Falling on Swords

[Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438]

Some weeks back, I discussed the apparent role of Lanny Breuer in Fast & Furious....

 

Now, it looks like Breuer has drawn the short straw, and will try to link Fast & Furious methods to the Bush Administration (surprise! Bush did it!), and then take the blame for knowing and not telling the Chief....

 

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/31/politics/justice-gun-walking/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

 

 

A progressive retreat is in motion....we started with the BIG LIE (a term of art, used by Joe McCarthy during the Red Scare - if you want to tell a lie, tell a WHOPPER - if it's real outlandish, no one will think you had the guts to make it up, so it MUST be true), often reported in the press, that most of the guns used by drug cartels in Mexico came from the US. THe Administration, at the same time, was starting to float the idea that these reports justified greater restrictions on gun sales, since dealers MUST have been circumventing the law (Right!)

 

Pressed for statistics, and refuted by some with hard facts, they retreated to "alot" of the guns came across the border, and suddenly folks were pressing for more details; so it became:

 

1. "The evil border gun dealers did it, and the Justice Department is investigating"

 

However the folks behind this plot did not count on the whistleblowing by ATF field agents, who risked their careers to expose this nonsense;they plainly pointed to ATF and Justice as the source of this "plan", and called them out for inciting, financing and ordering this string of illegal acts.

 

With the cat out of the bag, and multiple witnesses confirming that guns "walked", and that Brian Terry was a victim of such guns, it morphed into:

 

2. "It was the sole fault of the leadership of the Phoenix ATF; Justice didn't know about it, and is still investigating";

 

3. Then the head of the Phoenix ATF had a back-room discussion with Issa's committee, and suddenly we saw at least 3 major Phoenix Justice officials moved to other jobs; it became:

 

4. "It was the fault of several evil people in Phoenix ATF/US Attorney's office, and we'll solve it by transferring the incompetents to Washington" (apparently to have company);

 

But the questions didn't stop; the investigation by Congress continued, and Holder had to testify. At first, he wasn't in the room:

 

5. "It was a bad plan by others, but I didn't know about it until April/May 2011"; (keep that testimony in mind);

 

The Committee got its hands (finally) on internal briefing memos, clearly showing that F&F was discussed repeatedly, starting at least in mid-2010, almost a year earlier than Holder swore; the next day, the Justice Department released a statement by Holder; he "misunderstood" the question (watch out; for lawyers, that means "I want to change my testimony now that I've been caught in an untruth".) His non-sworn revision was:

 

6. "I meant to say I didn't know about the evil tactics used until April/May 2011" SO now, it's "I may have heard of F&F, but I didn't know the evil details until you called me on it".

 

But the hearings continued; a subpoena has been served on Holder; more documents have been produced, including some from the FBI, raising the liklihood that the committee has more written impeachment possibilities; and the window of escape is narrowing;

 

Which brings us to this gem; Lanny will try to take the hit, to be rewarded in the afterlife with his Federal pension and some profitable side work; Holder will be off the hook (maybe); and anyone else above in the chain of command will have deniability.

 

It'll make a good book.

 

LL