Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Obama dodges Gunwalker Scandal question at presser. Issa rips his silence.

Evan Perez, at the WSJ reports:

President Barack Obama, at his press conference, spoke carefully about an emerging scandal over a federal gun-running probe.

But he said Attorney General Eric Holder “would not have ordered” the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives operation known as Fast and Furious, in which federal agents monitored — but didn’t stop — firearms sales to suspected smugglers in hopes of making a big trafficking case.


Neil Munro, writing at The Daily Caller:

President Barack Obama today dodged questions about the botched “Fast and Furious” gun-smuggling investigation, but put Attorney General Eric Holder on the hot seat.

“As you know, my attorney general has made clear that he certainly would not have ordered gun-running to pass through into Mexico,” Obama said in a careful answer.

But Obama did not deny that neither he nor Holder knew of the investigation, and he did not say that he would aid the congressional inquiry into increasingly controversial project.


At The Hill, Jordy Yager reports: "Issa rips Obama's silence on ATF gun-tracking matter."

“President Obama's remarks today on Operation Fast and Furious were disappointing,” Issa said in a statement.

“There was no sign of urgency to provide answers or explain why no one at the Justice Department has accepted responsibility for authorizing an illegal gunwalking operation six months after Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's murder.

“The American people expect more from the President than unsubstantiated assertions that the Attorney General didn't know about this reckless program and no explanation about who authorized it,” Issa said.

4 comments:

USCitizen said...

We're getting closer to "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

Keep up the good work Mr. Issa.

Mr Jones said...

I don't understand why the press and Congress in general continue to play coy in the face of the ongoing disingenuous bullshit from the administration.
If Obama really wanted to "get to the bottom" of Fast and Furious, and he and Holder truly knew nothing about it nor approved it, then finding the truth should take a couple of days at most. Here's why: If Obama and Holder are in the clear, then it would behove Obama to pull the splinter out ASAP. Obama would simply have to issue a directive to DOJ that those who hatched the plan step forward, resign in disgrace, and face most likely a mild legal penalty - if any. OR - those responsible could continue to obfuscate and in the end be forced to resign in disgrace anyway with more severe legal consequences as icing on top.
If neither Holder or Obama are complicit in F&F, how does it possibly benefit them to stonewall? And if neither Holder or Obama are complicit, then who is naive enough to believe that those at DOJ responsible for a scandal like this wouldn't be removed and crushed without mercy?
The only three possibilities I can reach at this point are these:

1) Obama and Holder knew nothing, but are so unbelieveably incompetent in dealing with it all that by dumb luck it has taken on the appearance of a massive cover-up.

2) They knew about or even approved it and are willing to go all in trying to cover it up. I believe Obama knew about it. Why would Obama risk further damage to his administration if it went no higher than Holder, when he could just fire Holder and separate himself from the whole scandal ASAP?

3) They knew about or even approved it and, for reasons only a shrink could explain, have succumbed to a magical belief that the whole thing will just fade away.

Mickey Collins said...

Mr. Jones, I vote #3.
The difference between Nixon and Obama is that the press wants Obama to succeed at all costs, and that makes Obama think he's invulnerable.

I hope we can prove him wrong, but he very well may be correct.

Anonymous said...

THE PRESIDENT: Antonieta Cádiz? There you are.

Q Thank you very much, Mr. President. First, if you receive a mandatory E-verify bill only without legalization, are you planning to veto that deal?

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Note very carefully what happened here. The president called on a reporter by name, not by sight. This indicates that a list of reporters to be called on was prepared for the president before the presser ever began. Want to place any bets that their questions were screened and pre-approved as well?