Black Is The Great Excuse For Lack Of Honesty And Morals wrote in message
...
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011...-denies-prior-
knowledge-fast-and-furious/

The head of the U.S. Justice Department launched his strongest
personal defense yet in the growing furor over Operation Fast
and Furious, the controversial sting targeting Mexican drug
cartels and American gunrunners.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder said for the first
time that not only he but also other higher-ups at the Justice
Department were not aware of the operation as it was being
carried out. Holder also suggested politics could be a driving
force behind Republican lawmakers' forceful inquiries into the
matter.

"The notion that somehow or other this thing reaches into the
upper levels of the Justice Department is something that. ... I
don't think is supported by the facts," Holder told reporters at
an unrelated press conference in Washington. "It's kind of
something I think certain members of Congress would like to see,
the notion that somehow or other high-level people in the
department were involved. As I said, I don't think that is going
to be shown to be the case -- which doesn't mean that the
mistakes were not serious."

A spokeswoman for the Republican leading a congressional
investigation described Holder's comments as baseless "whining,"
and earlier Wednesday the House Republican himself said the
issue is about more than who knew what, when.

"Whenever you talk about human mistakes, you have to say, 'What
was in the system that allowed that human mistake to go on and
perpetuate itself?'" Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of
the House Oversight Committee, said on Fox News Channel.

At issue is an Arizona operation launched in late 2009 by the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which
planned to follow gun purchasers in hopes that suspects would
lead investigators to the heads of Mexican cartels. But hundreds
of high-powered rifles and other guns ended up in Mexico, and
many now accuse ATF and the Justice Department of letting the
guns "walk" even after safety concerns were raised.

Weapons linked to the program were used in a December attack
along the Southwest Border that killed U.S. Border Patrol Agent
Brian Terry. Months later, Issa launched his committee's
investigation, as the Justice Department's inspector general
also opened an inquiry, at Holder's direction.

"Our committee is the Government [Oversight and] Reform
Committee," Issa said Wednesday. "We are about making sure that
there is a system to prevent this in the future. When we have
assurances that system is in place then our job is done."

But Holder seemed to question whether that is all Issa and other
Republican critics are after.

"My hope would be that Congress will conduct an investigation
that is factually based and not marred with politics," Holder
said.

Holder has said repeatedly he was not aware of the operation as
it was unfolding, and others have said no one at the Justice
Department in Washington was informed of it, but Issa insists
Holder at least "should have known."

"I believe it was his obligation to know, " Issa told Fox News
in June. "The fact that there was a 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
policy in Eric Holder's office is to say really he wasn't doing
his job."

Holder, however, noted he leads a massive department with all
sorts of functions and obligations

"There are an awful lot of things that go on in the Justice
Department," he said. "There's Operation Fast and Furious, [and]
I'm sure there's Operation 'Fill In The Blank' going on right
now that the people here in the department are not aware of."

Holder said he, as head of the department, has tried to "place
in the field the responsibility and the discretion for
enforcement activities," while setting "broad parameters here in
the department" that he expects to be followed outside of
Washington.

Holder has repeatedly denounced the tactics used in Operation
Fast and Furious, calling the operation Wednesday a "flawed
enforcement effort."

Recently, the man who headed ATF in the midst of it, Ken Melson,
was reassigned, and U.S. attorney Dennis Burke, who oversaw the
prosecution of cases coming out of the operation, abruptly
resigned.

Nevertheless, at least three men have been charged in connection
with the murder of agent Terry, though only one is in U.S.
custody. And the Justice Department recently informed lawmakers
that cases coming out of Operation Fast and Furious will now be
led by prosecutors from outside Arizona.

Bull****. Every leader down to a shop supervisor is responsible for knowing
what goes on during his watch.

Steve