Saturday, June 23, 2012

Cries of Cover-Up in Possible Vote on Attorney General (Reuters primer on Fast and Furious)


Reuters via The Chicago Tribune ^ | Saturday, June 23, 2012 | Donna Smith and Richard Cowan



In the classic Washington investigation at the highest levels of power, it is never the original offense that leads to trouble. It is who knew what and who said what that powers the probe and brings forth the cry of cover-up.
That script is being followed almost to the letter in the drama that continues this week as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives prepares for a possible vote on contempt of Congress charges against the highest law enforcement official in the country, Attorney General Eric Holder.
It began as a congressional probe of Operation "Fast and Furious," a botched effort by the Justice Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to trace illegal gun trafficking to Mexican drug cartels.
But now it is about a letter from the Justice Department to members of Congress dated February 4, 2011 denying the operation's existence.
The denial was vehement but, it turned out, inaccurate, as the department conceded when it formally withdrew the letter on December 11, 2011.
The Justice Department "obstructed the investigation" for nearly a year, said Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. What the committee now wants to know is how and when officials knew the February 4 letter was wrong and why it took so long for them to retract it.
The subpoena the committee issued last week was largely for post-February 4 documents that might shed light on those questions. The claim of executive privilege invoked by President Barack Obama at the request of his attorney general covers those very same papers.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...

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