Associated Press
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Attorney General Eric Holder
Given the attention focused on the presidential race, it was easy to miss the report from the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General on the "Fast and Furious" controversy. The 471-page document, based on 100,000 documents and more than 130 interviews, is the definitive take on what transpired.
And what did the IG find? That the operation was "seriously flawed and supervised irresponsibly" by federal officials in Arizona, but also that Attorney General Eric Holder knew nothing of the botched effort, and there was no White House involvement.
And while that's important, Kevin Drum raises an important point about the bigger picture.
For over a year, it's been an article of faith on the right that Fast & Furious was a carefully constructed scheme directed by the White House to trash the Second Amendment and build support for more gun control laws. It wasn't. Neither the White House nor Eric Holder had any idea what was going on. It was just a local operation that was badly botched. This makes Fast & Furious officially yet another lunatic conservative conspiracy theory that has bitten the dust in the cold light of reality.
Those who don't keep a close eye on Republican rhetoric and/or Fox News broadcasts may not realize how deeply invested the right has been in this conspiracy theory. Conservatives have been convinced that this would be a sweeping scandal that could destroy the administration and bring down Holder, if not the president. The Weekly Standard suggested the issue could be "Obama's Watergate." Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) argued that Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) had secret documents that proved the White House was directly involved in the F&F operation.
The whole thing just made sense to them -- the Bush and Obama administrations deliberately attempted misguided sting operations so there would be deadly gun violence along the U.S.-Mexican border, which in turn would repulse the American mainstream, which in turn would create a demand for gun-control legislation, which in turn would cause Congress to pass gun-control laws, which in turn would cause a breakdown of Second Amendment rights.
In June, Bob Herbert told Rachel the argument was "madness of the highest order," and he was right. But that doesn't mean this madness was limited to the fringe; this nonsense was actually a mainstream GOP idea.
And in some ways, it still is -- Issa, in his capacity as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, vowed this week to keep digging, looking for more evidence of administration wrongdoing.
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The REAL irony here is that if the DoJ HADN'T of been so concerned with PROTECTING the Second Amendment, they could have arrested the suspected proxy-buyers the moment they walked out of the gun-store and held them for questioning.
Not to worry, though - Issa's going to "keep digging". He's sure there has to be a "pony" in there somewhere!
Get Enraged and Engaged:
Mooch the Vote 2012!
;-)
Does anybody perhaps remember the Keystone Kops?
Fast and Furious was a Bush project, not Obamas. I wonder about the role of the NRA in all of this. Wayne LaPierre has been quiet for awhile. Maybe the NRA provided cover for the gun running. The Inspector General's report focused on the missteps of the prosecutors and law enforcement in Arizona. Could the gun manufacturers have played a role? Could the focus on illegal immigration have been a smoke screen for the gun running? Attorney General Holder may have been getting too close to the truth, hence the need to declare him in contempt of Congress. What do you say now, Issa?
Well, now that the facts are out, I'm confident that the sensible, reasonable, factually oriented folks on the right will admit they were wrong and move on.
Also, I'm absolutely certain that I'm going to win the Powerball jackpot this weekend without even having to buy a ticket.
The best thing about being right-wing is that absolutely nothing you believe is falsifiable.
Indeed, being right wing means you view the entire concept of falsifiability as a big liberal academic elite conspiracy to corrupt the minds of our youth and turn them away from God and capitalism.
But that doesn't mean this madness was limited to the fringe; this nonsense was actually a mainstream GOP idea.
The fringe is the mainstream of the GOP now. They have become a far-right revolutionary organization. There's a one-word synonym for those four words
I have it from an unimpeachable (sorry!) inside source, close to the Real People (aka Illuminati) that run the government, that the October Surprise will involve Black Helicopters, the UN, chemtrails, and FEMA camps.
It won't feel right without a risqué silhouetted Arkansas drug lord and lady masking their blood thirsty passions with the old avuncular story telling camp fire counselor ploy .
Mean while back at the ranch ...
Oh would that that were true. We could be rid of them permanently.
Oh please, have we heard from Holder's original IG (a close personal friend) or the ATF White House liaison that was sent to Iraq to avoid questioning? Why was an Obama fundraiser and gun control advocate made Arizona AG, and why did he cease control of guns going to Mexico?
Everything I need to know about the White House and Holder is summarized in the continual lying about events in Libya, co-ordination with Media Matters, and Susan Rice bravely peddling falsehoods for the press. It's a disgrace, but typical. If this were Bush, howls, screams, gnashing of teeth and rending of garments would continue unabated forevermore.
The hypocrisy here is unappreciated.
Your tears are appreciated, however.
LOL yes at you.
"The 471-page document, based on 100,000 documents and more than 130 interviews, is the definitive take on what transpired.
And what did the IG find? That the operation was "seriously flawed and supervised irresponsibly" by federal officials in Arizona, but also that Attorney General Eric Holder knew nothing of the botched effort, and there was no White House involvement."
why dont you go fine your answer there.
Actually, while many of us suspected a terrorist hit at the consulate, some of us appreciate that the government waited for facts upon which to base a determination. That is called governance, the way it's supposed to be.
Pilotshark the actual IG says otherwise. NBC is the Obama media arm.
Robert, they didn't wait for facts, they actively lied.
I shouldn't honor Airball with a reply, but:
Tom Horne, the Arizona AG*, is a Republican and he was elected by the people of Arizona in 2010.
For most of the operation he was Superintendent of Public Instruction in Arizona, I don't think he ever had any control.
Umm. Yeah.
You seem to be covering that pretty well on your own.
*Don't tell me this is a typo. They're on completely different sides of the keyboard.
LOL thanks for the laugh
guess you saying the IG works for NBC?
if the IG releases a report isnt it a IG report?
IG Inspector General
Those on the right love to lie and The Blank is particularly aggressive in this regard.
Worry not Shooter. I just called NASA, and the Space Shuttle is going to do a special flyover of your underground bunker this moring. They said Arkansas is on the way...
Sorry Miracle that was supposed to be US atty Dennis Burke. But I'm guessing you already knew that.
Hooter (because you're only one boob)
Then why did you ask about the Arizona AG (Attorney General)? That's an elected position as oppose to a federal prosecutor which is an appointed position with the Justice Department. Really Hooter you need to use the right term for the right position for clarity's sake.
What I don't get is why this specific chain of events would supposedly be the straw that broke the camel's back with regard to needing stricter gun control laws. If that were even a remote possibility, I can think of about a dozen other incidents that would have triggered (no pun intended) such a change, including Columbine, the movie theater massacre, the Amish schoolhouse massacre here in PA, the VA Tech shootings, the DC snipers, etc.
What a waste of time and money. Ugh.
What the post didn't mention was the IG also said the knowledge did reach a level in Wash and recommended disciplinary actions against over a dozen people
How do you know this? Can you share the link/s? Thanks.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/fast-and-furious-hearing_n_1899617.html
some how i do not see this going away any time soon, the teapublicans have invested to much time and our tax dollars into this.
LOL Opps just a few minutes off.
I would like to know from Issa how much continuing to "dig" will cost the taxpayers, and how much it cost the taxpayers to Vote to Repeal Affordable Care Act 33 times. Why aren't Ryan and his fiscally conservative cohorts stopping this government waste?
Kenneth Starr's investigations into Clinton lasted almost 6 years, and cost taxpayers 52 million dollars. When all was said and done he was impeached over lying about oral sex.
When it comes to attacking Democrats, Republicans take what they can get, despite trying to get everything. After all, it's not like they're doing it with their own money. No, they only refuse to settle when it comes to actual legislation. Indictments on Democrats? Any port in a storm...
Brushing off the dirt of this election process I would like to stray off into la la land by stating that-"I truly feel sorry for those who can not get beyond their fear and prejudice long enough to see the real Obama and family. What a crying shame to be so wrapped up in phony issues that you can not be impressed by the man and his sincerity. It bugs me the way some people are oblivious to how their own prejudice limits their growth and constricts their circle of "friends"..
On another silly diversion--I am going to tell the doctor that from now on when they bust up kidney stones they should put the victim in a Lamaze class!!
Darn it Michelle, Quit posting insane comments.
If only I had her wisdom and uh-tact, for lack of a better word.
In an alternate universe, if Al Gore would of won, he would have stopped the terrorists from crashing planes into buildings and we would have been on our way to a better world. But in this universe we are in, the Republicans, extremists of hatred, and extreme wealthy chosen a path of power craving, arrogance, greed, corruption, hypocrisy, and deceiving that stole the election for their dark agenda. This is still one of the unfortunate lessons we have not learned here yet. When people do not think of the consequences of their actions and use the worse values of our human nature than you get what has just happened. Jesus warned us a long time ago as he looked to lay that groundwork as our knowledge increased. All people in this world are God’s children, not just America and people are no different anywhere that are subject to our human nature. If this world gets destroyed, it will be by us.
Lets hope that at the worst a few nasty ad libbers on right are reassigned to lobbiests in Dec.
My assumption is that they would make sure that the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General would know about these documents.
So ...... Did they do that? If so, what did the IG do about them? If not, why not? Do these documents really exist?
Remember that Saxby Chambliss is there for having "proven" to his fellow "Jawgins" that Max Cleland was a supporter of terrorists.
thats right Cleland support them by given them 2 legs and a arm,, dam him!/s
"...Issa, in his capacity as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, vowed this week to keep digging,..."
Hey Darrel, where are those "documents" that you were supposed to have had? Typical GOTP make stuff up, blather on endlessly, waste taxpayer money on a witch-hunt, then whine about how it's all been "librul conspiracy" when the truth comes out!
GOP so not ready to lead this nation - send them home in November it's not as though they're actually working for US!
smiling he`s got them,,,but they only have teapublican finger prints on them.
in others words he was bluffing,,,and lost
We really must repair the infrastructure, more & more bridges are falling and forcing the trolls out into daylight. Please do not feed them.
It could be falling bridges, or the shutting down of the commenting option at Fox...
:D
Trolling is getting to be exhausting work, repeating the same tired excuses on so many fronts, like hamsters running endlessly on the GOP wheel...
Either tell the Republican propaganda mill to provide you fresh new excuses or use a little self-honesty and get off the treadmill, my friends.
It may be the only form of exercise some of them ever get...
:D