On Thursday, Rep. Allen West (R-FL) called for a special prosecutor to investigate the role of Attorney General Eric Holder in the "Fast and Furious" scandal that saw weapons sold to carriers known to supply Mexican drug lords.
"This is just another sad chapter in the Eric Holder book of ineptness and incompetence," West said, while appearing on the Steve Gill Show.
"Eric Holder needs to be brought before an investigative committee and if those charges are warranted he needs to be held accountable.
"At least the president needs to realize that Eric Holder needs to be removed from the Department of Justice … or else it appears President Obama is complicit and in approval of the actions of his attorney general," he said.
An article at WND notes:
West's comments came in the wake of word from Acting Director Kenneth Melson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that the DOJ blocked him and other senior agency officials from cooperating with members of Congress who were investigating the scandal.
According to West, the solution is "an independent special prosecutor who would be assigned to look into the roles of top DOJ officials, such as Holder, regarding the "Fast and Furious" gun-running scheme."
"If all roads lead to him as far as obstructing justice, then we've got to have that special investigation," he said.
CNS News reports that Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, does not believe the Attorney General gave him an accurate testimony on May 3.
In that testimony, Holder told the Judiciary Committee he had “probably” heard only in the “last few weeks” about the Justice Department’s “Operation Fast and Furious.” Issa told CNSNews.com he is convinced—“absolutely”—that Holder knew about the operation earlier than he claimed.
The program, started in 2009 and funded in part with money from the stimulus program, allowed smugglers to purchase weapons from licensed gun dealers in the United States. Those smugglers were then allowed to - in some cases - deliver those weapons to Mexican drug cartels.
CNS News reports that "agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were specifically ordered not to stop the purchases, not to intercept the smugglers after they made the purchases, and not to retrieve the weapons."
In December 2010, two rifles sold under the program were found at the scene of the murder of Brian Terry, a Border Patrol agent.
According to CNS News:
Within 24 hours of Terry’s murder, according to an internal ATF email released by Issa, the FBI had definitively traced the rifles found at the murder scene back to Operation Fast and Furious and had so notified ATF.
A letter from Darrell Issa and Senator Chuck Grassley notes:
The evidence we have gathered raises the disturbing possibility that the Justice Department not only allowed criminals to smuggle weapons but that taxpayer dollars from other agencies may have financed those engaging in such activities. While this is preliminary information, we must find out if there is any truth to it. According to Acting Director Melson, he became aware of this startling possibility only after the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and the indictments of the straw purchasers, which we now know were substantially delayed by the u.s. Attorney's Office and Main
Justice. Mr. Melson provided documents months ago supporting his concerns to the official in the ODAG responsible for document production to the Committees, but those documents have not been provided to us.
The letter also notes that "it would be inappropriate to make" Acting Director Kenneth Melson "the fall guy in an attempt
to prevent further congressional oversight."
According to the letter, Melson learned about the charge of criminals carrying weapons across the border to Mexico after the fact.
Now, Allen West wants to know: What did Attorney General Eric Holder know, and when did he know it?
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