Grassley Wants DOJ Official To Resign in Fast and Furious Scandal
EmailSenator Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, today demanded the head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division resign over the controversial ATF gun trafficking program known as Fast and Furious.
Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee , said that Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer has provided inaccurate statements and information to Congress on Fast and Furious and a Bush-era gun running case called Wide Receiver where the ATF also let guns walk into Mexico.
Under the botched program hundreds of guns flowed into Mexico. ATF officials say they hoped to track the guns to their ultimate destination, and then make arrests. Instead, many of the guns were used in crimes, including one that was used in the murder of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in December 2010.
In recent months ongoing congressional investigations have focused on what senior Justice Department officials knew about the program. Attorney General Eric Holder is set to appear before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday to testify about the scandal. Last Friday the Justice Department withdrew a February 4, 2011 letter that was sent to Sen. Grassley that asserted that ATF did not let guns walk into Mexico.
Breuer has said that he was not involved in the review or drafting of the letter sent to Grassley’s office despite emails showing that he was aware of the initial inquiry from Sen. Grassley and sending drafts of the letter to his personal non-government email account.
“So imagine my surprise when I discover from documents provided Friday night that that Mr. Breuer was far more informed during the drafting of that letter than he admitted before the Judiciary Committee. In fact, Mr. Breuer got frequent updates on the status of the letter while he was in Mexico.” Grassley said on the senate floor. “If you can’t be straight with Congress, you don’t need to be running the Criminal Division. It’s time to stop spinning and start taking responsibility. I have long said that the highest-ranking official who knew about gunwalking in Operation Fast and Furious needs to be held accountable.”
In November Breuer admitted that he made mistakes after being briefed last year about questionable tactics from Wide Receiver for not raising the issue with senior DOJ leadership as prosecutors moved to indict the case in 2010.
“At the time, I thought that — dealing with the leadership of ATF was sufficient and reasonable.” Breuer told the Senate Judiciary committee last month when he was asked why he did not raise the issue to DOJ leadership “And, frankly, given the amount of work I do at the time, I thought that that was the appropriate way of dealing with it. But I cannot be more clear that knowing now — if I’d known then what I know now, I of course would have told the deputy and the attorney general.”
In a statement Justice Department Director of Public Affairs Tracy Schmaler said, “Assistant Attorney General Breuer has acknowledged his mistake in not making – and therefore not alerting Department leadership to – a connection between the allegations made about Operation Fast and Furious and the unacceptable tactics used years earlier in Operation Wide Receiver. He has acknowledged that mistake to Congress and to the Attorney General, who continues to have confidence in Assistant Attorney General Breuer’s ability to lead the Criminal Division.”
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And just let him walk… I’d rather it be a perp-walk if he is going to leave. Actually Lannie has volunteered to be the fall guy on this so that Holder and oBama don’t get touched by this. They have all deployed the Hillary defense (I don’t know, I don’t recall, I don’t remember, at least 500 times). In this case its the “they didn’t read the memo” defense. Plausible deniability. ABC “News” looks to be cool with it all.
Posted by: Michelle Shu Jas | December 7, 2011, 11:07 pm 11:07 pm
The silence of the left speaks volumes.
Posted by: foggy | December 8, 2011, 12:08 am 12:08 am
Silence of the left?Why do we always have to point at the other side?I as an American would like to see justice done regardless of party.Red or Blue states or this party or that party.That is why were in this mess anyway.Americans for America.
Posted by: Terry | December 8, 2011, 1:36 am 1:36 am
Once again this administration knows nothing about it just like with Solyndra, the small pocks scandals to name a few. Somebody is lying or this administration just runs amok and does what it wants to do or both.Obama and Holder know all about the problem of illegals in Arizona and that was okay to get votes, but know nothing about supplying drug cartels weapons that ended up killing a boarder patrol officer. The family of that person killed should sue the whole administration for negligence.
Posted by: specialty57 | December 8, 2011, 5:18 am 5:18 am
Hey, the NRA has been helping the cartels get guns for decades. Nobody resigned from the NRA. Still, I understand why Republicans want to get out in front of this. If the American public new how many people were killed due to lax gun laws, they would move to restrict sales and gun shows. And that’s the bottom line.
Grassley just wants to nip this in the bud before the obvious conclusion is reached: Our gun laws allow guns to flow to the cartels.
Posted by: blip | December 8, 2011, 8:31 am 8:31 am
“Silence on the left” for what? A bipartisan effort to track gun sales in Mexico? Bush did it. Obama did it. Republicans only oppose this because they want to say it is Obama’s fault. Just like they blame Obama for TARP, Iraq, and the Common Cold.
Posted by: Blip | December 8, 2011, 8:36 am 8:36 am
Someone at the DOJ dropped the ball on how this program was handled. Whoever it was SHOULD be fired.
Posted by: Searambler | December 8, 2011, 9:15 am 9:15 am
@Blip: You need to do a fact check RE: your 8:31 AM post: “Hey, the NRA has been helping the cartels get guns for decades.”
Selling firearms to foreign entities – especially known traffickers, is a federal crime and has been “…for decades….”
Truly amazing at the lengths some would with “smoke and mirrors” and/or distractions away from the real problem. Get a grip, Blip ;-)
Posted by: Lee | December 8, 2011, 9:36 am 9:36 am
@Terry
Silence is consent and I notice you were silent.
“Bush did it. Obama did it.”
That’s a lie for the consumption of the base. Looks like it is still working.
Posted by: foggy | December 8, 2011, 9:49 am 9:49 am
And when 2 representatives in Washington fron NY were ask about fast and furious, they knew nothing about it, never heard of it, maybe they need to read a newspaper or watch different programs not just the main stream media.
Posted by: Lizziw | December 8, 2011, 11:25 am 11:25 am
“Lax Gun Laws” Sorry, first I have to get A FOID card that state police do a background
check on me before receiving the card, usually takes six weeks. Second a 24 hour waiting period to purchase a gun from a dealer for he can check your FOID card.
Cannot buy ammunition without a FOID card this is Illinois State law. Legal process
slows everything down to do back ground check. This is my State law. I am sure it changes state to state. Does it work you decide here in Chicago,Wednesday Chicago Sun-Times story two hooded men break in to church rectory in middle of
night, beat 80 year old priest senseless for $500 that was going to feed the poor,
if you had a gun, there would be two less thugs out their feasting on the helpless,
as a hunter I would not have blinked. Even if they are caught they still eat on the
taxpayer dime. You can go ahead and make all the laws you want the guns are out
their and will never be turned in. Because the bad guys are not that stupid!
$500 dollars
Posted by: deadwrestler | December 8, 2011, 11:46 am 11:46 am
Who is running this country, no one knows anything about anything? What do they do all day?
Posted by: Freedom | December 8, 2011, 11:56 am 11:56 am
As likely as Corzine being held accountable…
Posted by: MF | December 8, 2011, 12:09 pm 12:09 pm
Surely we can do better than what we have for an attorney general .
Posted by: Jeff | December 8, 2011, 10:23 pm 10:23 pm
Americans want this do nothing Congress to resign!!!
Posted by: focusonjobs1 | December 13, 2011, 11:38 pm 11:38 pm
Another attempt to stop something they oppose and blame it on Obama. The Republican party better enjoy all the poor bashing headlines because even their own supporters don’t agree with their approach to handling the nations finances. The overwhelming majority believes the wealthy need to pay more and they have stopped every attempt to make that happen. There will be a huge turnover in 2012 and their stiff opposition to the rich paying more will be an albatross around their necks.
Posted by: focusonjobs1 | December 14, 2011, 12:10 am 12:10 am
As a Democrat I suspect that what went on was because of the NRA, Arizona and republicans who are big supporters of the NRA and their agenda to sell guns to everyone who will buy a gun, including criminals of all kinds who have the money and want one.
Posted by: Vickifri | December 14, 2011, 1:53 am 1:53 am
I am tired of getting the I am commenting too much. I had no idea you had to never comment more than one time on any ABC story. Are you just censoring comments that say republicans and the NRA love selling guns to anyone and everyone and would not agree to the assault rifle ban when President Obama brought it up. This country needs more truth against the NRA and their power in our government and in the republican party.
Posted by: Vickifri | December 14, 2011, 2:17 am 2:17 am
Agent Brian Terry family suing Holder and the Justice Department is a terrific idea …. Holder has been withholding information on who / what / when knew about and had responsibility (these are different things but both important). If the knowledge stops with Holder we should know about it (and he should go). If it went above his head we should also know that, it tell something about what is going on in the Administration. His family would have legal standing to sue since they are the ones experiencing the loss… and as the party with standing this would open the door to full disclosure investigation including releasing any and all emails, phone records and documents.
Posted by: Danley Wolfe | December 14, 2011, 1:40 pm 1:40 pm
Michelle,
Maybe you remember the Iran contra affair. This is where that defense came about, not from Hillary. It has been the defense of all government officials for most of our history. No one wants the blame when they are caught doing something stupid.
Posted by: Del | December 22, 2011, 3:19 pm 3:19 pm
Black supremecist AG Eric Holder must be held responsible for this instead of sacrificial lamb Breuer. Holder previously lied to Congress about his knowlege of the case. Compared to Fast and Furious, Watergate was a grade school prank that the media built into Nixon’s resignation. To the liberal, the life of ATF agent Brian Terry (or US troops) is expendable, but a confused queer junping off a bridge is unacceptable and all of society must pay. Go figure….
Posted by: ShovelreadyRandy | January 8, 2012, 10:09 am 10:09 am
Holder is not so clean in this either. That’s another one whose feet need to be held to the fire. So we shall see on Thursday.
Posted by: MTM | January 13, 2012, 4:27 pm 4:27 pm