From Will at The Other News:
At least. In a conference call this morning with Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Darrell Issa, reporters were told the Attorney General in Mexico has confirmed at least 200 murders south of the border happened as a result of Operation Fast and Furious.Read the full story here.
“I would be remiss if I didn’t mention, as the Attorney General in Mexico is so concerned, she’s made the point that at least 200 Mexicans have been killed with these weapons and probably countless more,” Issa said.Eleven crimes in the United States have been linked to Operation Fast and Furious up to this point.
Issa said he expects as the investigation in the operation continues, more crimes connected to Fast and Furious will come to light and be exposed.
This is not surprising, considering out of 2500 weapons the Obama Justice Department allowed to “walk,” and that only 600 have been recovered, the rest are lost until they show up at violent crime scenes. The damage from Operation Fast and Furious has only started to be seen. Remember, the Mexican Government and ATF agents working in Mexico were left completely in the dark about the operation.July 26, 2011.
A new report released by Issa’s office shows ATF agents working in Mexico were left in the dark about the details of Operation Fast and Furious. The report shows that in late 2009, ATF officials in Mexico began to see increasing amounts of guns traced to the Phoenix ATF Field Division office showing up at violent crime scenes.
Former ATF Attaché to Mexico Darren Gil and ATF Acting Attaché to Mexico Carlos Canino expressed their concerns to officials in the Phoenix Field Office and in Washington D.C. but were ignored.
The report shows ATF and DOJ “failed to share crucial details of the of Operation Fast and Furious with either their own employees stationed in Mexico or representatives of the Government of Mexico.” Specifically, personnel in Arizona denied ATF agents working in Mexico information directly related to their jobs and everyday operations.
Issa submitted a request to the White House for information surrounding the operation nearly two weeks ago and that request has not yet been filled.
White House Officials have until the end of this week to submit documents requested before Issa takes the next step.When asked what the consequences would be for DOJ or ATF officials involved in the operation,
Issa said prosecutions may come at the end of this scandal to those who knowingly trafficked weapons across the border and could be held accountable for the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.
“This was dumb, it was useless and it was lethal,” Issa said.
Issa Says He Wants a Special Prosecutor to Probe 'Fast and Furious'
(CNS).Skeptical that Attorney General Eric Holder and other Obama administration officials did not know about the botched gun-walking operation carried out by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives along the Southwest border, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) wants to see a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the matter.Read the full story here.
“We’d like to have a true special prosecutor, particularly when it’s obvious if Eric Holder didn’t know, it’s because he didn’t want to know or because he wasn’t doing his job,” Issa said in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. “That creates a clear pattern of we’d like to know who did know and why they didn’t brief the attorney general.”
During May testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, Holder was asked when he first became aware of Operation Fast and Furious. He responded, “I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.”
“People are picking their words very carefully. Certainly there are FBI individuals that knew what the director did not know,” Issa told CNSNews.com. “Certainly there are Homeland Security briefings in which there should have been more.
“One of the problems was this is what was called an OCDETF operation, which means the FBI was an active part of it. Joint funding was used. So, if one were to say, did DEA know, did the FBI know, the answer is yes. Did the director know? I take him at his word – the answer is no,” Issa added.
Still, Issa told CNSNews.com that the committee might want to ask Napolitano, Holder and others why they were not aware sooner.
“So, one of our questions is, why wouldn’t you have known,” Issa said. “When was it appropriate for you to be briefed on this and who was keeping it from you? And that becomes the next opportunity with Secretary Napolitano or Eric Holder. One of our questions is: Where do you spend your days and why aren’t you briefed on something like this?”
Issa said the Justice Department is unlikely to be aggressive in prosecuting the Justice Department.
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Issa said in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. “That creates a clear pattern of we’d like to know who did know and why they didn’t brief the attorney general.”
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