The Obama Administration’s Lack Of Accountability Is Keeping Americans From Getting The Answers They Deserve

May 3, 2011: Attorney General Eric Holder Testified He Had Become Aware Of Operation Fast And Furious “Over The Last Few Weeks.” “On May 3, 2011, Holder told a Judiciary Committee hearing, ‘I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.’ Yet internal Justice Department documents show that at least ten months before that hearing, Holder began receiving frequent memos discussing Fast and Furious.” (Sharyl Attkisson, “ATF Fast And Furious: New Documents Show Attorney General Eric Holder Was Briefed In July 2010,” CBS News, 10/3/11)

BUT OBAMA AND OTHER ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS WERE ANSWERING QUESTIONS MONTHS BEFORE

March 22, 2011: President Obama Explained That Attorney General Holder Had Commissioned An Inspector General To Review Fast And Furious. OBAMA: “He [Attorney General Holder] has been very clear, our policy is to catch gunrunners and put them into jail. So what he’s done is he’s assigned an I.G., an Inspector General to investigate what exactly happened here.” (“Obama On ‘Gunwalking’ – ‘Serious Mistakes’ May Have Been Made,” CBS News’ “Hot Sheet Live,” 3/23/11)

• President Obama Said He Asked Attorney General Eric Holder About Fast And Furious. OBAMA: “There have been problems, you know. I heard on the news about this story that — Fast and Furious, where allegedly guns were being run into Mexico, and ATF knew about it, but didn’t apprehend those who had sent it. Eric Holder has — the attorney general has been very clear that he knew nothing about this. We had assigned an I.G., inspector general, to investigate it.” (“Interview With President Obama,” CNN Espanol, 3/22/11)

March 9, 2011: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano Testified That She Was Aware Of Operation Fast And Furious Following The Murders Of American Law Enforcement Personnel. NAPOLITANO: “I am aware of the ATF operation generally, and have become aware in the wake of the murders of Agent Terry and Agent Zapata.” (Janet Napolitano, Committee On The Judiciary, U.S. Senate, Testimony, 3/9/11)

• When Asked If She Was Aware That One Of Her Agents Was Working On Fast And Furious, Napolitano Replied, “I’m Not Aware Of That, Any Particular Agent.” (Janet Napolitano, Committee On The Judiciary, U.S. Senate, Testimony, 3/9/11)

March 18, 2011: Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton Told Telemundo That The Justice Department Was Looking Into Fast And Furious. CLINTON: “Well, of course, we are committed to doing everything we can to stop the flow of what we consider illegal guns being trafficked into Mexico and being used by the criminals against innocent Mexicans. Different methods have been tried. The one that you mentioned is under review by the Department of Justice, because everything we do, we want to lead to the right result. And I think that questions have been raised about this by the Mexicans themselves and we should look into it.” (Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Interview With Jose Diaz-Balart Of Telemundo, Department Of State Website, 3/18/11)

• March 18, 2011: Secretary Of State Clinton Told Univision That The Justice Department Was Investigating Fast And Furious. CLINTON: “Well, I was unaware of it. It was a law enforcement initiative. But I do think it’s important to recognize it was aimed at doing something that we are in full agreement with Mexico about, and that is stopping the flow of illegal guns across the border. But we’re still working on making sure there is good cooperation and good information sharing. We’ve come a very long way in working with our Mexican friends on this shared challenge of criminality. And the Department of Justice has announced it will be investigating that particular program.” (Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Interview With Lourdes Meluza Of Univision, Department Of State Website, 3/18/11)
• October 27, 2011:  Secretary Of State Clinton Bizarrely Answered That She Had Never Been Asked About Fast And Furious. “The secretary testified that State had ‘no record of any request for coordination. We have no record of any kind of notice or heads up. My recollection is that I heard about it from the press,’ Clinton added. Claiming that it was the first time she has been asked that question, Clinton said that she had seen ‘no evidence’ that such a waiver was granted and promised to investigate the matter further.” (Joshua Altman, “Clinton: DOJ Didn’t Give State A ‘Heads Up’ About Fast And Furious,” The Hill, 10/27/11)

ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER RECEIVED A LETTER ON FAST AND FURIOUS IN FEBRUARY 2011

February 16, 2011: Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member Of The Senate Judiciary Committee Sent Official Correspondence To The Justice Department Requesting Documents Related To Fast And Furious. “Copies of all e-mails related to Operation Fast and Furious, the Jaime Avila case, or the death of CBP Agent Brian Terry sent to or from SAC Newell, Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) George Gillette, Group 7 Supervisor, or the Case Agent between November 1, 2009 and January 31, 2011.” (Charles E. Grassley, Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member, Letter To U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., 2/16/11)

GOING FURTHER BACK, HOLDER RECEIVED BRIEFINGS ON FAST AND FURIOUS IN 2010

Documents Show Attorney General Eric Holder Was Sent Briefings On Fast And Furious Since 2010. “New documents obtained by CBS News show Attorney General Eric Holder was sent briefings on the controversial Fast and Furious operation as far back as July 2010. That directly contradicts his statement to Congress.” (Sharyl Attkisson, “ATF Fast And Furious: New Documents Show Attorney General Eric Holder Was Briefed In July 2010,” CBS News, 10/3/11)

• Michael Walther, Director Of The National Drug Intelligence Center Advised Attorney General Holder Of Fast And Furious In July 2010. “And in a July 2010 memo from Michael Walther, the director of the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), Holder was notified that NDIC and a Phoenix drug enforcement task force would assist the ATF with an investigation of a suspected gun trafficker, Manuel Celis-Acosta, being run under Operation Fast and Furious.” (Jordy Yager, “Docs Show Holder Was Informed Of Fast And Furious In 2010,” The Hill, 10/4/11) 
• October 2010 Email Shows That Senior DOJ Officials Knew About The Fast And Furious Operation. “Meanwhile, other leaked documents show that senior Justice Department officials were aware of Fast and Furious in 2010. In an October 2010 email, Jason Weinstein, deputy attorney general in the DOJ’s criminal division, wrote an email to Lanny Breuer, head of the criminal division about Fast and Furious, referencing ‘the number of guns that have walked.’” (Tim Mak, “Docs Put Holder On The Spot In Fast & Furious,” Politico, 10/4/11)
• Attorney General Holder Was Briefed By A Memo In November 2010. “But in a memo from November 2010 Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer notified Holder about a sealed indictment against alleged gun traffickers in Arizona by the DOJ’s organized crime and gang section.” (Jordy Yager, “Docs Show Holder Was Informed Of Fast And Furious In 2010,” The Hill, 10/4/11) 

• Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer Noted Fast And Furious In The Memo Received By Attorney General Holder. “Breuer wrote that the indictment would remain sealed ‘until another investigation, Phoenix-based ‘Operation Fast and Furious,’ is ready for takedown.’” (Jordy Yager, “Docs Show Holder Was Informed Of Fast And Furious In 2010,” The Hill, 10/4/11)