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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFull text of AG Holder's Statement After Contempt Vote
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEThursday, June 28, 2012
Statement of Attorney General Eric Holder on the U.S. House of Representatives Vote
Todays vote is the regrettable culmination of what became a misguided and politically motivated investigation during an election year. By advancing it over the past year and a half, Congressman Issa and others have focused on politics over public safety. Instead of trying to correct the problems that led to a series of flawed law enforcement operations, and instead of helping us find ways to better protect the brave law enforcement officers, like Agent Brian Terry, who keep us safe they have led us to this unnecessary and unwarranted outcome.
During this time, the men and women of the Department of Justice and I have remained focused on what should and must be our governments top priority: protecting the American people.
When concerns about Operation Fast and Furious first came to light, I took action and ordered an independent investigation into what happened. We learned that the flawed tactics used in this operation began in the previous administration but I made sure that they ended under this one. I also made sure that agents and prosecutors around the country knew that such tactics must never be used again. I put in place new policies, new safeguards, and new leadership to make certain of this and took extraordinary steps to facilitate robust congressional oversight. Let me be very clear that was my response to Operation Fast and Furious. Any suggestion to the contrary simply ignores the facts.
I had hoped that Congressional leaders would be good-faith partners in this work. Some have. Others, however, have devoted their time and attention to making reckless charges unsupported by fact and to advancing truly absurd conspiracy theories. Unfortunately, these same members of Congress were nowhere to be found when the Justice Department and others invited them to help look for real solutions to the terrible problem of violence on both sides of our Southwest Border. Thats tragic, and its irresponsible. The problem of drugs and weapons trafficking across this border is a real and significant public safety threat and it deserves the attention of every leader in Washington. In the face of these and other challenges, the Justice Department has continued to move forward in fulfilling its critical law enforcement responsibilities. Whether it is with regard to prosecuting financial and health care fraud, achieving a record mortgage settlement, taking aggressive action in protecting the most vulnerable among us, or challenging proposed voting changes and redistricting maps that could disenfranchise millions of voters this Department of Justice has not been afraid to act.
Some of these enforcement decisions were not politically popular and help to explain the action taken today by the House. As Attorney General, I do not look to do that which is politically expedient on behalf of the American people whom I am privileged to serve, I seek justice.
In recent weeks, the Justice Department secured its seventh conviction in the most serious terrorist plot our nation has faced since 9/11. And just two days ago, the Department awarded more than $100 million in grants to save or create law enforcement jobs, including more than 600 jobs for recent veterans.
This is the kind of work that leaders in Washington should be striving together to advance. At a time when so many Americans are in need of our help, I refuse to be deterred from it. And I will not let election-year politics and gamesmanship stand in the way of continued progress.
Todays vote may make for good political theater in the minds of some, but it is at base both a crass effort and a grave disservice to the American people. They expect and deserve far better.
As a result of the action taken today by the House, an unnecessary court conflict will ensue. My efforts to resolve this matter short of such a battle were rebuffed by Congressman Issa and his supporters. Its clear that they were not interested in bringing an end to this dispute or obtaining the information they claimed to seek. Ultimately, their goal was the vote that with the help of special interests they now have engineered.
Whatever the path that this matter will now follow, it will not distract me or the men and women of the Department of Justice from the important tasks that are our responsibility. A great deal of work for the American people remains to be done Im getting back to it. I suggest that those who orchestrated todays vote do the same."
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/June/12-ag-829.html
Smackdown!
SunsetDreams
(8,571 posts)highplainsdem
(49,022 posts)SCVDem
(5,103 posts)Is just stating the truth.
Nicely worded statement from the AG.
AnotherMcIntosh
(11,064 posts)Good to see that he's got that covered.
SunsetDreams
(8,571 posts)but you knew that, and it doesn't have anything to do with the issue at hand.
AnotherMcIntosh
(11,064 posts)If you don't like a question being asked about what those important tasks are, and if you don't like a question being asked based upon his history of going after state-approved medical marijuana dispensaries, too bad.
SunsetDreams
(8,571 posts)Nice try though really.
With that, I'm done with this sub-thread
AnotherMcIntosh
(11,064 posts)state-approved medical marijuana dispensaries, and if he otherwise defined in his statement what he perceived the "important tasks" to be that he will not be distracted from pursuing, there would be no question about the "important tasks."
Obviously, if he wants to make it known that he will continue to pursue "important tasks" without defining his "important tasks" or identifying how those "important tasks" are now different, a logical question is whether his "important tasks" including going after state-approved medical marijuana dispensaries.
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)xtraxritical
(3,576 posts)abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)SunsetDreams
(8,571 posts)abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)I feel a need to Donate.
xtraxritical
(3,576 posts)Rhiannon12866
(205,839 posts)toddwv
(2,830 posts)focus on the 17 Democratic Party "turn-dogs" who voted yes.
Rep. John Barrow
Rep. Jason Altmire,
Rep. Dan Boren,
Rep. Leonard Boswell,
Rep. Ben Chandler,
Rep. Mark Critz,
Rep. Joe Donnelly,
Rep. Kathy Hochul,
Rep. Ron Kind,
Rep. Larry Kissell,
Rep. Jim Matheson,
Rep. Mike McIntryre,
Rep. BIll Owens,
Rep. Collin Peterson,
Rep. Nick Rahall,
Rep. Mike Ross, and
Rep. Tim Walz.
To cross the aisle in such an obvious partisan kangaroo court...despicable.
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)I'll try to take some time to see if any true liberals or progressives are running against them. Or is it too late for that? Have primaries already finished and now we're stuck with them as representing the left? Certainly don't want to vote for a republican in their place....
Spazito
(50,429 posts)Clear, concise and full of facts.
Smackdown indeed.
spanone
(135,858 posts)Scurrilous
(38,687 posts)Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)Hopefully that will change when their own internal investigation is over.
Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)Hunch is that this is what Judge John Roll was taken down for.
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)F&F was conceived in October 2009.
Operation Wide Reciever DID allow a little less than 400 guns to slip away, but they were lost by Mexican authorities, who were part of the gig, not the US.
F&F was ENTIRELY a US law enforcement action, and there was NO use of or cooperation with Mexico to even attempt to catch the guns on the other side of the border.
F&F and WR are wildly different operations for that simple fact alone.
I do think too much is being made of this, but Holder is going to have that statement bite him in the press for some time.
AnotherMcIntosh
(11,064 posts)Tx4obama
(36,974 posts)See here regarding Project Gunrunner: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gunrunner
And also...
2008: Darrell Issa Voted "YES" to Fund Project Gunrunner & Merida Initiative
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002837703
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)Not using Mexican authorities on the other side of the border to 'catch' the guns, or even telling them that the operation was under way, is a wholly new tactic, and basically resulted in those guns actually walking away completely. Thousands of them.
They may belong in the same file folder, but they are very different programs.
What would be very interesting is if Issa voted in favor with any provisions at that time that the program would involve 'blindly' walking guns into Mexico without Mexican authorities knowing about it. A tactic that might make sense knowing that the Mexican police and military are infiltrated by the cartels. However, if you're going to do something like that, you need additional safeguards in place to ensure the guns don't actually 'walk', or if they do, they don't function. (there are some extremely entertaining tactics we used in Vietnam around this sort of problem)
Again, I think too much is being made of Holder's involvement, and I doubt bad intentions were in play, but Holder has sort of shot himself in the foot a couple times here. Submitting hundreds of blanked out pages to satisfy the subpoena, farting around, careless statements... He's not doing a very competent job of defending himself or his department, and that is sad.