of sloppy mistake is a clear sign he’s in big trouble and really feeling the heat. It’s also a signal to party leaders and the White House he is falling apart on this.
Obama is saying to Congress “come and get me if you dare”. Now we gotta see if Republicans dare. It’s an election year so the White House is banking on enough Republicans in the leadership to not want to look like they are beating up too bad on Obama. They fear the race card. Part of me says they are a bunch of spineless pukes for that fear and the political operative in me understands the concern. The White House is more than willing to push that race issue much farther than we have seen already. You know what I’m talking about there.
So now we wait to see what the Republicans do. Contempt vote? How hard are they gonna fight the Executive Privilege order? Are they willing to make this a presidential election year issue? Word back to me is some are. Some don’t even care about the politics of it. They are pissed and disgusted by what this administration and Eric Holder have done. It’s a fight of principle vs politics within the Republican Party right now.
Lastly I want to give a nod to the Old Man. This entire Fast and Furious thing was a slow drip not so long ago. He made a push on some folks who in turn had a few meetings on the Hill and got this thing going again. At least he was a big help in that. Not sure if you know but there’s been another health setback for him and we probably won’t hear from them for a bit. I’ll update you on that situation as soon as I know anything more. It’s not hopeless but it’s not good. Say some prayers for him. He really wants to make it to the next inauguration.
I’m on the road but like I said, am keeping contact back in D.C. If there is anything new on FnF will clue you in when I can.
-WHI
_______________
UPDATE: This follow up from WHI is now included in this original report:
Received in-house word regarding “scrambling” at the White House. Something has them very spooked. I hinted at this to you last week regarding the meeting that had staff coming out looking very concerned. The Grassley message had to have shook them up. Told Issa has been repeating comparisons to Watergate to staff and fellow House members. White House must be aware Issa and Co. might have something that could inflict a hell of a lot of damage.
Dem leadership sent out signals to staff to prepare for necessary insulation from the White House to limit damage to individual campaigns. Black Caucus member engaged in a 10 minute “explosive” rant against someone from Issa’s office following a recess. Some Dems getting openly fearful and aggressive. Chaffetz had “face to face” with one of them. He is proving very willing to aggressively engage the opposition at any time.
This is far from won but recent events are proving to be damn favorable to those of us who want to defeat the president.
Don’t get over confident though. This administration is gonna fight this hard.
I’ve been called back. That indicates this has become real important real fast to a lot of real important people.
-WHI
___________________
UPDATE #2:
This afternoon the House Oversight Committee voted in favor of a contempt charge being issued against Obama Attorney General Eric Holder.
First! I am watching the news all morning! This is amazing. WHI has delivered to America big time!
WSI: You and your family are in my thoughts and my prayers.
Seconded.
Keep fighting, get healthy and stay strong, WSI.
We will finish this journey across the Red Sea into Canaan with your help, together.
Absolutely!!!
Best of health, WSI!!! Please take care of yourself. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, WSI.
Prayers of healing to surround WSI. Truly a gentleman that still wants to fight the good fight. May he be blessed to continue his fight for our country. Thank you for the update Ulsterman and WHI.
Lighting a candle right now and saying prayers for WSI, WHI and Ulsterman.
May the Lord hold you all in His arms.
I’m praying for each of you — WSI, WHI, and UM… as well as for our country. I just pray that God shines a light on the truth… no matter how blinding it may be. It’s time for the people of our country to stand up and demand the truth from our elected officials. I have never been more disgusted in our government as I am right now. Things have got to change — November can’t get here quick enough. And when the sweeping changes occur… we need to hold our new conservative leaders accountable for delivering the truth as well.
I’m praying for all three, WHI. WSI< and UM … but also for Werbaz, ATB, BTLG, and all of you who have been the regular commenters here since early along. The path is going to be rocky, hard traveling and occasionally risky. When we win, I hope a party can be arranged so we might meet. If we fail, we will meet in FEMA Camp.
The path is going to be rocky, hard traveling and occasionally risky.
Just my kinda fight. Molon labe.
I imagine If the vote is split among Republicans in Comgress and if Boehner does not take a hard firm line this will fail….
Believe this will connect many of the dots we have been examining here …Cali banks, illegal campaign donations, Shore Bank, bundlers and bundling…
Does Fast And Furious lead to the Drug Cartels? Yes ….Does it lead to Drug monies? Yes. Does it lead to laundered campaign donations? Illegal campaign donations?…Does it lead to the increased gang violence In the USA? 50 shootings every Saturday in Chicago alone per Drudge…
One has to wonder if F and F will unravel a long time money laundering scheme that
has been the Dems honey pot since Mena Airport days? …but put on steroids under Obama…
Rurik, thought the same many a time…at least we’ll be in good stead.
Important we pray —we are faced with true evil…will pray for
our compatriots gathered here,UM, and the Insiders
I think we are all agreed that our “insiders” (including UM) need divine protection and have been blessed to get as much as they’ve been able to get out/set into motion. Prayers for us all individually and our nation collectively are desperately needed in this time. Thankfully, we have a lot of people doing that work.
IF THEY DON’T DO THE CONTEMPT VOTE THEY ARE ALL COWARDS. WHI IS RIGHT. COWARDS ALL OF THEM. I WANT HOLDER VOTED IN CONTEMPT TODAY!!!!!!!
Remember, despite this scandal, the greatest ever in American political history, THE ISSUE for the American electorate is the economy, NOT fast and furious.
Obama might desire the race to devolve into a he said, she said about fast and furious, with him facing off with Republican leaders on the Hill.
The task here is to expose the wrongdoing, follow up on the legal angle, continue to tarnish the halo that attends obama, and all the while continue hitting the economic angle for November.
It’s still the economy people.
Holder, Jarrett and Obama can be dealt with after the fact through legal prosecution.
Have Romney promise to appoint a special prosecutor to get to the bottom of it, a guy like Giuliani or DiGenova.
There’s more than one way to pursue this.
Still waiting for a LIKE button here!
Point well made, Dan. Thanks for reminding us where the focus needs to be!
I disagree. The economy is a dangerous mess. Most people realize this, and simple reminders, statistics, and examples can illustrate it to the electorate.
Most people, however, do not realize the extent to which this administration is lawless. The American economy, given the right policies, will recover. But a political culture of corruption, collusion, and conspiracy is more insidious because, relatively speaking, so few people know about it.
The tightrope, frankly, that the politicians must walk is exposing enough corruption to discourage it, but also not completely jading the electorate. I sense that this administration is so thoroughly morally bankrupt that if people knew the full extent they might revolt!
Economy yes, but lawlessness first!
My Fears too are,will the Republicans go after obama or will they run from the color black fast and furious?
I hope they go full steam ahead on obama and holder.
With Romney looking so good in the polls and the rest of America looking very pissed off at obama.
There is a chance they will put on their big boy pants and singe that fucking asshole to a crisp.
Republicans should follow up the legal angle all the way to the Supreme Court.
The privilege NEVER covers wrongdoing or illegality!
Fast and furious involves conspiracy, the actual illegality and the subsequent cover-up.
It encompasses the violation of:
1}Mexican law;
2}International law; and
3}American federal law.
The more I look at this, the more I keep thinking “whoever decided to do executive privilege on this isn’t doing BHO any favors.”
He was out of options.
The details of those memos and emails would be dynamite.
Obama doesn’t “now own” fast and furious.
No.
Obama has finally CONFESSED THAT he ALWAYS owned fast and furious, and the details in the emails and the internal memos would be political dynamite if they ever saw the light of day.
His assertion of executive privilege isn’t him belatedly stepping into the scandal.
It’s the public confession of a man who was ALWAYS in up to his eyeballs in the scheme to strip Americans of their rights under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.
And he is forced into this move by the DNC because Hitlery is in this too. Don’t forget that.
Very good point, Justawhoaman!
Wonder what Beelzebubba is thinking right about now: that is, after he considers that his wife is going to get tarred with the same brush. If Obama knew, Hillary knew. Quite likely.
Don’t forget to include Incompetano and the DHS. They would have had to have known what was crossing in and out of the border.
Well the stripping of rights began with Drug Prohibition. Without Prohibition FnF would not have been possible.
Look at the Big Government site of Breitbart: the Executive Privilege issue is a hot item. Very hot. So hot, even Grassley is asking the same questions we are – if Obama isn’t linked to the operation, why bother with the order?
My guess is that the author of the program is co-owned by Jarrett and Axelrodent (sorry, but…) Not that Holder isn’t capable of something like that himself – but he’s never been his own man. Weasel-plus.
This is, as WHI suggests, so far beyond politics, even the MSM is going to turn on Bereft Obama. They don’t like being played, especially since they’ve run so many deep patterns for The One. Watch for the press to begin to peel off, and Dems too.
Obama has stranded himself in his own portapotty with the door locked both inside and out. That is not a gloat – it’s a fact.
I’m thinking that Valdemort’s handling of this is beneath her experience and pay grade.
This administration fired a cannonball into the hull of their ship and they are taking on water rapidly now!
The whole triumvirate – Oblowme, Valdemort and Axelgreasemyrod – are amatures. They are guided more by contempt for the United States, than by any political strategical skills. They’re down to their last card – the race card – and they will double down on it.
F&F can work to Romney’s advantage as long as he can seperate the investigation from the presidential race. In order to do this, he has communicate the fact that this investigation started – and Holder has been stonewalling – long before the presidential race started. They are two mutually exclusive events.
Further, keep the story focused on the fact that innocent people were killed by a bungled DOJ operation. And if he’s really good, Romney can negate Obumphuk’s pandering to the “his panic” vote, by pointing out to Latino voters that all the sleezy preezy cares about is buying your vote – because he is demonstrating that he has no concern for uncovering the identity of those responsible for killing your brothers and sisters in Mexico.
As Rush said today, the MSM has been gobsmacked. But, he thinks, they’ll get their act back together by tonight.
Thanks for”Axelrodent”.
Clever and quite appropriate..
Just heard Greg Gutfeld of the Five refer to Holder as “Withholder”! Another appropriate handle for these thugs.
Agree that this is to protect Jarrett. Her grubby fingers are on every illegal thing this administration does. While Obama would do ALMOST anything to protect Axelrod and Holder, he will do ANYTHING to protect Jarrett. She is his Svengali or Rasputin. This stunt is not well thought out. They did not get advice beyond the inner circle of group think sycophants. They still think they can do anything and talk their way out of it. This is panic.
They are trying to spin that it was some “advisors” talking to the DOJ about the hearings. Liars. Executive privilege applies to the President talking to HIS advisers who are unconfirmed (no oath to uphold the laws and constitution) advisers running around giving orders or hatching plots with members of the Cabinet which is what they are tying to hide. This extra-legal international stunt was thought up by Chicago anti-gun nuts who want the entire country at their mercy. Then we can all live in beautiful, peaceful, law abiding Chicago./s/ Does anyone think they care if they are murderers?
I much prefer the term coined by WeaselZippers.us and call him Axeldouche. Prayers for everyone and WSI you must get better. Prayer works!
Thank you WHI for taking the time to send this update. The information and insight you provide is extremely important to those of us pinned to the other side of the monitor, both TV and computer.
The news about The Old Man is very disheartening. We allowed ourselves some hope after his last upbeat letter. Our respect and affection for him is genuine, so while we offer prayers, please keep us posted.
Yes! While we offer prayers for WSI, please keep us posted.
*********************
God is real and He is at work; so don’t doubt HIM. Trust and believe and have confidence HE listened.
Obama has been caught talking out of both sides of his mouth quite a bit lately.
Holder has been caught lying a lot lately. Not mistakes that he has walked back. Outright lies that he’s had to “call back” to “correct.” That is a flimsy cover up.
Too bad Barry can’t live without his blackberry. Too bad the cover isn’t big enough to cover up the cover-up.
What Barry doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for so many of the Mexican people being anhiliated, forcing their friends and families to flee for their lives across the border, he wouldn’t have so much illegal support and a flimsy executive order to placate them with. My guess is the fugitive Latino community will realize Barry isn’t quite the savior he pretends to be. This is just another move that Barry made to divide the Latino community along with women, blacks, catholics (many of whom are Latino as well) and the Democrat party. Barry has done a disservice not only to Americans but to the Mexican people as well by selling guns to the drug cartels.
Is it ironic that Barry is visiting in Mexico? I wouldn’t want to be there now trying to stutter and stammer my way through an explanation of “executive privilege”… not on this matter!
This won’t play well in the international press one bit. It’s now been elevated to the mainstream media here by ‘executive privilige.’
If ever there was a Gotcha moment, this is one of them!
@TLG: “Is it ironic that Barry is visiting in Mexico? I wouldn’t want to be there now trying to stutter and stammer my way through an explanation of “executive privilege”… not on this matter! ”
To my knowledge, Barry is back in Washington… flew in late last night or early this morning, just in time to avoid having to explain the “executive privilege” to Calderon, etc. while on Mexican turf. The timing on this had to have been purposefully manipulated.
I didn’t know he was back. He must have cut out after that boring speech to avoid the garbage from the foreign press. Yep, he came running back to DC to hide behind his mommy’s skirts. Good thing he has her close now to wipe his butt and clean up the mess he’s likely making in his pants, now that he’s feeling his ‘privilege’. I think all his executive privileges and orders are going to smack him in the face. This may not be the issue that terminates his tenure (It’s still the ECONOMY, stupid!), but it will be the reason he doesn’t get a pass for being the anointed one. And it certainly won’t be paid for with the race card. They can try, but it all boils down to the fact that 2 American agents died on his watch and that he feels privileged to avoid accounability. He can’t run from this. This goes to his character, which he doesn’t have. Don’t get me started on Holder.
What about all the Republicans who objectively support the Drug Cartels with their support for Prohibition?
You want to know what a country looks like with practically no drug prohibition? Look at Mexico… look at Afghanistan… look at Pakistan…
It’s silly to think that if drugs were legal the crime would end. Quite the contrary – the drug addicts would multiply. Did you know that Uday Hussein was Iraq’s Pablo Escobar? Would you describe Iraq in 2002 as a non-violent place?
Cocaine and heroine can destroy the heads of leaders just as easily it can street junkies. In fact, you could argue that our political class’s problem is their preponderance toward drug addiction… from the Kennedys, to Madoff, to high ranking congressmen (and now a president).
It’s not just a public health issue – it’s a good government issue.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Perhaps you’d like to enlighten us on exactly what part of the constitution gives the Fed.gov the power to declare prohibition?
Why did it take an Amendment to enable alcohol prohibition, and another to repeal it, but less then a decade later they could do the same thing with a plant that grows wild – and one of the largest, most useful cash-crops in the world (among many other things) without any amendment at all?
Prohibition has been the gateway to all sorts of tyranny – surpassed only arguably by the “war on terror” (another sick joke, but I digress…
Are you one of those “I don’t mind if they ignore the constitution when they’re doing stuff *I* like” types?
Great psychological assessment of the estrogen-surrounded Obama in the other thread, TTLG. It definitely has the ring of truth to it.
Thank you. It explains his weakness in leadership, not that estrogen has anything to do with leadership. It’s the stereo-type of ‘group girl-think’…you know, Mean Girls and high school “biotch” behavior. Note the giggly grin he has when he’s feeling so full of himself. Compare/contrast that with the image of a John Wayne-type leader…like Ronald Reagan. What comes to my mind is Barry scolding the interrupting reporter with a wagging finger saying “you-you-you can’t do that, waaaaaaaa”. Now, think Reagan, “Tear DOWN this wall, Mr. Gorbachev!” There is a difference. And yet, Reagan had a strong woman at his side during his lifetime, supporting him, not scheming and manipulating him.
Great points, and I agree.
And you’re welcome!
Great assessment TTLG…thank you
Thank you. Did you read the “estrogen analysis” on the other topic?
I did your insightful and comprehensive post re: estrogen several times now. It was superb. And I continue to consider some of your points…In specific I wonder about O’s response to all the estrogen suffocating him. And while that is what he chooses in life to lead him wouldn’t there be a reflexively negative backlash beyond his down low life.?
If true that O was fathered Malcolm X or FMDavis…or even O,Sr all abandoned him and the gay life seems a search for approval or loveor connection from the testosterone brigade. where would his pathological response come in? In relation to America and its power? Or could it be contained in personal or sexual relationships only? Is the stutter a response to abandonment ? Performance anxiety? The pressure of being moulded into an object?….into being used only as a Manchurian? His personal ego — his self–meaning nothing to others but to use….Obama gives new meaning to The Truman Show…there seems to be no rebellion against his keepers but rather more like Patti Hearst he falls right in line for approval. Seems this scheme would have created a rather fragile mind…which may explain the chanting..mind control?…but is certainly frightening as leading this country and a nuclear arsenal.
I continue to ruminate on your “estrogen post”….it captures something that hasn’t quite come to the forefront or formulated something about The Obamunist for me…It was indeed a fascinating read and I hope readers here will review it…it helps to unravel the conundrum …the scheme that is the man who calls himself Barack Obama.
In fact I often feel as though there are two different Obama’s –the Erkel and the Evil…the evil is the one who laughs to himself when speaking..as though toying with the stupid people –those pathetic fools beneath him
I feel like if the Repubs don’t follow through on this ALL THE WAY the citizens may take the matter into their/our own hands. This has gotten way out of control. I am glad this is an election year issue but it was still ILLEGAL and heads all the way up need to roll. And quickly. The hearing was ridiculous. I told my boss that I wish just once, somebody would cut in on those idiot demonrats and say “You are full of SHIT!” Wish in one hand and …oh, never mind.
White House Insider said (quite a while back) that he believed the Administration was involved in FnF. (I think WHI said this or something very similar pertaining to the higher ups in the White House being involved in FnF. As of today, I believe WHI is right! (It was a while back which WHI stated something to this extent which I have paraphrased.)
This day almost makes me feel like the Cheshire Cat. I believe we should write our Congress critters and let them know that the American people expect them to follow through with Contempt proceedings and nothing less. This just cannot be avoided. We have lost faith in our do nothing Congress. They need to do this in order to restore faith or our Congress will be deemed irrelevant.
WSI, I pray for you. Please, dear Sir, fight to get better. We need you in this fight to the finish.
I’m shocked at this development and yet not at all.
Of course Obama was going to go to any slimy lengths to cover this up but the fact remains this executive privilege shouts loud and clear:
OBAMA IS A GUILTY, TREASONOUS SNAKE.
The old maxim is true that if you didn’t do anything wrong, you have no reason to hide anything. I hate the fact that Obama’s lawlessness is daring people to challenge him. It’s all political for him and it’s disgusting.
Thanks for the update UM and WHI.
Exec priv had to be asserted…to cover Hillary and Big Sis Napolitano as well as b0 (vJar).
Exactly.
It’s much bigger and involves more than just the DOJ
A big thank you to UM, WHI and WSI. Almost everything they shared with all of us has happened. You must be leaking this out there to us at a lot of risk to yourselves. I am glued to these hearings right now. We could be watching history playing out and it seems to all have started way back with these Insider reports. You guys rock.
Ok people, now is the time to put the pressure on your Reps in Congress…call and email frequently! Do not let up! Insist on leaving message after nessage indicating you want them (Holder and Obama) both OUT!
WSI,
I am praying for you.
May GOD give you strength and serenity.
You are a great MAN.
Along the WHI and UM.
DITTO
“White House must be aware Issa and Co. might have something that could inflict a hell of a lot of damage.”
This could get very interesting – as the comparisons with Nixon are coming on fast and furious.
Issa has video of Holder and napalitano in 2009 promoting fast and furious . A part of that vid was shown on fox when the investigation first started….Then has dissapeared but it is Issa”s ace in the hole….
Many videos have ‘disappeared’ from the public access. I remember Barry’s initial ‘off-prompter’ remarks preceeding the written official statement on the Bin Laden kill. But they aren’t in the internet archives. The internet clips are only of the official statement…and a very good edit from his walk to the podium to his ‘official’ remarks. I imagine that there are plenty of ‘edited’ official videos stored in archives. Hopefully this video shown on FOX in the early days still exists.
Video here http://www.therightscoop.com/bombshell-proof-obama-and-holder-knew-about-gun-walking-in-2009/
Republican leadership can’t draw down now; it’s too late. WSI had it right and knew the time to push the right buttons. What a masterstroke! Hope his health returns so he can enjoy the fruit of the labor.
WHI – this is too juicy. Time to get out the BBQ sauce.
Are you ready for a war?
FEW MONTHS AGO WSI SAID HE WAS WORKING ON OBAMACARE ALSO. THEY ARE NOT DONE WITH OBAMA JUST YET! THE SUPREME COURT DECISION IS NEXT UP! A GREAT 1-2 PUNCH BY WSI AGAINST OBAMA! GET WELL OLD MAN. I’M AN OLD MAN TOO. HANG IN THERE!!!
It’s beyond politics: it is now principle. Issa looks like he is going to pull the trigger!!!
Contempt charges are just the start of what’s available to the Republicans now that Obama has invoked executive privilege.
By invoking executive privilege, Obama basically acknowledges that he was in on the Fast and Furious plot–he was briefed and therefore probably signed off on it.
This now puts impeachment on the table.
I hope you are right!
Definitely. This scandal has painted ol’ Barry into a corner.
The only choices he had left were:
1). Comply and get exposed.
2). Obstruct to buy some time before he gets exposed yet tacitly admit to the crime by doing so.
The delicious conundrum for Dems is do they go along with impeachment to save themselves and the Democrat Party or stand guard over Obama, be implicated with him, and destroy the Dem Party for a generation or more?
I need more WHI updates!
I too need more WHI updates!
Thanks for the added updates UM. It was like watching things happen in real time before the big news hit. Wonder who called WHI back to DC? The Demcrats or the Republicans? Would love to be a fly on the wall for those meetings!
The more I watched the hearing, the more I was reminded of the Corrupt B@stards Club in Alaska…
I can’t believe the blood of the dead isn’t worth telling the truth.
Color me impressed UM. You delivered the goods. Sharing. I have about 5k followers and haven’t shared your stuff far and wide yet. Going to go ahead and do it now. Looks like you’re the real deal. Nice job.
UM has been the real deal since day one. Only the idiots and Obamabots who ignored how many times he was right on accurate don’t believe it anymore. Its the age of new journalism and UM has gone up to the top of that list IMO.
BT,
I also have about 5K readers on my political blog. I have been on the WHI/WSI stories from the beginning. I was called a nut for posting Ulsterman stuff. Even though I always (initially) called it “conspiracy stuff” for cover. No more a nut. No more conspiracy.
So far, the only thing wrong which was predicted… Speaker Pelosi would lose her leadership position in the Dem party after the election was lost November 2010. She is Minority Leader Pelosi. Other than that, WHI and WSI have both been accurate in their predictions.
Been watching carefully, the democrats in the hearing seemed despirate to stonewall and get more time… It didn’t work and their arguments fell on deaf ears, all of their amendments went down hard.
Interesting to see Democrats actually look scared… wonder why, who has them by the tail this time?
CHHR, re-watching the tape, I see it in their faces. I wonder why they went ahead with their comments and amendments, when they could see they were getting nowhere. I would have been too dispirited to continue with the charade. Did they really believe the stuff they were saying?
If this is going to work before the election in November, then Issa has an ace in the hole and administration was caught off guard…
BTW: thank you everyone, you’ve given me great stuff to tweet out
keep em coming, I love it!
It’s painfully obvious that the WH is in a bind – the look of far was obvious once the committee came back into session. Someone has them by the throat.
Then I was reminded of Burke.
http://dailycaller.com/2011/11/09/former-ariz-us-attorney-admits-leaking-memo-smearing-fast-and-furious-whistle-blower/
Once he had no chice but to come out admitting his part in the smear campaign, his lawyer said that he was working with Congressional Investigators and that they knew he wasn’t working alone.
Maybe Burke and similar figures have given Issa and his team more than the WH knows that Issa has?
Now it makes sense why Holder and Obama seemed to want to know the scope of what documents Issa had previously. Let’s hope that Issa has a few aces up his sleeve.
CHHR, thanks for that link. H/T to you–I tweeted it out to my followers.
If another has all ready made the following comment and I missed it, re-reading the posts as one has to with updates, please excuse.
Obama is not particularly attached to those who work for him and has established that he willingly throws people under the bus to help himself.
That he has NOT done this to Holder but has claimed exec. priv. for himself seems to validate WHI’s comment that Holder has the goods on top players within the White House and Valjar/Barfack can’t cut Holder loose without cutting their own throats.
I agree with you, but it also means that Issa has been playing hard ball right back if the Admin is suddenly in a tailspin over what they’ve done.
Speaking of goods. Reminds me when Dick Morris said Janet Reno told Bill Clinton she stays on as US Atty or she blows the whistle on Waco. Of course Billy Boy backed off, cause he knew Reno had so much dirt on him.
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2010/04/dick-morris-bombshell-reno-told-clinton-she-stays-on-or-she-blows-whistle-on-waco-video/
Warbaz, this is a great point. Since when has BHO done anything to help anyone else? So, if he’s doing this, it’s for him.
I totally agree. It’s all about himself.
Godspeed WSI, WHI.
and there is this which proves the administration knew of fast and furious
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2012/01/27/20120127dennis-burke-fast-furious-scandal-career.html#ixzz1yND0N2cA
tells me they have great reason to run scared now…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFyIFGe60Qs
My hunch is that Obama gets the shove like Nixon. biden comes in and Hillary jumps into the race.
Oh God forbid. For Hillary to rescue the demoncrat dominance at this late inning in the game would be something short of a miracle. However, if she is part of the scandal, her ship will sink as well. Keep in mind that she is SOS and would have had some input from the standpoint of the State Department regarding Mexico.
BTW, Edward Klein made this exact comparison of Obama to Nixon towards the end of his book “The Amateur”
The 1968 election could be another instructive comparison, when Johnson stepped aside. The factions in the Democratic Party at that time are quite similar to the factions in that party today.
Vice President Hubert Humphrey was backed by the same labor unions and Chicago party bosses that originally supported Johnson; these same groups are still largely in control of the Democratic Party today. Senator Eugene McCarthy had the support of anti-war students and professors, the most liberal faction. Senator Robert Kennedy was backed by Roman Catholics and ethnic minorities until his assassination; this might prove to be an unlikely alliance in 2012. Finally, the conservative white “Dixiecrats” bolted the party entirely and supported Governor George Wallace’s third party run; these would be the “Blue Dogs” that constitute an opportunity for Romney.
Care to continue the comparison? It seems like you were cut off in mid-thought and I’m anxious to hear the rest of the story!
I think you’re on to something here that may have as much credence as the comparison with Nixon’s abuse of powers that resulted in his Resignation.
However, I doubt that Barry would be so bold or so admirable to decide not to run or to resign. I feel that should he not win re-election, that he will have to be removed kicking and screaming by prying his fingers from the doorway.
If Obama were to step aside to save his party from electoral defeat, there would be a bit of mix-and-match among the four voting blocs I outlined. Morever, there would be no possibility of anything resembling a primary this late in the game; the options would be decided on in a smoke-filled room and presented to the convention for an up or down vote.
I don’t see Biden having a future beyond the Vice Presidency. He’s become too much of an “unguided missile” for anyone to entrust him with the role of standard-bearer in this election.
The big labor unions and party bosses that stood behind Humphrey in 1968 are largely still united today. Governor Deval Patrick has the Chicago connections that would probably put him at the top of their “Plan B” list.
The professors and student groups who backed McCarthy in 1968 are likewise still a homogeneous bloc today. Their preferred candidates would ones like Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren or former Governor Howard Dean. Former Senator Russ Feingold, a prominent supporter of Occupy Wall Street, could also make their short list. Neither Dean nor Warren would be particularly viable nationally, especially given that Warren has never held an elected office before. Feingold would be formidable–if he still has an interest in holding elected office.
The Catholics and minorities that supported Kennedy in 1968 would likely splinter in 2012. Pro-life and pro- traditional marriage Catholics would form one of the most conservative blocs in the Democratic Party, and their primary issues could create a wedge in the party. Hispanics are likely to vote for the Democratic candidate no matter what, assuming the two parties’ immigration views remain unchanged, so their support will probably be taken for granted as usual. Without Obama, blacks could revert to their traditional, more conservative stance on social issues, but they will still be susceptible to racially-motivated manipulation. Thus the Kennedy ’68 bloc would probably not unite behind a single candidate in 2012, and blacks could easily be lured into another bloc with a Patrick candidacy. The disintegration of this bloc could also present an opportunity to peel Catholics away from the Democratic Party entirely.
What few conservative, white “Blue Dogs” and “Reagan Democrats” remain in the Democratic Party at this point would probably not get much traction at all in the convention, given their diminished standing in the party today. They would be an easy pickup opportunity for the Republican Party.
I will say that I don’t expect Obama to withdraw from this election. However, this analysis still has some value, since the tensions between the blocs will be there regardless, and some could present an opportunity for the GOP. Furthermore, if Obama loses in November, the jockeying between these blocs will come to the fore in any intraparty blame game and possible shakeup. Finally, if Obama is reelected, each of these blocs would probably flock to candidates in the mold of the ones I mentioned above during the 2016 primaries.
Very interesting analysis. Let’s home for the intra-party blame game for the Democrats. They’ve already got much of that dance down pat!
Thank you for your explanation of the ‘chess’ moves on this politcal board!
DRUDGE REPORT: Supreme Court may reveal healthcare verdict Thursday
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-supreme-court-may-release-healthcare-verdict-thursday-20120620,0,4104967.story
To WSI: Here’s hoping commiecare gets shot down once and for all. Stay strong friend.
There is panic amidst Dems right now and I’m sure that WSI and his friends would like to add to that panic and turn more Democrats and voters against Obama by dropping the ObamaCare decision tomorrow.
Could start a wave of Democratic Party defectors from the Chicago branch.
As Mel said above, this could be a devastating 1-2 punch to the White House and its allies.
WSI ,
I am praying for you as always.
Sorry to hear about yet another health problem for you.
I know that you have given your heart and soul and strength
to see that the man who calls himself BHO is ousted .
Prayers should go out for all here.
I hope to make it to the polling place one more time, myself.
On the TWO gun running stories, these were quite different.
Bush’s guns were tracked and only those sold to savvy buyers made it into Mexico at all.
See, you had to out-wait the batteries on the trackers.
Or, you could sneak in when US interdiction planes were not in flight.
So, this plan was not perfect, and a number of guns made it through.
But Obama’s F&F was not like that at all.
There was no intention of tracking the guns.
The plan was to wait and put the Second Amendment on trial as bodies piled up from US sold guns.
All the guns made it through, as there was nothing to stop them.
The extra due diligence done after the US Border officer was gunned down was unplanned.
The Smoking Gun….(no pun intended). MUST READ:
http://www.greeleygazette.com/press/?p=9614
QUOTE: Obama: “I’m working on gun control under the radar”
The problem for Obama is that a crime was committed. The supreme court has ruled against Nixon on this basis in regards to executive privilege.
There have been some great examples of mainstream reporting on Fast and Furious, but for the most part the MSM has brushed it off as a puffed-up controversy kept alive by Republicans who enjoy antagonizing Eric Holder. Now that President Obama has started acting as if the White House has something to hide, it seems very possible that the long-held conservative suspicions are right — this isn’t a manufactured political issue, but one that could go into much deeper, shadier territory than initially thought.
If Obama was truly concerned about the investigation becoming a political distraction — as the White House maintains — then why would he insert himself into the controversy and throw fuel on the fire?
House Speaker John Boehner is apparently wondering the same thing:
“Until now, everyone believed that the decisions regarding ‘Fast and Furious’ were confined to the Department of Justice,” Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said in a statement.
“The White House decision to invoke executive privilege implies that White House officials were either involved in the ‘Fast and Furious’ operation or the cover-up that followed. The Administration has always insisted that wasn’t the case. Were they lying, or are they now bending the law to hide the truth?” Buck said.
Administration officials dispute the implication, pointing to several cases under Republican administrations where executive privilege was invoked on behalf of agencies.
If Obama’s White House is trying to shield its participation in Fast and Furious or a subsequent cover up, that runs counter to a Watergate-era Supreme Court ruling, which holds that executive privilege can’t be used to obscure wrongdoing. Todd Gaziano writes at the Heritage Foundation:
First, the Supreme Court in United States v. Nixon (1974) held that executive privilege cannot be invoked at all if the purpose is to shield wrongdoing. The courts held that Nixon’s purported invocation of executive privilege was illegitimate, in part, for that reason. There is reason to suspect that this might be the case in the Fast and Furious cover-up and stonewalling effort. Congress needs to get to the bottom of that question to prevent an illegal invocation of executive privilege and further abuses of power. That will require an index of the withheld documents and an explanation of why each of them is covered by executive privilege—and more.
Will the media accept the White House’s defense that it’s simply trying to stop a political witch hunt? Or will Obama’s surprise decision to invoke executive privilege be the catalyst that finally springs this story into the mainstream?
Charlotte, I’ve been reading about this all day, but your post was the first that explained clearly why executive privilege may not apply (because a crime was committed) and what an index/log is and why it’s important to get one and go through it to determine whether each item is exempt.
It would have to be National Security or Foreign Relations to assert Executive Privilege
Well, Barry has already screwed the pooch with National Security. Seems he would have used that to protect his office from accusations of Security leaks re: the underwear bomber and the virus attacking Iran’s nuclear program. But no, he hasn’t done that. But should he call it as National Security, it would be a glaring indication of his hypocrisy.
Foreign relations is another matter. These Fast and Furious guns have killed hundreds of Mexican nationals as well as contributed to drug cartel violence in Mexico! Last I heard, regardless of Barry’s ‘amnesty order’, Mexico is a foreign country.
Barry is screwed now. He can’t use executive privilege to cover a crime. Murders are crimes. To assert executive privilege as a foreign relations matter would be implying that the WH knew about F&F and it’s involvement with Mexico without Mexico being informed beforehand, which all indications are that Mexico was not in on the plan from the beginning.
I wonder if Obama-Hillary operative Kevin O’Reilly “man who knows too much” William Newell’s buddy still in Iraq. O’Reilly worked in the WH as a member of Obama’s National Security Council during the FNF fiasco and currently works as a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. No doubt watching all this and getting nervous.
He was sent out of the country to keep him quiet and keep the investigators from having access to anything he might say. I hope he has adequate security in Iraq. It would be more than sad if he was “Breitbarted”.
Omoslem and his minions are worried.
Omoslem won’t serve jail time, but Fast+Furious extends thru the ATF and several other gov’t agencies.
In other words, there’s plenty of good little commie footsoldiers who’ll roll over and squeal to avoid prison.
That’s why Omarxist pulled Executive Privilege today… b/c he feels the hounds nipping at his communist moslem illegal alien heels.
Obama made a very sloppy…very bad move today …
Asserting Executive Privledge 16 months into Fast and Furious exposes this move as a complete and obvious lie…
Were it a National Security issue Obama would have claimed Privledge immediately.. 16 months ago…
This is simply asserting a Privledge to hide the truth…this from the same WH that leaks National security secrets that puts lives at risk ….for political gain.
This is a move that expressly shows the WH feels the heat and suddenly puts the wall up…The reason there is heat is the Whistleblowers who came forth …Holder and Obama thought they had people afraid—threatened and silenced. Turns out there are some who care deeply for their country…Obama and Holder are despicable thugs…
The repetitive obstruction of justice and the serious flaunting of law breaking at the highest levels must be stopped and any politician who will not stand up to this… must be voted out of office. The people will not tolerate this law breaking..and with that outrage will come much more curiousity as to who exactly the man who calls himself Barack Obama really is…
This promises to be a very long, very hot summer….
I had assumed the riots would begin on the anniversary of those in ’68…
Perhaps the timeline moves up now… Pray
Truths of the Ulsterman reporter found here!
http://socyberty.com/history/the-ulsterman-report-research-continue/
I think the fear is due to “Executive Privlige” being an US Constitution Article 2 issue. Article 2 is also the article that requires the president to be NATURAL BORN. Hence once the president asserts the privlige under article 2 as a precedence. I speculate as a non-lawyer it would open Obama up to the natural born clause because the Brian Terry family has in fact been “HARMED” and therefor has “STANDING” TO DEMAND OBAMA PROVE HIS CONSTITUTIONAL LEGITIMACY TO BE PRESIDENT.
I HOPE, I HOPE, I HOPE…
The president and his fellow communists tried to kill the Second Amendment…to take away our guns…
Wonder what he planned his next step would be…
At this point in his ‘game’ I don’t think he has any plans. I think he’s flying by the seat of his pants, walking back his statements, stammering for composure to make excuses and placing blame while praying on his knees towards the east that Valdemort pulls his ass out of the fire in the knick of time. It’s obvious for him to submit to Holder’s 9-page request for protection under executive privilege that he is grasping at straws and is in duck and cover mode.
What I’m curious about is what exactly was contained in that 9-page missive. Was it justification with law references for why it should be granted? Or was it an accounting of all the reasons Barry OWES Holder for this one!
The President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President,
I am writing to request that you assert executive privilege with respect to confidential Department of Justice (“Department”) documents that are responsive to the subpoena issued by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the United States House of Representatives (“Committee”) on October 25, 2011. The subpoena relates to the Committee’s investigation into Operation Fast and Furious, a law enforcement operation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona to stem the illegal flow of firearms from the United States to drug cartels in Mexico (“Fast and Furious”). The Committee has scheduled a meeting for June 20, 2012, to vote on a resolution holding me in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with the subpoena.
I.
The Committee’s subpoena broadly sweeps in various groups of documents relating to both the conduct of Operation Fast and Furious and the Department’s response to congressional inquiries about that operation. In recognition of the seriousness ofthe Committee’s concerns about both the inappropriate tactics used in Fast and Furious and the inaccuracies concerning the use of those tactics in the letter that the Department sent to Senator Grassley on February 4, 2011 (“February 4 Letter”), the Department has taken a number of significant steps in response to the Committee’s oversight. First, the Department has instituted various reforms to ensure that it does not repeat these law enforcement and oversight mistakes. Second, at my request the Inspector General is investigating the conduct of Fast and Furious. And third, to the extent consistent with important Executive Branch confidentiality and separation of powers interests affected by the Committee’s investigation into ongoing criminal investigations and prosecutions, as well as applicable disclosure laws, the Department has provided a significant amount of information in an extraordinary effort to accommodate the Committee’s legitimate oversight interests, including testimony, transcribed interviews, briefings and other statements by Department officials, and all of the Department’s internal documents concerning the preparation of the February 4 Letter.
Get complete coverage.
The Committee has made clear that its contempt resolution will be limited to internal Department “documents from after February 4, 2011, related to the Department’s response to Congress.” Letter for Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General, from Darrell E. Issa, Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House ofRepresentatives at 1-2 (June 13, 2012) (“Chairman’s Letter”). I am asking you to assert executive privilege over these
documents. They were not generated in the course of the conduct of Fast and Furious. Instead, they were created after the investigative tactics at issue in that operation had terminated and in the course of the Department’s deliberative process concerning how to respond to congressional and related media inquiries into that operation.
In view of the significant confidentiality and separation of powers concerns raised by the Committee’s demand for internal documents generated in response to the Committee’s investigation, we consider the Department’s accommodations regarding the preparation of the February 4 Letter to have been extraordinary. Despite these accommodations, however, the Committee scheduled a vote on its contempt resolution. At that point, the Department offered an additional accommodation that would fully address the Committee’s remaining questions. The Department offered to provide the Committee with a briefing, based on documents that the Committee could retain, explaining how the Department’s understanding of the facts of Fast and Furious evolved during the post-February 4 period, as well as the process that led to the withdrawal of the February 4 Letter. The Committee, however, has not accepted the Department’s offer and has instead elected to proceed with its contempt vote.
As set forth more fully below, I am very concerned that the compelled production to Congress of internal Executive Branch documents generated in the course of the deliberative process concerning its response to congressional oversight and related media inquiries would have significant, damaging consequences: It would inhibit the candor of such Executive Branch deliberations in the future and significantly impair the Executive Branch’s ability to respond independently and effectively to congressional oversight. This would raise substantial separation of powers concerns and potentially create an imbalance in the relationship between these two co¬ equal branches of the Government. Consequently, as the head of the Department of Justice,
I respectfully request that you assert executive privilege over the identified documents. This letter sets forth the basis for my legal judgment that you may properly do so.
II.
Executive privilege is “fundamental to the operation of Government and inextricably rooted in the separation of powers under the Constitution.” United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683,708 (1974). It is “a necessary corollary of the executive function vested in the President by Article II of the Constitution.” Congressional Requests for Confidential Executive Branch Information, 13 Op. O.L.C. 153, 154 (1989) (“Congressional Requests Opinion”) (opinion of Assistant Attorney General William P. Barr); see U.S. Const. art. II,§ 1, cl. 1 (“The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.”); U.S. Const. art. II, § 3 (The President shall “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed ….”). Indeed, executive privilege “has been asserted by numerous Presidents from the earliest days of our Nation, and it was explicitly recognized by the Supreme Court in United States v. Nixon.” Congressional Requests Opinion, 13 Op. O.L.C. at 154.
The documents at issue fit squarely within the scope of executive privilege. In connection with prior assertions of executive privilege, two Attorneys General have advised the President that documents of this kind are within the scope of executive privilege. See Letter for the President from Paul D. Clement, Solicitor General and Acting Attorney General, Re: Assertion of Executive Privilege Concerning the Dismissal and Replacement of US. Attorneys at
6 (June 27, 2007) (“US. Attorneys Assertion”) (“[C]ommunications between the Department of
Justice and the White House concerning … possible responses to congressional and media inquiries about the U.S. Attorney resignations … clearly fall within the scope of executive privilege.”); Assertion of Executive Privilege Regarding White House Counsel’s Office Documents, 20 Op. O.L.C. 2, 3 (1996) (“WHCO Documents Assertion”) (opinion of Attorney General Janet Reno) (concluding that”[e]xecutive privilege applies” to “analytical material or other attorney work-product prepared by the White House Counsel’s Office in response to the ongoing investigation by the Committee”).
It is well established that “[t]he doctrine of executive privilege … encompasses Executive Branch deliberative communications.” Letter for the President from Michael B. Mukasey, Attorney General, Re: Assertion of Executive Privilege over Communications Regarding EPA ‘s Ozone Air Quality Standards and California’s Greenhouse Gas Waiver Request at 2 (June 19, 2008) (“EPA Assertion”); see also, e.g, US Attorneys Assertion at 2; Assertion of Executive Privilege with Respect To Clemency Decision, 23 Op. O.L.C. 1, 1-2 (1999) (“Clemency Assertion”) (opinion of Attorney General Janet Reno). The threat of compelled disclosure of confidential Executive Branch deliberative material can discourage robust and candid deliberations, for “[h]uman experience teaches that those who expect public dissemination of their remarks may well temper candor with a concern for appearances and for their own interests to the detriment of the decisionmaking process.” Nixon, 418 U.S. at 705. Thus, Presidents have repeatedly asserted executive privilege to protect confidential Executive Branch deliberative materials from congressional subpoena. See, e.g, EPA Assertion at 2-3; Letter for the President from Michael B. Mukasey, Attorney General, Re: Assertion of Executive Privilege Concerning the Special Counsel ‘s Interviews of the Vice President and Senior White House Staff at 2 (July 15, 2008) (“Special Counsel Assertion”); Letter for the President from John Ashcroft, Attorney General, Re: Assertion of Executive Privilege with Respect to Prosecutorial Documents at 2 (Dec. 10, 2001) (“Prosecutorial Documents Assertion”);
Clemency Assertion, 23 Op. O.L.C. at 1-4; Assertion of Executive Privilege in Response to
a Congressional Subpoena, 5 Op. O.L.C. 27,29-31 (1981) (“1981 Assertion”) (opinion of
Attorney General William French Smith).
Because the documents at issue were generated in the course of the deliberative process concerning the Department’s responses to congressional and related media inquiries into Fast and Furious, the need to maintain their confidentiality is heightened. Compelled disclosure of
such material, regardless of whether a given document contains deliberative content, would raise “significant separation of powers concerns,” WHCO Documents Assertion, 20 Op. O.L.C. at 3, by ‘”significantly impair[ing]“‘ the Executive Branch’s ability to respond independently and effectively to matters under congressional review. US. Attorneys Assertion at 6 (“the ability of the Office of the Counsel to the President to assist the President in responding to [congressional and related media] investigations ‘would be significantly impaired’ if a congressional committee could review ‘confidential documents prepared in order to assist the President and his staff in responding to an investigation by the committee seeking the documents”‘) (quoting WHCO Documents Assertion, 20 Op. O.L.C. at 3) (alterations omitted). See generally The Constitutional Separation of Powers Between the President and Congress, 20 Op. O.L.C. 124,126-28, 133-35 (1996) (explaining that, under Supreme Court case law, congressional action that interferes with the functioning of the Executive Branch, including “attempts to dictate the processes of executive deliberation,” can violate general separation of powers principles); Nixon v. Administrator ofGeneral Services, 433 U.S. 425,443 (1977) (congressional enactment that “disrupts the proper balance between the coordinate branches” may violate the separation of powers).
Congressional oversight of the process by which the Executive Branch responds to congressional oversight inquiries would create a detrimental dynamic that is quite similar to what would occur in litigation if lawyers had to disclose to adversaries their deliberations about the case, and specifically about how to respond to their adversaries’ discovery requests. As the Supreme Court recognized in establishing the attorney work product doctrine, “it is essential that a lawyer work with a certain degree of privacy, free from unnecessary intrusion by opposing parties and their counsel.” Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495, 510-11 (1947). Were attorney work product “open to opposing counsel on mere demand,” the Court explained, “[i]nefficiency, unfairness and sharp practices would inevitably develop in the giving of legal advice and in the preparation of cases for trial … , [a]nd the interests of the clients and the cause of justice would be poorly served.” !d. at 511.
Similarly, in the oversight context, as the Department recognized in the prior administration, a congressional power to request information from the Executive Branch and then review the ensuing Executive Branch discussions regarding how to respond to that request would chill the candor of those Executive Branch discussions and “introduce a significantly unfair imbalance to the oversight process.” Letter for John Conyers, Jr., Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House ofRepresentatives, and Linda T. Sanchez, Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives, from Richard A. Bertling, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs at 3 (Mar. 26, 2007). Such congressional power would disserve both Branches and the oversight process itself, which involves two co-equal branches of government and, like litigation, often is, and needs to be, adversarial. We recognize that it is essential to Congress’s ability to interact independently and effectively with the Executive Branch that the confidentiality of internal deliberations among Members of Congress and their staffs be
protected against incursions by the Executive Branch. See Gravel v. United States, 408 U.S. 606, 616 (1972) (“The Speech or Debate Clause was designed to assure a co-equal branch of the government wide freedom of speech, debate, and deliberation without intimidation or threats from the Executive Branch.”). It is likewise essential to the Executive Branch’s ability to respond independently and effectively to matters under congressional review that the confidentiality of internal Executive Branch deliberations be protected against incursions by Congress.
Moreover, there is an additional, particularized separation of powers concern here because the Committee’s inquiry into Fast and Furious has sought information about ongoing criminal investigations and prosecutions. Such information would itself be protected by executive privilege, see, e.g., Assertion of Executive Privilege in Response to Congressional Demands for Law Enforcement Files, 6 Op. O.L.C. 31,32 (1982) (opinion of Attorney General William French Smith) (“[I]t has been the policy of the Executive Branch throughout this Nation’s history generally to decline to provide committees of Congress with access to or copies of law enforcement files except in the most extraordinary circumstances.”). Consequently, the Department’s deliberations about how to respond to these congressional inquiries involved discussion of how to ensure that critical ongoing law enforcement actions are not compromised and that law enforcement decisionmaking is not tainted by even the appearance of political influence. See, e.g., id. at 33 (noting “substantial danger that congressional pressures will influence the course ofthe investigation … [and] potential damage to proper law enforcement which would be caused by the revelation of sensitive techniques, methods, or strategy”) (quotation marks omitted). Maintaining the confidentiality of such candid internal discussions helps preserve the independence, integrity, and effectiveness of the Department’s law enforcement efforts.
III.
A congressional committee “may overcome an assertion of executive privilege only if it establishes that the subpoenaed documents are ‘demonstrably critical to the responsible fulfillment of the Committee’s functions.”‘ Special Counsel Assertion at 5-6 (quoting Senate Select Comm. on Presidential Campaign Activities v. Nixon, 498 F.2d 725,731 (D.C. Cir. 1974) (en bane) (emphasis added)); see also, e.g., US. Attorneys Assertion at 2 (same); Clemency Assertion, 23 Op. O.L.C. at 2 (same); Nixon, 418 U.S. at 707 (“[I]t is necessary to resolve those competing interests in a manner that preserves the essential functions of each branch.”). “Those functions must be in furtherance of Congress’s legitimate legislative responsibilities,” Special Counsel Assertion at 5 (emphasis added), for “[c]ongressional oversight of Executive Branch actions is justifiable only as a means of facilitating the legislative task of enacting, amending, or repealing laws.” 1981 Assertion, 5 Op. O.L.C. at 30-31. See also, e.g., Special Counsel Assertion at 5; US. Attorneys Assertion at 2-3; McGrain v. Daugherty, 273 U.S. 135, 176 (1927) (congressional oversight power may be used only to “obtain information in aid of the legislative function”); Eastland v. US. Servicemen’s Fund, 421 U.S. 491, 504 n.15 (1975) (“The subject of any [congressional] inquiry always must be one on which legislation could be had.”) (quotation marks omitted).
A.
The Committee has not satisfied the “demonstrably critical” standard with respect to the documents at issue. The Committee has said that it needs the post-February 4 documents “related to the Department’s response to Congress” concerning Fast and Furious in order to “examine the Department’s mismanagement of its response to Operation Fast and Furious.” Chairman’s Letter at 1-2. More specifically, the Committee has explained in the report that it is scheduled to consider at its June 20 contempt meeting that it needs these documents so that it can “understand what the Department knew about Fast and Furious, including when and how it discovered its February 4 letter was false, and the Department’s efforts to conceal that information from Congress and the public.” Comm. on Oversight and Gov’t Reform, U.S. House ofRepresentatives, Report at 33 (June 15, 2012). House leaders have similarly communicated that the driving concern behind the Committee’s scheduled contempt vote is to determine whether Department leaders attempted to “mislead or misinform Congress” in response to congressional inquiries into Fast and Furious. See Letter for Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General, from John A. Boehner, Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives, et al. at 1 (May 18, 2012) (“Speaker’s Letter”).
At the threshold, it is not evident that the Committee’s asserted need to review the management of the Department’s response to congressional inquiries furthers a legislative function of Congress. See WHCO Documents Assertion, 20 Op. O.L.C. at 4 (noting the question of “the extent of Congress’s authority to conduct oversight ofthe executive branch’s response to oversight … must be viewed as unresolved as a matter oflaw in light of the requirement that there be a nexus to Congress’s legislative authority”). In any event, the purported connection between the congressional interest cited and the documents at issue is now highly attenuated as a result ofthe Department’s extraordinary efforts to accommodate the Committee’s interest in this regard. Through these efforts, the Department has amply fulfilled its constitutional “obligation… to make a principled effort to acknowledge, and if possible to meet, the [Committee's] legitimate needs.” 1981 Assertion, 5 Op. O.L.C. at 31; see also, e.g. , United States v. AT&T, 567 F.2d 121, 127, 130 (D.C. Cir. 1977) (“[E]ach branch should take cognizance of an implicit constitutional mandate to seek optimal accommodation through a realistic evaluation of the needs of the conflicting branches in the particular fact situation…. Negotiation between the two branches should thus be viewed as a dynamic process affirmatively furthering the constitutional scheme.”).
Specifically, the Department has already shared with the Committee over 1300 pages of documents concerning the drafting of the February 4 Letter, in acknowledgment that the February 4 Letter contained inaccurate information. In addition, numerous Department officials and employees, including the Attorney General, have provided testimony and other statements concerning both the conduct of Fast and Furious and the Department’s preparation and withdrawal of the February 4 Letter. This substantial record shows that the inaccuracies in the February 4 Letter were the inadvertent product of the fact that, at the time they were preparing that letter, neither Department leaders nor the heads of relevant Department components on whom Department leaders reasonably relied for information knew the correct facts about the tactics used in Fast and Furious. Department leaders first learned that flawed tactics may have been used in Fast and Furious when public allegations about such tactics surfaced in early 2011, after such tactics had been discontinued. But Department leaders were mistakenly assured by the heads of relevant Department components that those allegations were false. As the Department collected and reviewed documents to provide to the Committee during the months after submitting the February 4 Letter, however, Department leaders came to understand that Fast and Furious was in fact fundamentally flawed and that the February 4 Letter may have been inaccurate. While the Department was developing that understanding, Department officials made public statements and took other actions alerting the Committee to their increasing concern about the tactics actually used in Fast and Furious and the accuracy of the February 4 Letter. When the Department was confident that it had a sufficient understanding of the factual record, it formally withdrew the February 4 Letter. All of this demonstrates that the Department did not in any way intend to mislead the Committee.
The Department continued its extraordinary efforts at accommodating the Committee by recently offering to provide the Committee with a briefing, based on documents that the Committee could retain, explaining further how the Department’s understanding of the facts of Fast and Furious evolved during the post-February 4 period, as well as the process that led to the withdrawal of the February 4 Letter. The Department believes that this briefing, and the accompanying documents, would have fully addressed what the Committee described as its remaining concerns related to the February 4 Letter and the good faith of the Department in responding to the Committee’s investigation. The Committee, however, has not accepted this offer of accommodation.
Finally, the Committee’s asserted need for post-February 4 documents is further diminished by the Inspector General’s ongoing investigation of Fast and Furious, which was undertaken at my request. As an Executive Branch official, the Inspector General may obtain access to documents that are privileged from disclosure to Congress. The existence of this investigation belies any suspicion that the Department is attempting to conceal important facts concerning Fast and Furious from the Committee. Moreover, in light of the Inspector General’s investigation, congressional oversight is not the only means by which the management of the Department’s response to Fast and Furious may be scrutinized.
In brief, the Committee received all documents that involved the Department’s preparation of the February 4 Letter. The Committee’s legitimate interest in obtaining documents created after the February 4 Letter is highly attenuated and has been fully accommodated by the Department. The Committee lacks any “demonstrably critical” need for further access to the Department’s deliberations to address concerns arising out of the February 4 Letter.
B.
The Department’s accommodations have concerned only a subset of the topics addressed in the withheld post-February 4 documents. The documents and information provided or offered to the Committee address primarily the evolution of the Department’s understanding of the facts of Fast and Furious and the process that led to the withdrawal ofthe February 4 Letter. Most of the withheld post-February 4 documents, however, relate to other aspects of the Department’s response to congressional and related media inquiries, such as procedures or strategies for responding to the Committee’s requests for documents and other information. The Committee has not articulated any particularized interest in or need for documents relating to such topics, let alone a need that would further a legislative function.
“Broad, generalized assertions that the requested materials are of public import are simply insufficient under the ‘demonstrably critical’ standard.” US. Attorneys Assertion at 3; see also, e.g., Congressional Requests Opinion, 13 Op. O.L.C. at 160 (“‘A specific, articulated need for information will weigh substantially more heavily in the constitutional balancing than a generalized interest in obtaining information.”‘) (quoting 1981 Assertion, 5 Op. O.L.C. at 30)). Moreover, “Congress’s legislative function does not imply a freestanding authority to gather information for the sole purpose of informing ‘the American people.’” Special Counsel Assertion at 6. The “only informing function” constitutionally vested in Congress “‘is that of informing itself about subjects susceptible to legislation, not that of informing the public.”‘ !d. (quoting Miller v. Transamerican Press, Inc., 709 F.2d 524, 531 (9th Cir. 1983)). In the absence of any particularized legitimate need, the Committee’s interest in obtaining additional post¬ February 4 documents cannot overcome the substantial and important separation of powers and Executive Branch confidentiality concerns raised by its demand.
* * * *
In sum, when I balance the Committee’s asserted need for the documents at issue against the Executive Branch’s strong interest in protecting the confidentiality of internal documents generated in the course of responding to congressional and related media inquiries and the separation of powers concerns raised by a congressional demand for such material, I conclude that the Committee has not established that the privileged documents are demonstrably critical to the responsible fulfillment of the Committee’s legitimate legislative functions.
IV.
For the reasons set forth above, I have concluded that you may properly assert executive privilege over the documents at issue, and I respectfully request that you do so.
Sincerely,
Eric H. Holder, Jr. Attorney General
I got half-way through this and realized it is an attempt to cover-up and protect someone, not at DOJ regarding their internal investigation, but within the White House, hence the preponderence of Holder’s discussion concerning ‘privileged’ discussions between client and attorney.
This will be a long drawn out affair in the courts, beyond the elections in November. In the meantime, the Terry family especially will be victimized repeatedly by the politcalization of their son’s murder by their departmental operation.
Simply stated, “it’ the cover-up, stupid, that’s illegal!” It will get them everytime, except they also have a massive body count attached to this crime.
Thanks, Obeline, for posting this. I missed your take on this letter.
Obama AND Holder knew:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PNhYk9NuNc
This is what happens when amateurs with success rooted in the strategies of radicals, decide that something needs to be done: They end up making it worse for themselves.
This is also what happens when the mainstream media is forced to pay attention to something, by virtue of how explosive it clearly is.
There are no reasonable-sounding excuses for all of this. Not even accusations of ‘racism’ will make this go away (and you’ll notice how many times that was attempted and failed to get traction, over the course of this entire investigation). All they can do is bunker down, pray for a distraction and hope that current events take the heat off. This, however, will be a miscalculation, because the longer something of this magnitude goes unexplained, the more powerful a weapon it becomes to wield against the administration as a whole.
The distraction is obvious. Obama will come out against Drug Prohibition.
Leave it to the Brits, again, to tell the story. MSM ought to take a good shellacking for this, as well:
“The Fast and Furious scandal is turning into President Obama’s Watergate”
“Obama is repeating many of the mistakes that led to Nixon’s resignation in 1974.”
“Fast and furious hasn’t been discussed a lot in the mainstream media, which is why the facts can seem so preposterous when you read them for the first time. But the story is slowly unraveling and the public is catching up with the madness.”
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timstanley/100166854/the-fast-and-furious-scandal-is-turning-into-president-obamas-watergate/
Law of Unintended Consequences works in strange ways – Krauthammer:
” . . . there’s no way that the mainstream media, which have studiously tried to ignore this, can do that anymore. In fact, as you pointed out, NBC, which has shown exactly ten seconds of coverage of this on its Evening News in the last year-and-a-half, is now going to have to explain the whole thing since the viewership has no idea what it’s about. So, number one, it becomes huge national issue,” Krauthammer said . . .”
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/06/krauthammer-on-holder-contempt-vote-theres-no-way-the-mainstream-media-can-ignore-this-anymore-video/
Keep nailing Zero’s coffin . . . from The Pinocchio Pres: Newest Romney attack ad is totally fraudulent . . .
http://weaselzippers.us/2012/06/21/wapo-fact-checker-gives-obamas-newest-anti-romney-ad-claiming-hes-a-corporate-raider-4-pinocchios/
I appreciate your many links to pertinent information outside the scope of UM’s reports. Good job!
Thank you WHI for your update, and for all the work that you and WSI have done. It is showing more and more every day.
WSI is a gentleman of great character and courage and a true patriot. I and many others are praying every day for his return to good health, and his safety. Both of you have done an incredible job of working to save America. All of us appreciate your dedication and the work that you are doing.
WSI, Please know that our love and prayers go out to you every day. The Almighty is on our side, and I look forward to hearing that you are regaining your health and strength. I wish I could meet you and shake your hand, and thank you for all the efforts that you are making to save our country. Godspeed, get well, and stay safe.
The Gunwalker Scandal: Overview and Timeline
http://rinosandrats.com/2011/09/the-gunwalker-scandal-overview-and-timeline
Here is (much) more on the Gunwalker/F&F story, Holder,Obama,et al.
Yes, do pray that the truth be told- and quickly. But, even with the contempt vote, it will take forever to get through the courts- past election season. So, we’ll still have to vote o out in November. Hope that this added scandal, now finally seeing light of day by msm, will rock o’s boat and capsize it once and for all.