By: Jeffrey Klein, Political Buzz Examiner
Examiner.com

Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today, which is chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA). He was there for a another round of testimony regarding the botched ATF “gun-walking” operation known as “Fast and Furious,” according to a FOXNews article today.

However, by the way that Holder carried himself and addressed the committee, you would think that he was given a Sterling Silver “stay out of jail and on the job” necklace to wear, because he continued obfuscate and reject any semblance of personal responsibility.

Holder even read a [falsely] gratuitous statement into the record, which illustrated a sociopathic disregard for his department being a direct accomplice in thousands of murders–committed by criminals using the Fast and Furious firearms his department “lost”…

“Although the department has taken steps to ensure that such tactics are never used again, it is an unfortunate reality that we will continue to feel the effects of this flawed operation for years to come. [The] Guns lost during this operation will continue to show up at crime scenes on both sides of the border.”

During the hearing, although Holder decried the “gun-walking” tactic as “inexcusable” and “wholly unacceptable,” he denied department leaders played any role in the crafting of Fast and Furious.

Then Holder said such a program “must never happen again … We cannot afford to allow the tragic mistakes of ‘Operation Fast and Furious’ to become a political sideshow or a series of media opportunities … Instead, we must … recommit ourselves to our shared public safety obligations.”

It seems there might be more to the [hidden] agenda of Fast and Furious that meets the eye, which is equally troubling, as FOXNews reported that Holder used the hearing to prod Congress to support efforts to give the Justice Department broader legal tools to track firearms purchases…

…exactly what Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News uncovered, during her longtime investigative reporting on Operation Fast and Furious, as further reported in her well detailed article today.

Documents obtained by CBS News show that the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) discussed using their covert operation “Fast and Furious” to argue for controversial new rules about gun sales.

ATF officials didn’t intend to publicly disclose their own role in letting Mexican [drug] cartels obtain the weapons, but emails show they discussed using the sales, including sales encouraged by ATF, to justify a new gun regulation called “Demand Letter 3”–requiring some U.S. gun shops to report the sale of multiple rifles or “long guns.”

This email traffic occurred between ATF Field Ops Assistant Director Mark Chait and Bill Newell, ATF’s Phoenix Special Agent in Charge of Fast and Furious–for example:

“Bill – can you see if these guns were all purchased from the same (licensed gun dealer) and at one time. We are looking at anecdotal cases to support a demand letter on long gun multiple sales. Thanks.”

“Bill–well done yesterday… (I)n light of our request for Demand letter 3, this case could be a strong supporting factor if we can determine how many multiple sales of long guns occurred during the course of this case.”

Once this ATF email traffic was conveyed to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), he had this to say…

“There’s plenty of evidence showing that this administration planned to use the tragedies of Fast and Furious as rationale to further their goals of a long gun reporting requirement … It’s pretty clear that the problem isn’t lack of burdensome reporting requirements.”

Grassley and Issa sent Holder a letter, asking “whether officials in his agency discussed how Fast and Furious could be used to justify additional regulatory authorities.” So far, they have not received a response, which prompted this statement from Issa … “In light of the evidence–the Justice Department’s refusal to answer questions, about the role Operation Fast and Furious was supposed to play in advancing new firearms regulations, is simply unacceptable.”

But yet, Eric Holder walked out of the Congressional hearing today without a care, as he was headed back to his fortress–the United States Justice Department, where he rules the law enforcement industrial-complex in America.

Just like Al Capone’s “Protection Racket” apparatus in Chicago…

Copyright (c) 2011 by Jeffrey Klein