Thread: Fast and Furious--goes to the top of chain--in massive cover up scheme

The heated Congressional investigation into the botched Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives program Operation Fast and Furious reached a whole new level on Friday.

New emails obtained by the Los Angeles Times appear to show senior Obama administration and White House officials were briefed on the gun-walking operation. The three White House officials implicated by the LA Times’ reporting are Kevin M. O’Reilly, the 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 sent between July 2010 and February 2011, before the scandalous ATF program was exposed, according the LA Times.

The LA Times says a senior administration official denies that the emails which lead Fast and Furious ATF agent William Newell sent to O’Reilly — who later briefed Restrepo and Gatjanis –included details on “investigative tactics” used in the program. By “investigative tactics,” the White House means how ATF agents facilitated the sale of firearms to drug cartels via “straw purchasers,” or people who could legally buy guns in the U.S. but did so with the intention of selling them to individuals who would traffic them to Mexico.

Those emails apparently show Newell and O’Reilly discussing how the program was affecting Mexico.

Another explosive new detail that emerged on Thursday was a set of documents showing senior officials in Phoenix attempting to cover up a connection between Fast and Furious weapons and U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry’s death.

In a letter sent to Ann Scheel, the new acting U.S. Attorney for Arizona, House Oversight committee chairman Rep. Darrell Issa and Sen. Chuck Grassley wrote that high-ranking Phoenix officials tried to “prevent the connection [between Terry’s death and Fast and Furious weapons] from being disclosed.”

Internal emails also show that recently resigned Arizona U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke and his deputy Emory Hurley made the decision because “this way we do not divulge our current case (Fast and Furious) or the Border Patrol shooting case.”

UPDATE 3:04 p.m.:

Fast And Furious | Cover-Up | Obama Administration | The Daily Caller

I don't know how many of you are old enough to remember the Watergate scandel--which involved a simple break-in to a campaign office--which eventually crushed President Richard Nixon. He was forced to resign from office--after two years of non-stop investigation--over what he knew and when he knew it.

We have 28 thousand Mexican drug cartel members--militia--police--government elected officials--judges and innocent civilians who have been caught in the cross-fire including U.S citizens and U.S federal agents who have been killed in the past few years.

While Americans have continually been accused of buying weapons and supplying the drug cartels in Mexico--we find out that it was our own ATF agency--who's boss is none other than U.S attorney general Eric Holder--and it looks like top level--White House advisors to the President are involved in this also.

I doubt this is Watergate-level, but Democrats can't claim ignorance. They voted for the bill that authorized and funded the program. It was in the stimulus. They voted for it, the President signed it. They own it.

Originally Posted by adaher

I doubt this is Watergate-level, but Democrats can't claim ignorance. They voted for the bill that authorized and funded the program. It was in the stimulus. They voted for it, the President signed it. They own it.

Not Watergate level?

The F&F fiasco pretty much ranks right up there with the Bay of Pigs except that instead of arming insurgents to fight a dictator they are arming drug dealers to fight each other and Americans.

No, it's not Watergate level....it left Watergate in the dust.

Maybe it's because I understand what they were trying to do. I'd compare it more to Iraq, a bright idea that went awry because no one knew what they were doing.

Originally Posted by adaher

I doubt this is Watergate-level, but Democrats can't claim ignorance. They voted for the bill that authorized and funded the program. It was in the stimulus. They voted for it, the President signed it. They own it.

No one was killed in Watergate. Watergate was a case of corupt politicians breaking in to other corupt politician's offices to get evidence of illegal activities, (stealing secret pentagon papers), by the Democrats. The part that is ignored is the part where the Democrat Party was committing espionage by stealing and revealing secret documents from the U.S. government. I have always wished the break in had been successful and the traitors in the Democrat Party would have been exposed.

Fast and furious is a program designed to turn the American People against the 2nd amendment and allow the Regime to register all handguns. (first step in banning and confisticating them)
Fast and Furious is treason at the top of the U.S. Government. Considering Obama's self proclaimed idealogy, there's no way he's not at the top of Fast and Furious.
Fast and Furious is far more serious than Watergate, IMO.

The problem with most people today is that you say "Watergate" and they don't actually know what it was about. They just know that "something bad -- like, really bad -- happened." The actual events of Watergate were relatively benign. The coverup was the problem. And that demonstrates the hypocrisy of the left. Richard Nixon was despised by them, so Watergate was used to destroy him. Careers were made on the case, writers were given awards, and it became history. Fast-forward a few decades and when Clinton lied and covered it up, everyone tried to ignore it. The same writers sat on their hands and deemed it unworthy of investigation and ultimately he got away with a slap on the wrist by being disbarred. Now we fast-forward a few more decades. The fact that we aren't getting DAILY news coverage of this, the fact that it barely made a blip on the political radar when it was exposed, the fact that I bet you most people don't even know what it is outside of political enthusiasts is laughable. It demonstrates how devoted the so-called journalists are to the liberal cause and how dangerous it is to have an essentially state-run media -- not directly, in this case, but via allegiance -- that controls what you know or what you are supposed to care about.

Any liberal who wants to try to say Operation Fast and Furious is no big deal should be publicly ridiculed and their careers destroyed.

Originally Posted by adaher

I doubt this is Watergate-level, but Democrats can't claim ignorance. They voted for the bill that authorized and funded the program. It was in the stimulus. They voted for it, the President signed it. They own it.

It is starting to look more and more like there is potential for a Watergate-level issue here. It may take more time and more discovery but all indications are this was a well intentioned effort with many people in the know.

I don't know if it was actually well-intentioned.

Originally Posted by adaher

I doubt this is Watergate-level, but Democrats can't claim ignorance. They voted for the bill that authorized and funded the program. It was in the stimulus. They voted for it, the President signed it. They own it.

Uh--not Watergate level when we have the weapon that was born out of the Fast & Furious program that killed a U.S. Federal agent--and one that is more than likely responsible for many other deaths in Mexico?

We're talking about the difference of breaking into a campaign office--where no one was physically hurt--compared to the ATF involved in getting straw buyers to put semi automatic guns in the hands of violent Mexican drug cartels.

The only reason it's not at Watergate level--is because the media is trying to protect the Obama administration. The only network that is covering this is Fox news.

Attachment 11651

Originally Posted by Oreo

Uh--not Watergate level when we have the weapon that was born out of the Fast & Furious program that killed a U.S. Federal agent? We're talking about breaking into a campaign office--where no one was physically hurt--compared to the ATF involved in getting straw buyers to put semi automatic guns in the hands of violent Mexican drug cartels.

The only reason it's not at Watergate level--is because the media is trying to protect the Obama administration. The only network that is covering this is Fox news.

Attachment 11651

I will step up and say that CBS was the first major network to do a serious story on this and they did it back in March
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