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| Eric Holder claims executive privilege over Fast and Furious investigation - US politics live | Eric Holder claims executive privilege over Fast and Furious investigation - US politics live |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| 11.36pm: More background on Fast and Furious and the war by memo between the House committee on govenment oversight and the department of justice, via AP: | |
| During the committee's year-and-a-half-long investigation, the department has turned over 7,600 documents about the conduct of the Fast and Furious operation. However, because Justice initially told the committee falsely the operation did not use a risky investigative technique known as gun-walking, the panel has turned its attention from the details of the operation and is now seeking documents that would show how the department headquarters responded to the committee's investigation. | |
| In Fast and Furious, agents of the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Arizona abandoned the agency's usual practice of intercepting all weapons they believed to be illicitly purchased. Instead, the goal of gun-walking was to track such weapons to high-level arms traffickers, who had long eluded prosecution, and to dismantle their networks. | |
| Gun-walking has long been barred by Justice Department policy, but federal agents in Arizona experimented with it in at least two investigations during the George Bush administration before Fast and Furious. These experiments came as the department was under widespread criticism that the old policy of arresting every suspected low-level "straw purchaser" was still allowing tens of thousands of guns to reach Mexico. A straw purchaser is an illicit buyer of guns for others. | |
| 11.18pm: There's an escalation in the rhetoric over the Fast and Furious investigation, with Speaker of the House John Boehner's spokesman making an inflamatory statement accusing the White House of "bending the law": | |
| 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. The administration has always insisted that wasn't the case. Were they lying, or are they now bending the law to hide the truth? | |
| That's from Boehner's press secretary Brendan Buck, who appears not to understand that executive privilege encompasses the whole of the executive, not just the president. | |
| 11am: Hey, remember Joe The Plumber? No, me neither, but in 2008 he was very briefly famous for being touted as the embodiment of middle America by Republican presidential candidate John McCain. | 11am: Hey, remember Joe The Plumber? No, me neither, but in 2008 he was very briefly famous for being touted as the embodiment of middle America by Republican presidential candidate John McCain. |
| Now Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher – his real name – is running for Congress in Ohio and stakes an early claim for the worst and most offensive campaign ad of the 2012 election cycle. It has guns and the Holocaust – what could possibly go wrong? Here's Israeli newspaper Haaretz: | Now Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher – his real name – is running for Congress in Ohio and stakes an early claim for the worst and most offensive campaign ad of the 2012 election cycle. It has guns and the Holocaust – what could possibly go wrong? Here's Israeli newspaper Haaretz: |
| In the recent past, the Holocaust proved to be a troubling topic for some of the Republican candidates, but Wurzelbacher certainly had time to think about his message, which appears in his online campaign ad. In the video, the candidate is seen holding his gun, shooting vegetables and, in between, revealing his position that links gun control laws, the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide. | In the recent past, the Holocaust proved to be a troubling topic for some of the Republican candidates, but Wurzelbacher certainly had time to think about his message, which appears in his online campaign ad. In the video, the candidate is seen holding his gun, shooting vegetables and, in between, revealing his position that links gun control laws, the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide. |
| "In 1911, Turkey established gun control", he says. "From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were exterminated. In 1939, Germany established gun control. From 1939 to 1945, six million Jews and seven million others unable to defend themselves were exterminated." | "In 1911, Turkey established gun control", he says. "From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were exterminated. In 1939, Germany established gun control. From 1939 to 1945, six million Jews and seven million others unable to defend themselves were exterminated." |
| At the end of the short video, he smiles lightly and concludes: "I love America." | At the end of the short video, he smiles lightly and concludes: "I love America." |
| The National Jewish Democratic Council President and CEO David Harris demanded Wurzelbacher apologize. "Using the memories of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust to make a political point is never appropriate, under any circumstances", he said. | The National Jewish Democratic Council President and CEO David Harris demanded Wurzelbacher apologize. "Using the memories of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust to make a political point is never appropriate, under any circumstances", he said. |
| 10.32am: Here's the text of the letter sent from the department of justice to Darryl Issa this morning, from deputy attorney general James Cole, announcing the granting of executive privilege: | |
| After you rejected the Department's recent offers of additional accommodations, you stated that the Committee intends to proceed with its scheduled meeting to consider a resolution citing the Attorney General for contempt for failing to comply with the Committee's subpoena of October 11, 2011. I write now to inform you that the President has asserted executive privilege over the relevant post-February 4, 2011, documents. | |
| We regret that we have arrived at this point, after the many steps we have taken to address the Committee's concerns and to accommodate the Committee's legitimate oversight interests regarding Operation Fast and Furious. Although we are deeply disappointed that the Committee appears intent on proceeding with a contempt vote, the Department remains willing to work with the Committee to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution of the outstanding issues. | |
| By way of background: the House committee's investigation into Fast and Furious – a gun-running sting involving smuggled weapons across the US border to Mexican drug cartels that went badly wrong – has been continuing since early 2011, with Republicans alleging a cover-up by Eric Holder and the justice department. | |
| Fast and Furious was designed to track illegal gun purchases along the Southwest border between Mexico and Arizona, to trace the guns to drug cartels. Disasterously, some 1,700 guns used in the operation were lost and some of the weapons have subsequently been discovered at crime scenes in Mexico. Two guns connected to Fast and Furious were found after a US Border Patrol agent was killed in Tucson in 2010. | Fast and Furious was designed to track illegal gun purchases along the Southwest border between Mexico and Arizona, to trace the guns to drug cartels. Disasterously, some 1,700 guns used in the operation were lost and some of the weapons have subsequently been discovered at crime scenes in Mexico. Two guns connected to Fast and Furious were found after a US Border Patrol agent was killed in Tucson in 2010. |
| 10.15am: The White House has blocked access to documents detailing the government's response to Operation Fast and Furious, the botched gun-running sting, claiming executive privilege and attempting to thwart efforts by Republicans in Congress to hold US attorney general Eric Holder in contempt. | 10.15am: The White House has blocked access to documents detailing the government's response to Operation Fast and Furious, the botched gun-running sting, claiming executive privilege and attempting to thwart efforts by Republicans in Congress to hold US attorney general Eric Holder in contempt. |
| Darrell Issa – the Republican congressman who chairs the House oversight and government reform committee investigating Fast and Furious – had threatened Holder with contempt of Congress for what he regarded as a slow response by the justice department to comply with the committee's demands. | Darrell Issa – the Republican congressman who chairs the House oversight and government reform committee investigating Fast and Furious – had threatened Holder with contempt of Congress for what he regarded as a slow response by the justice department to comply with the committee's demands. |
| Today Holder and the Department of Justice have responded by successfully applying to the White House for a claim of executive privilege. Here's a copy of the letter Holder sent to the White House asking for executive privilege to be asserted over the documents requested by Issa's commitee, which relate not to Fast and Furious iteself but to the department's response to the investigation. | Today Holder and the Department of Justice have responded by successfully applying to the White House for a claim of executive privilege. Here's a copy of the letter Holder sent to the White House asking for executive privilege to be asserted over the documents requested by Issa's commitee, which relate not to Fast and Furious iteself but to the department's response to the investigation. |
| Isaa and the committee are holding a hearing this morning, and we'll be following developments. | Isaa and the committee are holding a hearing this morning, and we'll be following developments. |
| Here's Ryan Devereaux's summary of other news: | Here's Ryan Devereaux's summary of other news: |
| • Mitt Romney denounced to reports that his campaign has not vetted Florida senator Marco Rubio. Speaking at an ice cream shop in Michigan on Tuesday, Romney said his team was "thoroughly vetting" Rubio. ABC News had earlier cited unnamed advisers indicating Rubio was not on the short list to be Romney's running mate, contrary to popular belief. Rubio himself, meanwhile, is not discussing the matter. | • Mitt Romney denounced to reports that his campaign has not vetted Florida senator Marco Rubio. Speaking at an ice cream shop in Michigan on Tuesday, Romney said his team was "thoroughly vetting" Rubio. ABC News had earlier cited unnamed advisers indicating Rubio was not on the short list to be Romney's running mate, contrary to popular belief. Rubio himself, meanwhile, is not discussing the matter. |
| • Rubio, a rising star in the GOP, is seen as one of the party's last, best hope for securing the Hispanic vote. The Republicans suffered a major setback when last week President Obama announced he would not seek the deportation of young undocumented immigrants. In an effort to bounce back, the Republican National Committee has released a web video targetting Hispanic voters. The video makes the case that Hispanics are suffering because the economy is bad while Obama merely "plays politics". | • Rubio, a rising star in the GOP, is seen as one of the party's last, best hope for securing the Hispanic vote. The Republicans suffered a major setback when last week President Obama announced he would not seek the deportation of young undocumented immigrants. In an effort to bounce back, the Republican National Committee has released a web video targetting Hispanic voters. The video makes the case that Hispanics are suffering because the economy is bad while Obama merely "plays politics". |
| • The Obama campaign, meanwhile, has released two new videos of its own, both painting Romney as a tax-raising governor who shipped American jobs overseas. Romney's team responded to the ads with a long research document listing tax cuts he made as governor of Massachusetts, while disputing the claim that he was directly involved in outsourcing. | • The Obama campaign, meanwhile, has released two new videos of its own, both painting Romney as a tax-raising governor who shipped American jobs overseas. Romney's team responded to the ads with a long research document listing tax cuts he made as governor of Massachusetts, while disputing the claim that he was directly involved in outsourcing. |
| • A new poll has Obama well ahead of Romney in terms of popularity. According to Bloomberg News, the president leads his challenger 53% to 40%, while 55% of the survey's respondents said Romney is the candidate most out of touch with the American people, as opposed to 36% who say that of the president. "Taken together, the results suggest an unsettled political environment for both Obama and Romney five months from the November election, with voters choosing for now to stick with a president they say is flawed rather than backing a challenger they regard as undefined and disconnected," Bloomberg reported. | • A new poll has Obama well ahead of Romney in terms of popularity. According to Bloomberg News, the president leads his challenger 53% to 40%, while 55% of the survey's respondents said Romney is the candidate most out of touch with the American people, as opposed to 36% who say that of the president. "Taken together, the results suggest an unsettled political environment for both Obama and Romney five months from the November election, with voters choosing for now to stick with a president they say is flawed rather than backing a challenger they regard as undefined and disconnected," Bloomberg reported. |