With all the recent talk of Benghazi whistleblowers being threatened and intimidated I thought it time to review some instances of Obama and his people silencing perceived enemies.
Benghazi
This the big scandal in the news now as it seems the administration lied about the terror attacks, claiming instead it was a spontaneous protest inspired by an Obscure YouTube video . New revelations reveal they also lied about not telling potential rescue forces to “stand down”. Both assertions are being challenged by long serving, high level State Department employees with knowledge of the incident.
These men, Greg Hicks, Mark Thompson and Eric Nordstrom, are testifying before the House that Administration officials made a political decision to avoid calling the incident a terror attack for political reasons out of concern for the upcoming presidential election. They also revealed that a Special Operations team was standing by and ready to rescue to embassy staff but were told to stand down, again for political reasons. Again this directly contradicts the Administration’s narrative
Officials from the State Department have already labeled these whistleblowers, and their lawyer, as “liars”. Anonymous officials have “leaked” to the press that they have “axes to grind”. There are even stories of intimidation, threats and implied reprisals against any who agree to testify about Benghazi. Like the old Soviet Union, contradicting the official party line seems to be dangerous for one’s career.
Remember that scandal where AG Eric Holder’s Department of Justice was allowing guns and semi-automatic rifles to slip across the border into Mexico? The media keeps trying to ignore it but the ostensible purpose was to track the guns back the big drug cartels. Unfortunately the DOJ lost track of the guns and they have now been tied to the deaths of multiple US and Mexican civilians and law enforcement personal.
Some on the right claimed the purpose of Fast and Furious was so the Administration could honestly blame Mexican violence on US guns and then use that as an excuse for more gun control. I cannot speak about that, but the whole operation does seem oddly complicated and potentially dangerous. What is clear is that from the moment ATF officials came forward to discuss the facts and reveal the truth about the operation things became very bad for them.
There were multiple reports of intimidation and reprisals from supervisors who declared “open season” on anyone who revealed details about Fast and Furious. In the MSM the whistleblowers were regularly belittled and lambasted. So much for the “most transparent administration in US history; and so much for the media speaking “truth to power”. More like a government cover-up abetted by a compliant media
I wrote about Gerald Walpin a few years ago. At the time I was looking at a larger trend of intimidation against US Inspectors General. The OIG, or Office of the Inspector General, is the office in each government agency charged with keeping that agency honest. Walpin had unearthed evidence of massive fraud and corruption on the part of the Kevin Johnson. Johnson was the mayor of Sacramento at the time and a close Obama ally.
When Walpin released his report the administration responded by questioning Walpin’s mental health and dragging his reputation through the mud. The word was now out to other Inspectors General, play ball and don’t touch friends of O. Certainly that is conducive to an air of good governance.
Back during the Obamacare debate multiple insurance companies sent notices to their customers explaining the premium increases they could expect under the new law. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius immediately lashed out and threatened investigations into those health insurers. Since a government “investigator” on a mission will always be able to turn up something, no matter how minor, to use as ammunition; the health insurance industry fell in line and customers were denied vital information. Ironically Secretary Sebelius now publicly admits that Obamacare will necessarily cause health insurance premiums to rise.
Also under the rubric of Obamacare were the public attacks against private employers. Companies as diverse as Deere, Caterpillar and Verizon went public with their concerns about the cost implications of Obamacare and that they would likely eliminate full time staff. Rather than talk or adjust the bill, Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman threatened to launch Congressional investigations against the firms.
