You know things aren’t going well when Drudge features a picture of Richard Nixon with President Obama’s eyes photoshopped in. No one wants to be compared to Tricky Dick, ever.
Today, Obama claimed executive privilege for the first time in his presidency over documents Congress has subpoenaed in the “Fast and Furious” gun running operation. Bush 43 claimed the privilege six times, and Clinton 14 times, so this day was inevitable. At some point, presidents and Congress clash.
This is no longer about Fast and Furious itself. We know what happened. In a sting operation to sell guns to Mexican drug cartels, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives didn’t make arrests as quickly as it could because it sought to build a bigger case. This is known as “gun walking,” and it led to the Bureau’s losing track of about 2,000 guns, two of which were found when a Border Patrol agent was shot in December of 2010.
The Justice Department has already given Congress almost 8,000 documents related to the operation. What’s in dispute are internal emails after February 4, 2011, about Congress’ investigation into the bungled operation.
Justice officials in D. C. gave Congress incorrect information based on false assurances they received from Arizona-based officials that gun walking had not occurred. They may have been a little too quick and willing to accept those assurances and pass them along to Congress.
Congress is now looking to embarrass the Justice Department (and President Obama) as Justice scrambled to cover its tush after giving Congress false information about gun walking.
Basically, what did Eric Holder know, and when did he know it?
Obama is sticking his neck way out for Holder, rather than letting him twist in the wind or take the fall. The GOP will do everything it can to make Holder — and Obama — look bad.
Today, Obama looks tough and loyal. Not sure how he’ll look in a few weeks or months. I hope Holder has been straight with him.
This isn’t about losing guns in Mexico, this is about losing the election in the U. S.
Embattled Farmers 