Tuesday, July 5, 2011

ABC, which has yet to run Story One on Gunwalker nationally, at least has a genuine reporter in Jake Tapper. "Is this president upset about this?"

LATER: David Codrea corrects my insufficient memory. ABC actually did dip a toe into the Gunwalker swamp once here.

From Jake Tapper's column, Political Punch, "Spending Cuts and Fast & Furious: Today’s Q’s for O’s WH – 7/5/2011."

At today’s White House briefing, ABC’s Jake Tapper pressed White House Spokesman Jay Carney on whether the President is “incensed” over the botched gun walking program “Operation Fast and Furious”.

TAPPER: About the Fast and Furious program, I know that there is this investigation going on internally. Weapons from the Fast and Furious program are now showing up in the United States attached to criminal transactions. The ABC station in Phoenix last week reported on several of these weapons from Fast and Furious turning up in crimes. How come we know so little -- the public knows so little -- about this program? And what is the administration doing to get to the bottom of these weapons, which are now showing up in crimes in the United States?

CARNEY: I think there's an investigation going on precisely to get to the bottom of this. And I can't comment further on it because there is an investigation going on.

TAPPER: Can the acting head of the BATF be permitted to go to Capitol Hill to testify? My understanding is that the -- that he's not been allowed by the administration to go there and explain what's going on.

CARNEY: I'll have to refer you to Justice on that. I'm not -- I don't have any information on that.

TAPPER: It's not something that you guys are worried about and incensed about? This is something that ---

CARNEY: Well, Jake, I think it's being investigated for a reason. And obviously, it's a matter of concern, and that's why there's an investigation. But it would be a mistake for me to comment further on -- or to characterize further what happened or -- you know, how -- to rate our unhappiness about it from here. So I think that I have to refer you to the Justice Department for that.

TAPPER: It -- lastly, I mean, we have heard at times, you know, when the president was upset about something -- "plug the damn hole" is one such anecdote that was shared exclusively with every single person in this room by the White House. Did you -- is this president upset about this? I mean, this is a government operation where now weapons -- I mean, the Mexicans are upset that guns are now turning up --

CARNEY: I think you could assume that the president takes this very seriously.

TAPPER: No one's lost their job.

CARNEY: And we don't -- there's an investigation going on, so to comment on people's jobs and that sort of thing is inappropriate. But the president takes it very seriously. I think he made clear when the -- during the Mexican state visit and the press conference he had then that he found out about this through news reports. And he takes it very seriously.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tap-dancing on a MASSIVE scale.

B Woodman
III-per

Robert Fowler said...

Of course he takes it seriously, He's been caught.

Anonymous said...

Lying bastards, as usual. Seems fishy that after Hillary "I helped ochestrate the Million Mom March from the White House" Clinton announced the current administration support of the U.N. Small Arms "Treaty", which would destroy both the Second Amendment AND U. S. sovreignity, we wind up finding out about a "program" that could very possibly be used to add "official credibilty" to the claims of some that guns originating in the U.S. are being used by the Mexican drug cartels.

Except that full-auto machine guns, hand grenades, and rocket launchers ARE NOT AVAILABLE at U. S. gunshows. WHAT "LOOPHOLE" wasa that again?

TSgt B
USAF Retired
3%r

rexxhead said...

Lying to the press is not a crime.

Dammit.

Anonymous said...

If George W. Bush or Richard M. Nixon had claimed they first heard of a government scandal from news reports they would have been crucified by the press.

And they had the nerve to call Reagan "The Teflon President". Reagan had nothing on this guy!

Anonymous said...

Tapper is wrong, Vince Cefalu lost his job. He lost it for simply trying to hold the government accountable. I believe all BATFE agents and managers should lose their jobs but not for trying to hold the government accountable.

theaton