David Codrea: "How much evidence of Mexican involvement in ‘Wide Receiver’ is needed?"

Cover-up deflection at Arizona Daily Star & TPM Muckraker.

Bob Owens: Smoking Gun? Most Gunwalker Guns Targets of Ban Efforts, but Not Wanted by Cartels.

"Why would the White House, Senate-confirmed cabinet-level appointees, and other administration appointees conduct such a high-risk operation?"

David Codrea: Mayor ends ‘Occupy Atlanta’ when Second Amendment exercised with First. Hoplophobia bites hoplophobes on their hoplophobic butts.

Now THIS is funny.

Hey GOP! Here's another selfish reason to go after the State Department nexus to the Gunwalker Scandal.

GOP Leadership Training Academy.

Poll: Clinton favored over 2012 GOP candidates.

There is a theory out there, floating about as whispers, that if the Gunwalker Scandal is finally perceived as too deadly to the political fortunes of the Democrat Party, that the Donkeys will dump Obama in time for the primaries and turn to Hillary. I was talking to a friend the other day who insisted that Obama would be impeached by late spring. I protested that the GOP leadership from the Boneless Chicken Ranch didn't have the spine for that.

He said, "No. No. You don't understand. He'll be impeached at the Democrats' insistence. . . They'll try to maneuver the GOP into doing it, but they'll make sure that there are enough votes to make it happen."

And who would be the candidate if not Obama? I asked, knowing what he would say.

"Hillary, of course."

Well, you hear a lot of wild speculation behind the scenes of a big scandal. But, hey, who knows?

I guess it all depends upon whether or not Hillary got herself enmeshed in the Gunwalker swamp.

Want to find out now, GOP, before it is too late?

Holder's Right to Lie.

"This rule is more effective than any number of shredders could be."

Hillary questioned on Fast and Furious.

"I did not have bureaucratic relations with that Attorney General. Eric Holder."

She heard it through the grapevine.

JPFO tells NJDC to "Lig in drerd!" (Get lost, or words to that effect.)

JPFO responds to Jewish Democrat group’s twisted accusation. by Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.

Gowdy & Issa on Lou Dobbs.

Link.

Gunwalker Witness Shell Game: Pajamas Media finds O'Reilly.

BREAKING: PJ Media Finds Gunwalker’s ‘Unreachable’ Man in the White House.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform led by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is investigating to what extent the White House was aware of — or involved in — the “Fast and Furious” gunwalking scandal.

The committee recently requested to speak with former White House National Security Staffer Kevin O’Reilly. According to CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson, the Obama administration answered:

O’Reilly is on assignment for the State Department in Iraq and unavailable.

Through a tip, PJ Media learned that Kevin O’Reilly was unexpectedly named director of the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau for Iraq (INL-Iraq). Long-time INL-Iraq employee Virginia Ramadan had been expected to get the position — many were quite surprised when she did not.

The previous occupants of the Director, INL-Iraq position — Joe Manso and Francisco Palmieri — were not considered “unreachable” to press or government access. A quick internet search reveals Palmieri, while director, attended a media event on August 23, 2010.

On October 21, PJ Media reporter Patrick Richardson called the number for Office of the Director, INL-Iraq:

1-240-553-0581, ext. 3275

Richardson reached a voicemail message confirming that it was indeed the correct number. He left a message that was not returned.

On Monday Richardson called again, and an assistant answered. Richardson asked to speak with Kevin O’Reilly, and the assistant asked who was calling. Richardson gave his name and stated he was with PJ Media.

The assistant said O’Reilly was currently on a conference call, and asked if Richardson wanted to leave a message. Richardson gave his phone number. His call was not returned.

This morning, Richardson called again. He received a prerecorded message saying “this number is not in service.”

PJ Media is aware that the number was in service as the line to the director’s office for several years prior to Richardson’s calls.

Today, PJ Media is forwarding this information over to Darrell Issa, along with some suggested questions to ask of the Obama administration:

– Why were we told Kevin O’Reilly was “unavailable” if he was employed in a position that has always been open to media, and indeed was easily reached by PJ Media?

– Why did Kevin O’Reilly suddenly get sent to Iraq for the Director, INL-Iraq position when another employee was widely considered the most-qualified person for the job?

– Now that we know he is in the Director, INL-Iraq position and not in a position ever considered “unreachable,” when will you be sending him to Washington to testify?

The committee’s interest in Kevin O’Reilly stems from documents the White House released last month on September 30 – a late afternoon “Friday document dump.” From Sharyl Attkisson’s reporting on the documents:

The documents show extensive communications between then-ATF Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix office Bill Newell — who led Fast and Furious — and then-White House National Security Staffer Kevin O’Reilly. Emails indicate the two also spoke on the phone. Such detailed, direct communications between a local ATF manager in Phoenix and a White House national security staffer has raised interest among Congressional investigators looking into Fast and Furious. Newell has said he and O’Reilly are long time friends.

The email exchanges span a little over a month last summer. They discuss ATF’s gun trafficking efforts along the border including the controversial Fast and Furious case, though not by name. The emails to and from O’Reilly indicate more than just a passing interest in the Phoenix office’s gun trafficking cases. They do not mention specific tactics such as “letting guns walk.”

A lawyer for the White House wrote Congressional investigators: “none of the communications between ATF and the White House revealed the investigative law enforcement tactics at issue in your inquiry, let alone any decision to allow guns to ‘walk.’”

Among the documents produced: an email in which ATF’s Newell sent the White House’s O’Reilly an “arrow chart reflecting the ultimate destination of firearms we intercepted and/or where the guns ended up.” The chart shows arrows leading from Arizona to destinations all over Mexico.

In response, O’Reilly wrote on Sept. 3, 2010 “The arrow chart is really interesting — and — no surprise — implies at least that different (Drug Trafficking Organizations) in Mexico have very different and geographically distinct networks in the US for acquiring guns. Did last year’s TX effort develop a similar graphic?”

The White House counsel who produced the documents stated that some records were not included because of “significant confidentiality interests.”

Also included are email photographs including images of a .50 caliber rifle (left) that Newell tells O’Reilly “was purchased in Tucson, Arizona (part of another OCDTF case).” OCDTF is a joint task force that operates under the Department of Justice and includes the US Attorneys, ATF, DEA, FBI, ICE and IRS. Fast and Furious was an OCDTF case.

An administration source would not describe the Tucson OCDTF case. However, CBS News has learned that ATF’s Phoenix office led an operation out of Tucson called “Wide Receiver.” Sources claim ATF allowed guns to “walk” in that operation, much like Fast and Furious.

Congressional investigators for Republicans Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) have asked to interview O’Reilly by September 30. But the Administration informed them that O’Reilly is on assignment for the State Department in Iraq and unavailable.

CBS: Gun buyer linked to "Fast and Furious" murder pleads guilty.

All you have to do is ask some questions about an outstanding case and the DOJ obligingly wraps it up for you. No cause and effect here, I'm sure.

A Dallas County man linked to the murder of ICE Agent Jaime Zapata has pleaded guilty to weapons violations.

Otilio Osorio, 22, of Lancaster, Texas, only pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to three counts of a 21-count indictment against him.

Prosecutors say one of three guns found at the scene in Mexico where Agent Zapata was shot to death on February 15 was traced back to Osorio. Investigators believe he was the straw purchaser of the weapon, bought in Texas four months before the murder. As part of an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Osorio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make a false statement in firearms records and possessing a weapons with a removed serial number.

Seven other defendants in the case have also entered guilty pleas. The maximum penalty for each count is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing dates have not yet been scheduled.

As reported by CBS News, Congressional Republicans investigating allegations that the Obama administration allowed thousands of weapons to be trafficked into Mexico have asked for more information about the circumstances surrounding Agent Zapata's death.

A Celebration of Historic Dutch Militia: Rembrandt's Night Watch.

"The Arquebusier Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch," 1642.

Rembrandt's famous Night Watch sees the light of day after multi-million museum revamp.

I've always wanted to see this painting up close, but I doubt at this point in my life that I will. Glad to see it is getting better lighting.


Dutch militia arquebusier.

For ATF, the policy is: Punish the truth tellers & reward the guilty liars. "In actuality it's the department of anything but justice."

A couple of days ago, I received this from one of the folks close to the whistleblowers, reacting to my story: "If they can't kill you. . . they'll make you crazy."

Good story Mike.

Many people have no idea about the isolation that occurs after you report misconduct committed by people in high places.

John Dodson was singled out by George Gillett for discipline, and blackballed to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Larry Alt was transferred, and then an Internal Affairs complaint initiated against him, charging him with downloading an application to his government cell phone. An application that according to the cellular service carrier is not compatible with his cell phone.

Jay Dobbins had his house burned down with his family in it, and not only wasn't it investigated by ATF, but he was named as a suspect even though he was out of town.

(REDACTED) was subjected to false accusations made by the U.S. Attorney's Office that could have gotten (REDACTED) fired, had they not been so poorly fabricated, and clumsily executed. (REDACTED) now no longer supervises agents, and has been re-assigned to a headquarters administrative position.

Meanwhile, Bill Newell is still a member of the government's Senior Executive Service. David Voth is now a Branch Chief, with nationwide responsibilities, Hope MacAllister and her partner are still conducting investigations in Phoenix, and George Gillett, the slimiest of the bunch is making GS-15 pay, to perform a job traditionally done by a GS-14. Then consider the U.S. Attorney's Office. Dennis Burke, who was an absentee landlord, fled like a coward to avoid further scrutiny, and Emory Hurley, Michael Morrissey and Patrick Cunningham are still sitting in their desks at the U.S. Attorney's Office collecting their bi-weekly pay checks. They never missed a beat.

They call it the United States Department of Justice. In actuality it's the department of anything but justice.

I'll have more on this subject later.

We now return to our regularly scheduled program . . .

Sorry, people shouldn't send me strange videos when I'm ragged out.

Whatever else is wrong with this guy, he obviously doesn't suffer from Ophidiophobia.

Link.

Praxis: Russian Military Short Training Film on Tactical Patience.

Link.

Tell me you haven't always wanted to do this. (Somehow, though, I don't think the meter maid just went away.)

Big Sis on the grill. OCDETF? What's OCDETF? I know noth-ink.

The Washington Times: Napolitano queried on lack of Fast and Furious probe.

Tickle the Wire: Rep. Issa Suggests Homeland Chief Napolitano Moved Too Slow in Probe of Dead Border Agent Brian Terry.

As I wrote below, the conclusion of the well-informed is that Nappy should have plead the Fifth rather than commit perjury. Her denial of knowledge of what an OCDETF investigation was to Rep. Gowdy, in light of her experience as a former federal prosecutor, was laughable.

Grassley-Issa letter to Holder Demands Answers on the Texas source of the Jaime Zapata murder weapon.

As reported by Dave Workman and Michelle Malkin yesterday, Congressman Issa and Senator Grassley are demanding answers on the death of ICE agent Zapata, and by extension, Texas gunwalking. As Michelle writes:

Nope, you are not off the hook, AG Eric Holder. Not by a long shot. No way in hell.

GOP Rep. Darrell Issa and Sen. Charles Grassley are back with a new letter demanding more information about the murder of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata and the tactics used while conducting surveillance on known straw purchasers, a la Operation Fast and Furious.

Here is the pdf of the letter.

From the press release:

Congressman Darrell Issa and Senator Chuck Grassley are pressing for additional information into the murder of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata and the tactics used while conducting surveillance on known straw purchasers, raising concerns similar to policies of Operation Fast and Furious out of the Phoenix office.

The letter explains the inconsistent statements by the Justice Department regarding Otilio Osorio, his brother Ranferi Osorio, and Kelvin Morrison. The three straw purchasers were known to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, long before one of the guns purchased by the brothers was linked to the murder of Agent Zapata.

To make matters worse, Grassley and Issa wrote in their letter that documents indicate the ATF failed for more than three months to create a Report of Investigation on the November 9 transfer of firearms between the brothers and Morrison and a confidential informant, witnessed by ATF agents. The report was finally written on February 25, 2011—the same day the ATF received the report tracing the Zapata murder weapon back to the purchase by Otilio Osorio.

Grassley and Issa said that documenting investigative steps three months after the fact and only after a trace returned to the murder of a federal agent raises red flags about the nature of ATF’s investigation.

Rep. Joe Walsh slams Holder

Rep. Joe Walsh to Eric Holder: You better resign immediately, buddy

Your Department has made an enormous error in judgment. It instructed federally-licensed firearms dealers to illegally sell at least 2,000 guns that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) intended to be trafficked to drug cartels in Mexico. The results of this error in judgment have implicated the United States in well over one hundred deadly crimes and the deaths of two federal agents.

This not only raises serious questions about your ability to serve as the head of the Justice Department, but also begs the question of why an anti-gun Administration would knowingly force licensed firearms dealers to sell guns to violent criminals. I raise this because Operation Fast and Furious — if the facts of this case had not come to light — would have been used by this Administration as another false argument to attack law-abiding American gun owners.

The American people deserve to know if your Department had any intent to link the legal purchase of firearms here in the U.S. to crimes committed near our southern border. Operation Fast and Furious funneled firearms legally purchased at gun shops in the U.S. to known criminal syndicates to prove these syndicates have access to legal purchased weapons. This is a deliberate attempt to vilify and attack the millions of gun owners in America who value our Second Amendment and have never broken the law.

Battle behind the scenes goes on. Has Ogden rolled? "Boehner is a pussy." Big Sis "should have taken the 5th." "These boys ain't afraid of letters."

Former Deputy Attorney General David Ogden. Has he rolled on the Gunwalker conspirators? Only he and the Issa Committee know for sure and they're not telling.

Rough day yesterday. I hit the bed at 8 o'clock because I was slap exhausted. Some of the reasons why are reflected in the posts for today.

The administration is continuing to hammer the whistleblowers without much help from the Issa and Grassley folks. The only real solution for them is for Issa and Grassley to battle forward to a conclusion that reveals the truth. As long as agenda hacks continue to control the agencies, the cover-up and retaliation will go forward because they perceive no immediate threat to their careers. But the fact is that more publicity to their plight by the Senator and the Congressman would go a long way to threatening these bureaucratic cockroaches with the antiseptic quality of sunlight, something that might restrain the smarter among them. It is worth a try, anyway. Meanwhile, they suffer in silence.

Discrediting disinformation continues to be floated and the administration continues to pressure the "mainstream media" at the highest levels into non-coverage. This was the cause of much of my own personal distress yesterday. Sorting gems of truth out of a running sewer of disinformation is difficult.

Example: There is a rumor out there that former Deputy Attorney General David Ogden has rolled and provided the Issa Committee with documents. Long-time readers will recall that I first drew attention to Ogden back in April He also figured prominently in my "Meetings" series (Part One; Part Two; Part Three; Part Four; Part Five and Part Six.)

In Meetings we learned that Ogden was a key figure in the policy shaping of what would become the Gunwalking Scandal. He was, to use the phrase that I use to describe Hillary Clinton's State Department, "In at the beginning." Yet, within a few months of the kick-off of Fast and Furious, Ogden was out, resigned at his own volition.

From my April piece:

On December 3, 2009 it was announced that he would be resigning his post and returning to private practice in February 2010. According to news accounts, Ogden stepped down in part because of disagreements with Attorney General Eric Holder over management issues. The first speech he gave after his resignation was on the subject of "Restoring the Department of Justice."

So, Ogden's an early major player in what would become the Gunwalker Scandal, yet the first to opt out "because of disagreements with Attorney General Eric Holder over management issues."



Arte Johnson was right. Very interesting. Yet I cannot confirm this rumor. The committee staff members, and the sources around them, are being extremely tight lipped about this allegation, neither confirming nor denying. Perhaps someone with more resources or better sources (and a better reputation) than me can get in touch with Ogden himself, or, more likely, his attorney. Until then, it remains a tantalizing rumor. For if Ogden has rolled, the entire cover-up has just gone belly-up, and it is all over but the perjury indictments and the headlines. Speaking of which . . .

Sources say that the Oversight Committee has more than enough evidence to charge "Gunwalker Bill" Newell (and others) with more than one count of perjury. The Republican leadership, specifically John Boehner, is reported to oppose that because "he doesn't want to get ahead of the facts," according to one source. The same source, who works for the federal government, added in disgust, "The real reason is that Boehner is a pussy."

The source believes that were Newell to be charged, demonstrating the seriousness of the Committee's intent, that "there would be an instant change in the attitude of the rest of the guilty" and that "the cover-up would collapse overnight." The cover-up "COULD be collapsed overnight," said the source, "if the Republican leadership had the balls to do it. But they don't."

Another source says that "Grassley is all for going after (NSC staffer and Newell friend Kevin) O'Reilly in Iraq" and "investigators could fly to the Sandbox or he could be summoned back here." So far, for reasons unknown, says the source, that has not happened.

Yet, the fight goes on.

Yesterday's performance by Napolitano was "unbelievable" according to one of my sources with inside knowledge of the investigation, adding, "She should have taken the Fifth rather than commit perjury."

The Grassley-Issa letter of 25 October (links posted later today) going after information on the Texas gunwalking that led to the deaths of ICE agent Jaime Zapata is seen as an important step by sources behind the scenes.

Said one source, "The letters are making the case -- as they always have -- in advance of hearings and they are very useful in advancing the story," but "the fact that (Assistant Attorney General Ronald) Weich didn't answer Grassley's March letters until October 11th tells you something." Observing that the response was also really non-responsive, he concluded, "These boys ain't afraid of letters."