From FirearmsTruth.com this week (
http://www.firearmstruth.com/2011/can-holder%e2%80%99s-own-inspector-general-objectively-investigate-him):
Operation Fast and Furious is slowly being investigated by the Executive and Legislative branches of the government. Both President Obama and Attorney General Holder deny any knowledge of the operation before the story broke in the news. The Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General is conducting an investigation but can it objectively investigate its own boss, Eric Holder?
Sen. Chuck Grassley and Rep. Darrell Issa are investigating Fast and Furious for the Legislative branch. On July 4th they held a secret meeting with Ken Melson, acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the entity most involved with implementing Fast and Furious.
Oddly, Eric Holder requested a copy of the transcript of the secret July 4 meeting on behalf of his Office of Inspector General (OIG). This personal request came before any OIG request was made of the July 4 meeting. Does Mr. Holder want to read the secret transcript himself?
“Since the OIG is supposed to be conducting an independent inquiry, it seems odd that the Department would make a document request on behalf of that office,†Grassley and Issa wrote to Holder on Tuesday. “We presume that if the OIG would like to make such a request, it is capable of doing so on its own initiative. However, we have not received any such request from the OIG.â€
Rep. Darrell Issa may be leery about releasing any secret meetings because of some half-truths used against him politically by likes of the Washington Post and other pro-administration outlets. In a Washington Post story it was claimed that Issa and others were briefed on the ATFs’ Operation Fast and Furious in 2010 and that at the time he didn’t raise any objections. He was made to look like a hypocritical political hit man when he later attacked Fast and Furious.
What the story didn’t include was that Issa and the others were lied to. They were told that Fast and Furious was instigated by rouge low level agents. Conclusive evidence proves that Fast and Furious went at least as high as acting director Melson, who watched illegal straw purchases in his office live via the Internet.
Being lied to and then having that lie used against Rep. Issa politically probably makes him much more skeptical when it comes to investigating the Executive Branch. In Tuesday’s letter, Grassley and Issa also asked Holder to provide complete answers to the questions they sent him on July 22. The Attorney General, our highest federal law enforcement officer, appears to be stonewalling an investigation with international consequences.
The lies, half-truths, red-tape and political thug tactics that the Executive has used to stop or slow an investigation into Fast and Furious is enough to warrant a special investigator who reigns outside the reach of Holder or President Obama. This rocket may take the administration all the way to Mars but not back.
