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CBS News reports Issa has new Fast and Furious wiretap information
Examiner
Anthony Martin, Conservative Examiner
6/5/2012
Excerpt:
"Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News, the only reporter in the mainstream media to consistently present the facts in the Fast and Furious scandal, is reporting today that U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has new wiretap information showing that the highest officials at the Justice Department were fully aware of the "gunwalking" project.
Fast and Furious was an illegal operation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) in which "straw purchasers" were used to buy American firearms and then walk them across the border into Mexico, placing them in the hands of drug cartels.
Attorney General Eric Holder has been under fire from Issa and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for failing to cooperate with the investigation into Fast and Furious. A threat of a contempt of Congress citation hangs over Holder's head due to his refusal to turn over to the Committee key subpoenaed documents.
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The new information today centers around a series of wiretaps approved by the Justice Department that enabled field agents in the Phoenix office of the ATF to listen in on phone calls as part of their investigation.
Issa concluded after reviewing the wiretap applications that the highest officials of the Justice Department knew much more about the gunwalking operation than they ever revealed to Congress.
In her report Attkisson quotes Issa, stating,
The reason that the decision was made not to interdict weapons, according to ATF whistleblowers, was that Fast and Furious was never intended to be a sting operation but a scheme concocted by the highest officials in the Obama Administration to create false gun statistics in Mexico in order to blame Mexican drug cartel violence on "lax gun laws" in the United States.
That information would then be used by the Administration and Democrats in Congress to make a case for stronger gun control laws, which they have proceeded to do.
The wiretap applications have been sealed from public view by a judge, but they have been made available to members of Congress.
Immediately Issa fired off a letter to Holder today, stating, "...we now know that the information coming from the (Justice) Department has been misleading. That must stop."
..........................................
View the complete article at:
http://www.examiner.com/article/cbs-...ap-information
Examiner
Anthony Martin, Conservative Examiner
6/5/2012
Excerpt:
"Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News, the only reporter in the mainstream media to consistently present the facts in the Fast and Furious scandal, is reporting today that U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has new wiretap information showing that the highest officials at the Justice Department were fully aware of the "gunwalking" project.
Fast and Furious was an illegal operation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) in which "straw purchasers" were used to buy American firearms and then walk them across the border into Mexico, placing them in the hands of drug cartels.
Attorney General Eric Holder has been under fire from Issa and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for failing to cooperate with the investigation into Fast and Furious. A threat of a contempt of Congress citation hangs over Holder's head due to his refusal to turn over to the Committee key subpoenaed documents.
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The new information today centers around a series of wiretaps approved by the Justice Department that enabled field agents in the Phoenix office of the ATF to listen in on phone calls as part of their investigation.
Issa concluded after reviewing the wiretap applications that the highest officials of the Justice Department knew much more about the gunwalking operation than they ever revealed to Congress.
In her report Attkisson quotes Issa, stating,
"The wiretap applications obtained by the [House Oversight] Committee show such statements made by senior [Justice] Department officials... to be false and misleading," said Issa's letter. He added the applications "detail specific actions taken by agents in Fast and Furious. This includes conscious decisions not to interdict weapons that agents knew were illegally purchased by smugglers taking weapons to Mexico," also called "gunwalking."
The reason that the decision was made not to interdict weapons, according to ATF whistleblowers, was that Fast and Furious was never intended to be a sting operation but a scheme concocted by the highest officials in the Obama Administration to create false gun statistics in Mexico in order to blame Mexican drug cartel violence on "lax gun laws" in the United States.
That information would then be used by the Administration and Democrats in Congress to make a case for stronger gun control laws, which they have proceeded to do.
The wiretap applications have been sealed from public view by a judge, but they have been made available to members of Congress.
Immediately Issa fired off a letter to Holder today, stating, "...we now know that the information coming from the (Justice) Department has been misleading. That must stop."
..........................................
View the complete article at:
http://www.examiner.com/article/cbs-...ap-information