obdummy hides holder behind exec privilege

[rockhound]

the most transparent administration my rear end.

BO has exercised executive privilege to hide the fast and furious documents from review, what BS

http://drudgegae.iavian.net/r?hop=http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/20/politics/holder-contempt/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

[Eggysrun]

I don't care if it was George Washington himself pulling that kind of crap, it's just plain wrong and I'm seriously outraged at how border patrol agents and civilians have been killed from weapons from this flawed and failed operation and the people responsible up top are clearly covering themselves.

Congress really needs to step up their game and make it clear to our current and future presidents that shit doesn't fly especially to the voters!

[JoeT]

Is he protecting Holder? or himself?

I'd be willing to bet that somewhere on at least 1 piece of paper is "the one" giving his approval in the process, maybe even directing the process

[Bitter Clinger]

The tree of liberty muat be watered from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants......just sayin'

[Zundfolge]

Is he protecting Holder? or himself?

He's trying to protect himself, but he's doing so in a way similar to Richard Nixon ... and we all saw how that worked out.

[68Charger]

Is he protecting Holder? or himself?

I'd be willing to bet that somewhere on at least 1 piece of paper is "the one" giving his approval in the process, maybe even directing the process


^^^^ THIS ^^^^

In a letter sent to Obama late Tuesday, Holder urged Obama to exert executive privilege, because sharing internal documents with lawmakers could "have significant, damaging consequences.”

Sharing the documents “would inhibit candor of such Executive Branch deliberations in the future and significantly impair the Executive Branch’s ability to respond independently and effectively to congressional oversight,” Holder wrote to Obama.
source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/fast-and-furious-scandal-obama-exerts-executive-privilege-house-panel-moves-forward-with-contempt-vote/2012/06/20/gJQAGImIqV_story.html

The executive privilege won't protect Holder from the contempt of Congress vote... but hiding the documents behind Exec. Priv. will protect anyone in the WH that is named/addressed in them.

They should require him to legally change his name to "Eric Withholder"

[Lex_Luthor]

How pathetic. So is an executive privilege the "end" of this then? Or is there a way for those in Congress concerned about bringing this to light and to justice, to still bring it out?

[yankeefan98121]

How pathetic. So is an executive privilege the "end" of this then? Or is there a way for those in Congress concerned about bringing this to light and to justice, to still bring it out?

Nope it's done, the end, Issa and the "witch hunt crew" will never see those docs

they can hold eh to contempt but that won't mean shit until the FULL house agrees on the punishment, that will be the day eh [ROFL1]

[Mtn.man]

It worked for Nixon, Clinton, and Bush, so why not use it to cover your ass.

[sniper7]

Is he protecting Holder? or himself?

I'd be willing to bet that somewhere on at least 1 piece of paper is "the one" giving his approval in the process, maybe even directing the process

that is what I am thinking as well.

Does anyone know if there is a way around this to get those documents. at this point I will just assume it ties obama to the whole thing and I want to see the entire fucking ship brought down...captain and all.

[02ducky]

I hate this crap so much, the whole bunch of them need to flushed down the toilet and live in the sewer with the rest of the rats.

The system is so screwed up and I fear its only going to get worse.

[hollohas]

What a bunch of SOBs. IMO this is one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) scandals ANY administration has been part of. I am convinced BO knew everything about this and even directed it as he openly used the information about US guns going to Mexico to further his anti-gun agenda. He stood up on Mexican TV blaming us, law abiding American citizens, for the violence troubles in Mexico. He said it was because of US guns getting across the border. But his own administration was sending them across the border.

The DOJ has outright lied at every turn. Early last year they said there was no such program allowing straw purchasers to send guns to criminals. That they enforced straw purchasing laws.

Then Holder said he "just" learned about it.

Then we find out that he knew about it all along.

The DOJ lied.

The ATF used this "walked" guns to make the case for new multi-gun reporting requirements for US civilians along the boarder with Demand Letter 3. In fact, they encouraged dealers to sell to known straw purchasers.

Dealer's email to ATF (http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/atf_investigation_02_111207.pdf)
AFT's email back to dealer (http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/atf_investigation_01_111207.pdf)

The same dealer sent the below email BEFORE Brian Terry was killed


"I wanted to make sure that none of the firearms that were sold per our conversation with you and various ATF agents could or would ever end up south of the border or in the hands of the bad guys. I guess I am looking for a bit of reassurance that the guns are not getting south or in the wrong hands...I want to help ATF with its investigation but not at the risk of agents (sic) safety because I have some very close friends that are US Border Patrol agents in southern AZ as well as my concern for all the agents (sic) safety that protect our country."

Obama himself said the Feds responsible for Fast & Furious will be held accountable.

No one is being held accountable...BO lied (no surprise, but why more people aren't pissed is beyond my comprehension)

A federal officer is dead.

Roger Clemens lied to congress and they spend years organizing to charge him and then months in trial. He lied about using steroids and no one got hurt.

The ATF, DOJ and WH have lied to congress about about F&F multiple times, someone died (potentially hundreds if we count the violence in Mexico) and we get nothing.

People need to be fired over this. People need to go to jail over this.

This clip from Top Gun sums it up...

aEURsGD0-WQ

[yankeefan98121]

that is what I am thinking as well.

Does anyone know if there is a way around this to get those documents. at this point I will just assume it ties obama to the whole thing and I want to see the entire fucking ship brought down...captain and all.

No, once the executive privilege has been ordered there's no way around it

It's probably the most concrete thing we have, next to the constitution (but I sometimes question that)

[Singlestack]

Issa pushes ahead with Holder contempt vote despite Obama intervention

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/06/20/house-republicans-tee-up-imminent-contempt-vote-against-holder/#ixzz1yLo9BXyY

I have underlined the word "despite" that Fox used. To any reasonable person, that would indicate that Beeho's intervention was somehow in the direction of what the committee was requesting. The reality is Beeho gave the committee the finger.

I would have expected such a title from MSNBC, CNN, or ABC news - the shill mouthpieces for the democrats. Now we have the "fair and balanced" Fox giving a totally inaccurate and spun title on a very critical story. I guess behaving like the left wing media makes Fox more "balanced"? Very disappointing.

We have yet another example of a constitutional crisis in the US. The separation of powers means nothing to Beeho's administration. They continue to act as an emporer or monarchy completely without accountability. The bottom line is if Boehner doesn't find some Cohones ASAP. we will by definition no longer be a constitutional republic but instead a Kingdom/empire.

Seeing Beeho in action, I'm guessing he knows he is in big electoral trouble - and sees another distraction as something that he can benefit from. The media will give him cover and the Dem's talking points are already established as a "political witch hunt".

Singlestack

[hollohas]

It worked for Nixon, Clinton, and Bush, so why not use it to cover your ass.

True. Although in this case, the DOJ was asked for documents, not the White House like in those other cases. Executive Privilege is used to protect the White House, not the DOJ. So by them using this privilege it answers the question "was the White House involved?" Yup.

But of course we all knew that already.

PS - this DOJ site is a FAIL.

Open Government (http://www.justice.gov/open/)

[Jumpstart]

Barack Obama= THE worst president ever.

[rockhound]

looks like normal chicago style politics to me

[Zundfolge]

It worked for Nixon, Clinton, and Bush, so why not use it to cover your ass.
Did it really work for Nixon?

He still had to resign and he'd have died in prison if Ford didn't pardon him.

[Mtn.man]

Transparency and Open Government

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_off ... Government (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment)

My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.

Government should be transparent. Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing. Information maintained by the Federal Government is a national asset. My Administration will take appropriate action, consistent with law and policy, to disclose information rapidly in forms that the public can readily find and use. Executive departments and agencies should harness new technologies to put information about their operations and decisions online and readily available to the public.

Government should be collaborative. Collaboration actively engages Americans in the work of their Government. Executive departments and agencies should use innovative tools, methods, and systems to cooperateamong themselves, across all levels of Government, and with nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individuals in the private sector. Executive departments and agencies should solicit public feedback to assess and improve their level of collaboration and to identify new opportunities for cooperation.

BARACK OBAMA

[aahorn]

what % of the population knows and/or cares that our feds were running guns to drug cartels to create a case against gun ownership in barack hussien's possible 2nd term?

my guess.. about 10% maybe. i know alot of people in america love guns, but how many are actively engaged and enraged over this/typical gov BS?

[CrufflerSteve]

I love Charles Grassley's response: “The assertion of executive privilege raises monumental questions. How can the president assert executive privilege if there was no White House involvement? How can the president exert executive privilege over documents he's supposedly never seen?”

“Until now everyone believed that the decisions regarding Fast and Furious were confined to the Department of Justice. The White House decision to invoke executive privilege implies that White House officials were either involved in the Fast and Furious operation or the cover-up that followed,” said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner. “The administration has always insisted that wasn't the case. Were they lying, or are they now bending the law to hide the truth?”

I hope this spreads beyond activist gun folk and out into the general population. To me, this means Nobama has just admitted the WH was involved. I can just see the bumper sticker: Re-elect the Serial Killer

Steve

[jackthewall81]

I hope this spreads beyond activist gun folk and out into the general population. To me, this means Nobama has just admitted the WH was involved. I can just see the bumper sticker: Re-elect the Serial Killer

Steve

Oh it has. All of the sport sites I visit are booming with this news. Even known liberals are now questioning Obama and holder.

[hatidua]

what % of the population knows and/or cares that our feds were running guns to drug cartels to create a case against gun ownership in barack hussien's possible 2nd term?

my guess.. about 10% maybe.

I doubt that it's even remotely close to 10%. Sadly.

[TRnCO]

I beg to differ with it being an election year, I beleive this "little" story has become better known because as the election draws nearer, more people start paying attention to such events.
With this latest move of Obama's, now the mainstream liberal media MIGHT have to give the story more air time as well, because now, IT IS a story.

[Fmedges]

The direction of this country bums the shit out of me.

[68Charger]

I beg to differ with it being an election year, I beleive this "little" story has become better known because as the election draws nearer, more people start paying attention to such events.
With this latest move of Obama's, now the mainstream liberal media MIGHT have to give the story more air time as well, because now, IT IS a story.

And the more these stories are hit on news organization websites, the more they'll know there's interest in it, and if it means ratings, even MSNBC just might sell their messiah down the river (rather than go down WITH him)

[BPTactical]

Home run:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/heres-the-proof-rep-gowdy-raises-voice-invokes-stephen-colbert-in-6-minute-diatribe-blasting-holder/



Erkel at his best-"Ooops, did I say that?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpwYh9TD6Nc&feature=BFa&list=UU0NDAIG6R5qbWOm0-NNo7Ag

[68Charger]

Analyzing executive privilege: when can it be used?

According to an authoritative Congressional Research Service history of executive privilege (http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/RL30319.pdf), at least three important elements must be present for a legally correct assertion of the power. First, the communication the president wishes to withhold must bear on a core power of the presidency, such as the right to grant pardons or conduct law enforcement. Second, the communication must have come from or to the president or a close White House adviser. Third, the communication can’t contain info so unique that investigators can’t figure it out by looking elsewhere.

Read #2- So these documents to be protected came from the president or one of his advisers... and is related to F&F? HMMM

[Inconel710]

This is a good thing - it confirms the WH was involved, probably up to their necks, in it. Next step would be a special prosecutor, I guess. Not really needed, because Obama basically said "I did it" today.

[Bailey Guns]

I'm not so sure there's no way around Obama's assertion of executive privilege. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

Holder hasn't been thrown under the bus yet...but the bus is approaching.

Obama was caught between a rock and a hard place. If he didn't assert EP, the docs come out. If he does assert EP, it's a near admission he knew about F&F but it will make it harder and time consuming to get the docs. Maybe just enough time to get past the election. Then he won't really care...or at least he won't care as much.

[sniper7]

what % of the population knows and/or cares that our feds were running guns to drug cartels to create a case against gun ownership in barack hussien's possible 2nd term?

my guess.. about 10% maybe. i know alot of people in america love guns, but how many are actively engaged and enraged over this/typical gov BS?

perfect example. I asked my wife today what she knew about F&F. she said pretty much nothing. so I explained it all out, how it was done, who got killed and now the cover up and she was very enlightened and upset by it.

In my eyes, I see this as a present day watergate.

[sniper7]

I'm not so sure there's no way around Obama's assertion of executive privilege. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

Holder hasn't been thrown under the bus yet...but the bus is approaching.

Obama was caught between a rock and a hard place. If he didn't assert EP, the docs come out. If he does assert EP, it's a near admission he knew about F&F but it will make it harder and time consuming to get the docs. Maybe just enough time to get past the election. Then he won't really care...or at least he won't care as much.

that is true...unless he gets re-elected (i pray not). but if he does, then he will have to answer for this as there will be 4 years for Issa and congress to go after him for it. Then I can easily see EH going away.

[DavieD55]

that is true...unless he gets re-elected (i pray not). but if he does, then he will have to answer for this as there will be 4 years for Issa and congress to go after him for it. Then I can easily see EH going away.

Hopefully Issa retains his seat.

[palepainter]

These crooked bastards are going to go untouched. Let's face it, if there was any way to do it, it would have been done long ago. The mainstream media is missing or avoiding it all, so there is no lynchmob out there but the very small percentage of guys like us, who are on top of it.

[Sharpienads]

Mark Levin explained EP and how it applies to this case really well on his show today. I wish I could remember what he said so that I could share...

[Bailey Guns]

Mark Levin explained EP and how it applies to this case really well on his show today. I wish I could remember what he said so that I could share...

Was it this? Found here: http://www.therightscoop.com/mark-levin-executive-privilege-and-how-the-house-should-move-forward-legally/




As the Supreme Court recognized in US v. Nixon, the Executive Branch has a legitimate interest in confidentiality of communications among high officials so that the President can have the benefit of candid advice. However, as President Washington himself recognized, that privilege does not protect the President or his underlings from embarrassment or public exposure for questionable actions.

As the Supreme Court has also recognized repeatedly, the Congress, in the exercise of its constitutional powers, has the essential power to investigate the actions of the Executive Branch.

In this case, the exercise of Executive Privilege seems, in its timing and over-inclusiveness, to be nothing less than a political delaying tactic to prevent exposure of wrongdoing and incompetence that resulted in the murder of a American law enforcement agent and injury and death of many others. Further, a wholesale claim of privilege is facially improper: the President should be held to the standard that anyone claiming privilege is held to: identify each document in a log so that privilege can be disputed. (U.S. v. Nixon, 1974)

Because among the categories of documents sought are all those relating to the recantation by Holder of testimony before Congress, the demand goes to the core of the Congressional power under Article I. In this respect, this is not a general or oversight inquiry but a determination of why the Attorney General of the United States testified falsely before Congress about his own knowledge of a federal program. Presumptively, none of this category of documents is protected by Executive Privilege for wrongdoing per se is not protected by the privilege.

The right way to proceed is to hold Holder in contempt by resolution of the House and seek authorization from the House for the Committee, by its Chairman, to proceed by civil action to compel production of the documents. (Holder will not enforce a holding of contempt against himself — and by the way, he should have authorized, say, the assistant attorney general for legal counsel, to handle the contempt matter once the House voted as at that point he is representing his own interests and not those of the nation generally). Chairman Issa should file suit in federal court in DC and seek expedited action. There is no need for Senate action. The use of this procedure has been acknowledged by the Congressional Research Service in a 2007 study. Further, a privilege log should be sought by Issa and ordered produced immediately by the court, in camera inspection done promptly by the judge, and a final order entered compelling production of all documents for which no legitimate reason justifies Executive Privilege.

Yes, some documents may be covered by EP, but the blanket attachment of that label flouts the law and the Constitution, and harms the legitimate assertion of EP by Presidents of either party in the future. The Constitution is far too important to be subject to the caprice of this President and an AG who, on its face, wants to be free from scrutiny about why he testified falsely before a Committee of Congress.

Executive Privilege is a very important implied executive power, used in various forms since the presidency of George Washington. Therefore, it’s misuse and abuse, to cover-up wrongdoing, conceal embarrassing information, or advance a political agenda, diminishes the ability of future presidents to assert it legitimately.

[Sharpienads]

Yup!

[clublights]

http://media.townhall.com/Townhall/Car/b/mrz061412dAPR20120614124515.jpg

[onebadfx4]

I a so sick of hearing about this clown. He needs to go.