CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson is taking heat from officials at the White House.
Eric Schultz screamed and cursed at Attkisson when she made inquiries about Fast and Furious. Talk about inappropriate!
The Fast and Furious scandal stands to be a major problem for Obama because it's a major problem for his Attorney General, Eric Holder. Obama has given his full support to his Attorney General, Eric Holder.
President Obama insists neither he nor Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. knew federal ATF agents were permitting illegal gun purchases on the Southwest border, even as Republican lawmakers released new documents showing the attorney general was given general briefings on the Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation.
"He's indicated that he was not aware of what was happening in Fast and Furious," the president said in support of Holder, speaking at a White House news conference Thursday. "Certainly I was not. And I think both he and I would have been very unhappy if somebody had suggested that guns were allowed to pass through that could have been prevented by the United States of America."
He noted that the Justice Department inspector general's office, at Holder's request, was investigating the 15-month program at the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Phoenix field office. More than 2,000 firearms were lost; two turned up at the fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in December.
"I have complete confidence in him," Obama said of Holder. "And I've got complete confidence in the process to figure out who, in fact, was responsible for that decision [to launch Fast and Furious] and how it got made."
The remarks were Obama's strongest in defense of Holder, who has come under intense criticism by congressional Republicans that he misled lawmakers in Capitol Hill testimony in May. He said then that he had learned of Fast and Furious "for the first time over the last few weeks."
But Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released redacted copies of five weekly reports to Holder from Michael F. Walther, director of the National Drug Intelligence Center. They were sent in July and August of last year.
According to Attkisson, the scandal is a major story and we're just beginning to learn about it.
The White House is not cooperating. Apparently, it's pressuring CBS to back off.
What was that about transparency?
Obama thinks he's untouchable, with the media serving as his willing accomplices in protecting his administration. The White House doesn't appear to know how to handle real scrutiny from the press.
Fast and Furious isn't going away. I congratulate CBS for holding the Obama administration accountable. I hope CBS doesn't go wobbly.
1 comment:
I recently watched the President suggest that he has complete confidence in Eric Holder's actions as Director of the DOJ... Really?
As a retiree who worked in a management level capacity for over 30 years, I know that there has been a cover up in what is now called "Operation Fast and Furious". What has me troubled is How Deep is this cover up? What has me troubled is what seems to be the complete lack of a response and a demand for accountability for Mr. Holder's failures in this operation?
While I am certain that many have more access to good information, what troubles me is that the republican party does not seem to be DEMANDING answers and accountability.
What I do know is this: Eric Holder had access to information which explained this operation in detail nearly a year before a U.S. citizen was killed. A year later he testified in front of a congressional committee and suggested he knew nothing about this until a few weeks ago. President Obama then went on to support Mr. Holder.
This is a simple matter of reviewing what detail Holder had in his possession a year ago, and making the President stand for accountability? What is going on with people - this was a U.S. citizen??? This is why the American people have no confidence in the congress and the government!
I can only come to one conclusion. Either the Republican party was equally complicit in the debacle; or the government is totally corrupt? Which am I to believe?
Please reassure me and the rest of the citizens of the United States. Please aggressively pursue the honest answers behind what happened here and make the whole story crystal clear for all Americans to see? This demands everyones attention!
Tom
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