Thread: ‘Fast and Furious’ agent speaks out

Nightly News | Aired on June 29, 2012

‘Fast and Furious’ agent speaks out

In his first TV interview, an agent at the center of the botched "Fast and Furious" gun trafficking operation tells NBC’s Michael Isikoff that he was told he needed more evidence of criminal intent before the gun buyers could be charged with anything.

video @
‘Fast and Furious’ agent speaks out - Video on msnbc.com

Oh wow! That interview and report IS SO WRONG ON SO MANY LEVELS!

Check out the conclusion at the end where they blame CONGRESS for this scandal.

W

TRANSCRIPT
(I think I got it all.)

>>> u.s. attorney general eric holder became the first sitting cabinet official ever to be held in contempt of congress last night. tonight we'll take you inside the antigun running operation known as fast and furious that caused all the uproar to begin with. with the first television interview with the veteran atf agent who ran it, william newell, trying to penetrate a violent mexican drug cartel by tracking gun purchases, but the operation went wrong when a border patrol agent was killed and two guns from the operation were found at the scene. our national investigative correspondent michael isakoff has our exclusive report tonight.
　
>> to my knowledge not one fire arm was walked to a criminal intentionally.
　
>> reporter: in his first tv interview the agent in charge of operation fast and furious, an attempt to stem the tide of illegal guns to mexico, speaks out to clear the air about what he says really happened.
　
>> the notion that we somehow intentionally let guns walk is insane. never happened.
　
>> reporter: between mid 2009 and january, 2011, atf agents watched as nearly 2,000 weapons were bought in arizona stores by suspected straw buyers, middle men believed to be purchasing the guns for someone else. newell was hoping to track the weapons to mexico's most powerful drug organization.
　
>> to have the greatest impact in stopping what they were doing you have to cut off the head of the snake.
　
>> reporter: but the task of following the weapons proved daunting and went horribly wrong in december, 2010, when u.s. border patrol agent brian terry was murdered in the arizona desert. two weapons found at the scene were guns that newell's agents were tracking.
　
>> there was evidence that they knew that in fact weapons had already ended up in mexico. that's before brian terry was killed.
　
>> reporter: newell was at home when he got the call about terry.
　
>> it hit me very hard. it hit a lot of us in phoenix very, very hard.
　
>> reporter: newell believes he did everything he could, presenting evidence to federal prosecutors of hundreds of illegal purchases of guns, but was told he needed more evidence of the buyer's intent to charge them with a crime.
　
>> i think it is unconscionable the delay that occurred between august to january to bring charges against these individuals.
　
>> reporter: and that was the fault of?
　
>> the u.s. attorney's office.
　
>> reporter: house republicans lay blame across the board.
　
>> one of the things that's so offensive about this case is that our federal government, knowingly, willfully, purposely gave the drug cartels nearly 2,000 weapons, mostly ak-47s, and allowed them to walk.
　
>> reporter: today newell says his career has been shattered and that field agents have been deterred from taking risks to stop gun trafficking for fear of being second guessed by congress.
　
>> not only mexico, the united states, the criminals have won. the people that are laughing all the way to and from the gun stores and to and from mexico are the criminals.
>> reporter: the justice department today declined comment but said in a letter to house speaker john boehner it will not prosecute the attorney general. michael isakoff, nbc news, washington.

The MSM refused to report on this and now that they are forced to all they seem to be able to do is spin it for Holder and the DOJ. Regardless of where Holder falls out, he is responsible for the actions of the DOJ as a agency.

Comedian Jon Stewart on
Obama's claim of Executive Privilege pt. 1

Gov't gunrunning? What gunrunning?

DOJ won't prosecute Holder; civil court next?

By David Jackson
USA TODAY

The Justice Department made it official today, saying they won't prosecute Attorney General Eric Holder for contempt of Congress despite the resolution the Republican House passed yesterday.

But the "Fast and Furious" case could still wind up in civil court.

In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R- Ohio, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said Holder's decision to withhold documents about the bungled gun trafficking investigation from Congress "does not constitute a crime."

"Therefore, the department will not bring the congressional contempt citation before a grand jury or take any other action to prosecute the attorney general,'' Cole wrote.

Boehner spokesman Buck Brendan called the decision "not surprising, given the Administration's pattern of stonewalling, but it is still disappointing."

Continue reading here
DOJ won't prosecute Holder; civil court next?

Democrats are calling it a witch-hunt.

In the past, Republicans called it a fishing expedition.

Leave it to a comedian to point out that in politics a 'witch-hunt'
and a 'fishing expedition' are the same thing, and NEITHER justify
keeping secrets from a Congressional investigation, or the American
people.

(NOTE: This is a two part video, be sure to scroll down the webpage
for the link to part two.)

Video:

The 'Fast and Furious' scandal: Comedian Jon Stewart on Obama's claim of Executive Privilege pt. 1

Goodman Green
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The 'Fast and Furious' scandal: Comedian Jon Stewart on Obama's claim of Executive Privilege pt. 1