Fearless AZ sheriff killed in single-car accident

Last Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2012, a fearless Arizona sheriff, Cochise County’s 4-term Sheriff Larry Dever, 60, who was tough on securing the border, died in a single-car accident.

From FoxNews:

[Dever was] one of Arizona’s four border sheriffs who asked to legally defend the state’s controversial anti-illegal immigration law, known as SB1070, in federal court. Cochise County, in the state’s southeastern corner, shares an 83.5-mile border with Mexico and is one of the state’s hot spots for illegal immigration and drug smuggling.

He said at the time that the federal government was failing to secure the border and praised the law, which includes provisions that require police to question a person’s immigration status while enforcing other laws and if officers suspect the person is in the county illegally.

It was Dever’s office that investigated the 2010 death of a prominent rancher whom the sheriff said was likely killed by an illegal immigrant. The killing spurred Arizona’s political leadership, including Gov. Jan Brewer and its U.S. senators, to renew pressure on the Obama administration to deploy National Guard troops along the southern border.

Dever also joined other Arizona sheriffs in slamming the Obama administration over [Fast and Furious] a botched federal operation that lost track of weapons sold to suspect straw purchasers for Mexican drug gangs.

Dever was born and grew up in the town of St. David. He is survived by his wife, Nancy; six sons; and 11 grandchildren.

The sheriff’s department says it’s investigating the accident, but declined to release details of the crash or his death.

Andrew Breitbart redux?

H/t FOTM’s Tina.

~Eowyn

Bill Whittle Looks at Obama’s Record

House votes AG Eric Holder in contempt

For the first time in U.S. history, a United States Attorney General is found to be in contempt of Congress.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives in a 256-67 votes (with 17 Democrats joining the Republicans), voted to hold the Obama administration’s AG Eric Holder in contempt of Congress over the Fast & Furious Mexican gun-running operation that resulted in the deaths of Mexicans as well as U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.

Stephen Dinan reports for The Washington Times, June 28, 2012:

The House on Thursday cited Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. for contempt of Congress in a historic vote weighted with political significance, though it does little to break the stalemate over his decision to withhold documents over the Justice Department’s actions in a botched gun-walking operation.

The 256-67 vote amounted to a political spanking for Mr. Holder and President Obama, and 17 Democrats joined with Republicans in demanding the documents be released. Most Democrats, however, walked out in protest of the vote.

It marks the first time an attorney general has been held in contempt by a chamber.

But the White House dismissed the proceedings as a sideshow, and the vote does nothing to break the impasse, though it further poisoned feelings in an already bitterly divided chamber.

“No Justice Department is above the law, and no Justice Department is above the Constitution,” said House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican.

Democrats pleaded with the Republicans to slow down the proceedings, saying the oversight committee, led by Chairman Darrell Issa, California Republican, has done a shoddy job in putting together its investigation.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas Democrat, even introduced a resolution demanding that the House reprimand Mr. Issa for partisanship and accusing him of having “engaged in a witch hunt.”

Many Democrats walked out of the contempt vote in protest, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, said the vote was a black eye for the Republicans.

“Just when you think you have seen it all. Just when you think they couldn’t possibly go any further over the edge, they come up with something like this,” she said. “What is happening here is shameful.”

Read the rest of the news article here.

So what does “in contempt of Congress” means?

Here’s what The Free Dictionary says:

An act of deliberate disobedience or disregard for the laws, regulations, or decorum of a public authority, such as a court or legislative body.

Individuals may be cited for contempt when they disobey an order, fail to comply with a request, tamper with documents, withhold evidence, interrupt proceedings through their actions or words, or otherwise defy a public authority or hold it up to ridicule and disrespect. The laws and rules governing contempt have developed in a piecemeal fashion over time and give wide discretion to judges and legislative leaders in determining both what constitutes contempt and how it is punished.

Contempt of Congress

The Constitution does not explicitly grant Congress the power to coerce cooperation from individuals or to punish acts of disobedience or disrespect through contempt proceedings. However, the power was discussed at the Constitutional Convention and was implied in the Constitution. In 1795, Congress used the power of contempt for the first time when it arrested, tried, and punished a man accused of bribing members of the House of Representatives. Then Congress acted on its own authority—subsequently called the Self-Help power, which grants Congress the right to compel testimony and punish disobedience without the involvement of a court or other government body if the individual’s actions obstruct the legislative process.

UPDATE:

I just got the names of the 17 Democrats who did the right thing, from my friend Jay, the Democrat lawyer. This is his message attached to the list: “Here is the democrat honor role.  The rest are apparently eating bath salts and cannabis!”

Democrats who voted for contempt:

Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa.
Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga.
Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla.
Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa
Rep. Ben Chandler, D-Ky.
Rep. Mark Critz, D-Pa.
Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind.
Rep. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y.
Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis.
Rep. Larry Kissell, D-N.C.
Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah
Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C.
Rep. Bill Owens, D-N.Y.
Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn.
Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.
Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark.
Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn.

~Eowyn

Bill Whittle – Fast & Furious Really About Gun Control

Thank you Hardnox, for bringing this latest gem from Bill  Whittle to our attention!

H/T Hardnox

~LTG

House committee finds Obama’s AG Eric Holder in contempt

Today, at the end of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s hearing on “Fast & Furious,” the committee found U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt. The vote was 23-17, with 100% of the Republicans for it and 100% of the Democrats on the committee voting against it.

Sean Drury reports for Mauldin Patch that the contempt move is tied to Holder’s request on behalf of the Obama administration, to invoke Executive Privilege with regard to the release of documents related to the investigation of “Operation Fast and Furious.”

Fast and Furious was a program run by the The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that saw the agency sell high-powered firearms to Mexican arms dealers and drug cartels. The goal of the program was to track the weapons and then link to criminal organizations in Mexico and the United States. The program began in 2006 during the Bush administration under the name of “Project Wide Receiver.”

The programs, commonly referred to as “gunwalking” have seen over 2,000 weapons sold, 700 of which have been recovered. At least 200 Mexican citizens have been killed with weapons tied to “gunwalking” programs.

In December 2010, however, a US Border Patrol agent named Brian Terry was killed by one of the “gunwalking” weapons. Spurred by Terry’s death, an ATF agent named John Dodson (who now resides in the Upstate) reported his concerns about the nature of the program, which ultimately led to the investigation being launched by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

As the investigation intensified, calls were made for Holder to be more forthcoming and even for his resignation in some cases. In recent weeks, the committee asked for more documents to continue the investigation, but Holder invoked executive privilege saying releasing the documents would have “significant, damaging consequences.”

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has announced that a full House floor vote will take place next week.

Here is Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) ripping into Eric Holder:

H/t FOTM’s beloved Hardnox!

~Eowyn

Fast and Furious weapons found in Mexico cartel enforcer’s home

From The Los Angeles Times/Nation

———————————————————————

By Richard A. Serrano, Washington Bureau

October 8, 2011

~Steve~

Guns illegally purchased under the ATF operation were found in April hidden in violence-plagued Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, court records show

This arsenal uncovered by police in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in April turned out to include weapons from the ATF’s ill-fated Fast and Furious operation. (Associated Press)

Reporting from Washington—

High-powered assault weapons illegally purchased under the ATF’s Fast and Furious program in Phoenix ended up in a home belonging to the purported top Sinaloa cartel enforcer in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, whose organization was terrorizing that city with the worst violence in the Mexican drug wars.

In all, 100 assault weapons acquired under Fast and Furious were transported 350 miles from Phoenix to El Paso, making that West Texas city a central hub for gun traffickers. Forty of the weapons made it across the border and into the arsenal of Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo, a feared cartel leader in Ciudad Juarez, according to federal court records and trace documents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The smugglers’ tactics — quickly moving the weapons far from ATF agents in southern Arizona, where it had been assumed they would circulate — vividly demonstrate that what had been viewed as a local problem was much larger. Six other Fast and Furious guns destined for El Paso were recovered in Columbus, N.M.

Full coverage: ATF’s Fast and Furious scandal

“These Fast and Furious guns were going to Sinaloans, and they are killing everyone down there,” said one knowledgeable U.S. government source, who asked for anonymity because of the ongoing investigations. “But that’s only how many we know came through Texas. Hundreds more had to get through.”

For rest of arrest warrant Pls go Here

You Lying , cheating sack of Poop..er I mean Eric Holder

Memo: Holder told of ‘Fast and Furious’ as early as July 2010

Can he go to jail now?

 

By Jerry Seper

The Washington Times

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Newly obtained Justice Department memos show that Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. was told about the controversial “Fast and Furious” weapons investigation as early as July 2010, apparently contradicting testimony he gave before a House committee in May saying he learned of the operation just weeks earlier.

A July 10, 2010, memo to Mr. Holder from Michael Walther, director of the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), specifically identifies the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives-led Fast and Furious operation, says when it began, names the federal law enforcement agencies involved, and identifies the major investigative targets.

The memo, sent to Mr. Holder through the office of the acting deputy attorney general, also notes that the operation involved a Phoenix-based firearms-trafficking ring and says “straw purchasers” were responsible for buying 1,500 firearms “that were then supplied to Mexican drug-trafficking cartels.”

The Walther memo also says the straw buyers had direct ties to the Sinaloa drug cartel, “which is suspected of providing $1 million for the purchase of firearms in the greater Phoenix area.” A straw buyer is someone who purchases a weapon for someone who is unable to buy it himself.

The memo, first reported by CBS News, prompted calls Tuesday from Capitol Hill Republicans for a special prosecutor and led the White House to claim Mr. Holder misunderstood the questions, rather than lied, during the May congressional testimony.

His comment came in response to a question from Rep. Darrell E. Issa, California Republican, who has been investigating the operation for several months and had asked the Justice Department on several occasions without success for more information.

“I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks,” Mr. Holder testified.

For rest of Scandal Pls Go HERE!!

~Steve~

Peeling Away the Fast and Furious Onion. What Does Obama Know and When Did He Know It?

White House received emails about Fast and Furious gun-trafficking operation

Three national security officials were given some details about the operation. But an administration official says the emails do not prove that anyone in the White House was aware of the covert tactics of the program.

By Richard A. Serrano, Washington Bureau

September 2, 2011

Reporting from Washington—

Newly obtained emails show that the White House was better informed about a failed gun-tracking operation on the border with Mexico than was previously known.

Three White House national security officials were given some details about the operation, dubbed Fast and Furious. The operation allowed firearms to be illegally purchased, with the goal of tracking them to Mexican drug cartels. But the effort went out of control after agents lost track of many of the weapons.

The supervisor of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives operation in Phoenix specifically mentioned Fast and Furious in at least one email to a White House national security official, and two other White House colleagues were briefed on reports from the supervisor, according to White House emails and a senior administration official.

But the senior administration official said the emails, obtained Thursday by The Times, did not prove that anyone in the White House was aware of the covert “investigative tactics” of the operation.

“The emails validate what has been said previously, which is no one at the White House knew about the investigative tactics being used in the operation, let alone any decision to let guns walk,” said the official, who was not authorized to speak about it publicly. “To the extent that some [national security staff members] were briefed on the top lines of ongoing federal efforts, so were members of Congress.”

He identified the three White House officials who were briefed as Kevin M. O’Reilly, director of North American Affairs for the White House national security staff; Dan Restrepo, the president’s senior Latin American advisor; and Greg Gatjanis, a White House national security official.

“The emails were not forwarded beyond them, and we are not aware of any [additional] briefings related to that email chain,” the official said.

The emails were sent between July 2010 and February of this year before it was disclosed that agents had lost track of hundreds of guns. Many are thought to have fallen into criminal hands, and some have turned up at crime scenes in Mexico and the United States, including at the fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) and Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) are trying to determine what the Justice Department and the White House knew about the program.

According to the emails, William D. Newell, then the ATF field supervisor for Arizona and New Mexico, was in close contact with O’Reilly and sought the White House’s help to persuade the Mexican government to let ATF agents recover U.S. guns across the border.

After earlier emails from Newell to O’Reilly surfaced, Newell testified to congressional investigators in July that the two were friends and acknowledged that he probably should not have sent them to him. But the new emails indicate that Newell and O’Reilly were in deeper discussions about gun operations on the border.

In July 2010, about nine months after Fast and Furious started, O’Reilly was seeking information about ways to fight gun trafficking in Arizona when he emailed Newell.

“Just an informal ‘how’s it going?’ ” he wrote. He titled the email “GRIT Surge Phoenix,” an acronym for Gun Runner Impact Teams.

Newell replied that things were “going very well actually.”

Though not mentioning Fast and Furious by name, he talked about large numbers of ATF agents being temporarily transferred to Arizona to work on cases, apparently alluding to the Fast and Furious program. He also praised their work on “firearms trafficking investigations with direct links to Mexican” cartels, which was the main goal of Fast and Furious.

“This is great,” O’Reilly replied. “Very informative.”

O’Reilly asked whether he could share the information with Restrepo and Gatjanis. He added that the information “would not leave NSS, I assure you.”

Newell answered, “Sure, just don’t want ATF HQ to find out, especially since this is what they should be doing (briefing you)!”

A third email went from Newell to O’Reilly on Feb. 11, two months after Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed in Arizona and Fast and Furious weapons were found at the scene.

Newell discussed the just-obtained indictments of 20 people, including Jaime Avila, for illegal gun purchasing. It was two of Avila’s guns bought under Fast and Furious that ended up at the Terry shooting. This time, Newell specifically mentioned Fast and Furious.

“The Fast and Furious indictment is listed under U.S. v Avila and that’s the one in which there’s an introduction of the techniques used by firearms traffickers,” he told O’Reilly. He suggested “we” should use the indictment to draw attention to the arrests through the media in Mexico.

In another development, the Justice Department said it knew of only one other instance where a Fast and Furious weapon was “recovered in connection with a crime of violence in the U.S.” Earlier it had said there were 11 instances.

Come clean Obama, nobody is going to buy the BS that you knew nothing about this.

Tom in NC

Worse Than Gunwalker? State Dept. Allegedly Sold Guns to Zetas

OK boys and girls has anyone noticed nothing happening on Operation Gun Runner, and Fast and Furious. Well it just keeps on getting better and better.

Darrel Issa where are you?       ~Steve~     H/T   Tina

It’s a stunning allegation that makes the
other gunrunning scandals look like child’s play.

July 22, 2011 – 10:35 am – Bob
Owens

Phil Jordan, a former CIA operative and one-time leader of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Intelligence Center, claims that the Obama administration is running guns to the violent Zetas cartel through the direct commercial sale of military grade weapons:

Jordan, who served as director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Intelligence Center in 1995, said the Zetas have shipped large amounts of weapons purchased in the Dallas area through El Paso.

Robert “Tosh” Plumlee, a former CIA contract pilot, told the Times he supported Jordan’s allegations, adding that the Zetas have reportedly bought property in the Columbus, N.M., border region to stash weapons and other contraband.

“From the intel, it appears that a company was set up in Mexico to purchase weapons through the U.S. Direct Commercial Sales Program, and that the company may have had a direct link to the Zetas.”

The U.S. Direct Commercial Sales program is run from the U.S. State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. It regulates and licenses private U.S. companies’ overseas sales of weapons and other defense materials, defense services, and military training. This does not include the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, which authorized sales to foreign governments.

An El Paso Times article – as of now ignored by mainstream media — went into much more shocking detail:

“They’ve found anti-aircraft weapons and hand grenades from the Vietnam War era,” Plumlee said. Other weapons found include grenade launchers, assault rifles, handguns and military gear including night-vision goggles and body armor.

For Rest of Story, Pls Go Here~

OK, So Holder Is Guilty 15 Ways From Sunday, But..

Please oh please tell me why this jerk Holder is not in prison.?

~Steve~         H/T   igor

Newsmax.com reports

Issa, Grassley: DOJ Obstructed Mexican Guns Probe

Wednesday, 06 Jul 2011 01:20 PM

By Martin Gould and Abigail Walls

 

 

 

Kenneth Melson told Congress in a secret deposition that the Justice
Department falsely leaked stories to the press that he was about to resign over
Fast and Furious, Rep. Darrell Issa and Sen. Charles Grassley say. (Associated
Press Photo)

The top man in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has turned sensationally against his Department of Justice bosses saying they were trying to stymie an investigation into the Operation Fast and Furious scandal.

Kenneth Melson, acting director of the ATF, gave a secret deposition to Congress on July 4, it was revealed today. He took his own lawyer instead of relying on one from the ATF.

The stunning move will increase pressure on Attorney General Eric Holder to resign over the operation that saw some 2,000 guns sold to straw buyers who then sold them to Mexican drug cartel leaders.

But Fast and Furious and its sister plan, Project Gunrunner, went disastrously wrong, and 80 percent of the weapons went missing. Two were found at the Arizona site where Border Agent Brian Terry was killed in December.

Republicans leading the investigation in both the House and Senate wrote a stinging letter to Holder yesterday informing him of Melson’s move, calling it “extremely helpful to our investigation.”

Rep. Darrell Issa and Sen. Charles Grassley wrote, “He was candid in admitting mistakes that his agency made and described various ways he says that he tried to remedy the problems.”

Issa and Grassley said Melson claimed that ATF’s senior leadership would have preferred to be more cooperative with the congressional probe.

“However, he said that Justice Department officials directed them not to respond and took full control of replying to briefing and document requests from Congress. The result is that Congress only got the parts of the story that the Department wanted us to hear,” they wrote.

“If his account is accurate, then ATF leadership appears to have been effectively muzzled while the DoJ sent over false denials and buried its head in the sand.”

To read the reast of this Treasonous Story, Pls Go HERE

Read more on Newsmax.com: Issa,
Grassley: DOJ Obstructed Mexican Guns Probe

Read more on Newsmax.com: Issa,
Grassley: DOJ Obstructed Mexican Guns Probe