ATF Project Gunrunner

Based on the article I read, in this instance "prepare" means something like "We're getting ready to start getting ready to get ready to start thinking about whether or not we should start thinking about maybe doing something."
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It looks like the first draft of a contempt citation will be making the rounds in the House Oversight Committee today. We should see how well it goes over by tomorrow.

Actual text is here [pdf].

Resolved, That Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General of the United States, shall be found to be in contempt of Congress for failure to comply with a congressional subpoena.

Resolved, That pursuant to 2 U.S.C. §§ 192 and 194, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall certify the report of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, detailing the refusal of Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, to produce documents to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as directed by subpoena, to the United States Attorney for the District of
Columbia, to the end that Mr. Holder be proceeded against in the manner and form provided by law.

Resolved, That the Speaker of the House shall otherwise take all appropriate action to enforce the subpoena.
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It looks like they are gathering the votes and support needed to go ahead with the contempt citation. Considering that DOJ has still not provided ANY documents in 12 out of the 22 categories listed in the memo, I'd be surprised if DOJ starts cooperating now.

It looks to me like they are going to claim they have cooperated enough and decline to turn over any further documents and then claim the whole thing is political.
 
Certainly the DOJ is not superior to the House or the Senate as a institution.. The lack of subordination to the will of the people as expressed in the institution of the House and Senate is a stunning statement of how much power the DOJ feels it has.
 
So who would prosecute/support the contempt citation? I thought it was DOJ that performed this function. Would any of you expect the head of DOJ to enforce a citation against the head of the DOJ?

Where am I going wrong here? :confused:
 
Only problem being that the U.S. Attorneys work for the DOJ and, at the very least, present the appearance of a conflict of interest.
 
Great article.

Historically, the executive branch hasn't won these confrontations straight-out.

IMO, because a man was killed as a result of Fast & Furious, I believe the key witnesses will testify and the unredacted documents will be shown eventually to the subcommittee.
 
Re the possibility olf a contempt citation being brought against AG Holder, this arising out of DOJ stonewalling regarding Operation Fast & Furious, same would be nice to see but realistically I won't hold my breath waiting .to see said citation enacted and papers served on Holder.

I could well be wrong, but I expect that the thing will turn out more or less as follows. All this talk of the AG being cited for contempt, there were a couple of mentions of same heard on newscasts yesterday, I think that the whold miserable business will be swept under the carpet, given that The Congress lacks the guts to address this fiasco, as it should be addressed.

In conclusion, I hope I,m wrong, but we shall have to await such endings as are obtained.
 
^ it bugs me when Calderone calls for stricter gun control. A huge part of the cartels' access to weaponry in Mexico is the State Department's Direct commercial sales program and his own corrupt military. Another huge part of the problem is BATFE running guns to the cartels. Fast & Furious, as bad as it is, is only one operation of many that funneled guns to the Mexican drug cartels.
 
I like Issa's diligence.

I don't like Boehner and Cantor's reticence.

From what I read in that link, Issa had to prepare the document for Boehner and Cantor to even consider pressing forward. The contempt citation is hardly a done deal.
 
I don't like Boehner and Cantor's reticence.
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No, but I can understand it. This whole thing is wrapped up in politics.

Opponents are trying to paint it as political brinksmanship, and to some extent, it is. Tearing down the Attorney General right before a pivotal election would be a win for one side, but if they fail, they could be perceived as bluffing.

For Issa, I've little doubt this is about justice. For Cantor and Boehner, it is as well, but that's not their only concern. If they can get the votes for a subpoena, there's no guarantee Holder will comply. Then what? He gets arrested and dragged before Congress. Do they have the votes to make incarceration stick? Doubtful.

Things get dragged out, and the next thing we know, it's November, and the whole thing is off the radar.

It's disgusting, but that's the way it is.
 
Why would it be off the radar in November, because the biased media won't publish the news concerning the contempt proceedings?

Fox will run stories on it, and probably CNN will occasionally.

I would think it would be potentially a powerfull political weapon during an election.

I don't want this to be politicized, I don't want it to be used to oust an incumbent or elect any particular party or person. I just want the American people to know what really happened and hopefully steps put in place to prevent government agencies from being used against the American people in the future.
 
Its been my experience that usually you dont bring out your opponents dirty laundry when you have plenty of your own dirty laundry in the same machine... Who knows how many programs and policies that were of questionable legality may have been done at the ATF over a number of administrations.....
 
http://dailycaller.com/2012/05/08/d...as-push-to-enforce-fast-and-furious-subpoena/

Interesting.

Indiana Dem Rep Joe Donnelly has taken position to join Issa

If you read the article you will see this has some interesting political implications.

While I think it is good to be informed of the political part(Donnelly will be running against Richard Mourdock for US Senate),I suspect the mods will prefer we not discuss that here.

Mods,if that says too much,feel free to edit my post.
 
Who knows how many programs and policies that were of questionable legality may have been done at the ATF over a number of administrations.....
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Bingo!!!

The BATFE is run by career bureaucrats who give the agency its continuity and direction. Senior bureaucrats in the BATFE devise various and sundry plans, wait until the political climate is right and then sell those plans to their political appointee bosses: Then they strike.

Case in point: Operation Fast and Furious originated with the career bureaucrats in the Phoenix office of the BATFE.
 
Why would it be off the radar in November, because the biased media won't publish the news concerning the contempt proceedings?
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The media might not be inclined to cover it if the administration addressed it in a low-key manner as some sort of arcane legal issue. But the administration has tried to spin the entire F&F investigation as politically motivated; pursuing that stance would require the media to carry that message. A story about the Congress against the administration can be easily portrayed as political; the federal courts against the administration would be harder to sell as political.
 
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