Bush era Gun Walking

[bajabuc]

AP:

On Monday, the committee's chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., asked whether the Justice Department's inspector general has expanded its probe of Operation Fast and Furious to include earlier Bush-era arms trafficking probes that relied on gun-walking.

The Associated Press reported on Friday that a briefing paper prepared for then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey during the Bush administration in 2007 outlined failed attempts by federal agents to track illicitly purchased guns across the border into Mexico. Those failed attempts involved an earlier gun-walking probe run out of the same ATF office in Phoenix that later handled Operation Fast and Furious.

A month ago, the AP also disclosed that several hundred weapons wound up in the hands of arms traffickers in a second Bush-era gun-walking probe beginning in 2006. It was called Operation Wide Receiver and was run out of the ATF's office in Tucson, Ariz.

The IG's office says in a semiannual report that it is reviewing Operation Fast and Furious "and other investigations with similar objectives, methods and strategies." A spokesman for the IG's office, Jay Lerner, declined to comment on whether the investigation has been expanded to cover Wide Receiver and the probe that the briefing paper to Mukasey referenced.

[Tnscooter63]

wow just never gets old does it? Booosh did it!

[mikegideon]

wow just never gets old does it? Booosh did it TOO!

FTFY. Most sane folks realize that Obama ain't much of a president. But, it gets real old seeing all the outrage when he does the same damn thing that Reagan and Bush did before him. The object of the game is cutting thru the BS that's coming from ALL directions.

[Smith]

Sounds about right for Leahy.

[mikegideon]

Sounds about right for Leahy.

The tactics came out of the ATF. I doubt that anybody above them was micromanaging it. I wouldn't be surprised if it happened under ANY administration. Not trying to give the Obama guys a pass. Just saying that it could have easily got past the Bush crowd too.

[DaveTN]

I don’t care who allowed guns to go to Mexico. I don’t care who initiated it, I don’t care who knew about it. Obama, Holder, Melson… I don’t care.

It was an operation that didn’t turn out the way it was planned. Boo freakin†hoo.

Mexican Politicians and Police are bunch of lawless thugs that will do anything for money. I don’t have any respect for Obama, but I might be able to muster a little bit if he would grow a sack and tell the Mexican president along with the U.S. Senators and Congressmen that are taking part in this witch hunt, to go pound sand.

We have to fight for every little gun privilege we have, yet some who claim to be pro-gun want to whine about the AFT allowing some straw purchases. I commend them for at least trying something.

Oh, did I mention…. I just don’t care.

[Smith]

The tactics came out of the ATF. I doubt that anybody above them was micromanaging it. I wouldn't be surprised if it happened under ANY administration. Not trying to give the Obama guys a pass. Just saying that it could have easily got past the Bush crowd too.

Oh come on Mike! You really think Bush got a pass on this for over 4-5 years and only after Obama gets caught being incompetent Leahy it's just trying to be objective and due diligence? Whether Bush had anything similar going on our not is irrelevant. This is Leahy being Leahy, an idiot partisan trying desperately to give Obama a pass. Fail!

[mikegideon]

Oh come on Mike! You really think Bush got a pass on this for over 4-5 years and only after Obama gets caught being incompetent Leahy it's just trying to be objective and due diligence? Whether Bush had anything similar going on our not is irrelevant. This is Leahy being Leahy, an idiot partisan trying desperately to give Obama a pass. Fail!

I'm giving Obama AND Bush a pass. If they haven't personally counted every bean in their kitchens, it's fine with me. They should have BOTH had more important things to do than personally supervise an ATF field office.

You give Obama too much credit. He can't possibly make every bad decision in the government. There simply isn't time.

[Guest HvyMtl]

Basically put, this shows a dangerous pattern at the BATFE which has been occurring long term. Mikegideon is right, this is beyond the realm of the politicians, and in the realm of the bureaucrats.

But, hey, it cannot be your party, cause they cannot make mistakes, or violate the rules, or the Constitution, cause they just cannot do that.... Blaming the politician, who really has no clue what the bureaucrats do, is your failure on understanding the present state of the U.S. Government, not the other political party's fault.

So, to those who have to go OMG FARTBAMA'S FAULT!!!ELEVENTY!!!!, please find a dose of reality and swallow it, and then kindly shut up, cause you are not fixing anything. Same to those BUT, BUT, BUT DUBYA!!!! dolts too.

The bigger issue here is this: THE BATFE acted on its own in violation the law, repeatedly, without consequence previously, and it has cost the citizens of the U.S. gravely. Why? Because the bureaucrats believed they were above the law, for the longest of time.

This means there is a set pattern, established long ago, where a part of the government believed the ends justified the means, even if those means violated the laws, and could (did, in this case) get people killed.

THIS should be the focus, not the political side show.

So, what should happen? A full out firing and removal of the bureaucrats who acted poorly.

What will happen? OMG FARTBAMA!!!ELEVENTY!!! No! BUT, BUT, BUT DUBYA!!!! political farce we will see happen in Congress, while a few politically beneficial scape goats will get fired, and the Bureaucracy will stay in place and will not change their actions...

Edited November 14, 2011 by HvyMtl

[G27]

Bush isn't in office any more, but if they can prosecute him for this, go for it.

This is coming to light under Obama's watch, so yah, he should take the blame for it, too.

Whether he 'knew about it' or not matters not - when you're the president (or CEO, or whatever) what happens on your watch is your responsibility.

Throw 'em all in jail.