"Barrack" Now!

Video: Darrell Issa on Fox about threat to hold Holder in Contempt

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:29:00 +0000

It's nice to see this fiery version of Darrell Issa. Here he discusses the threat to find Attorney General in contempt over not complying with the subpoena for documents no later than February 9th. Good interview but now is the time for a "trust but verify" mentality with Issa's committee as we're quickly approaching a small window of opportunity to get to the truth and hold the right people accountable.

Video: Former Reagan Attorney General Mum on Fast and Furious Accountability

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:30:00 +0000

This is a head-scratcher. Edwin Meese, former Attorney General under Ronald Reagan, is unwilling to comment on who should be held accountable over operation Fast and Furious. No comment on the falsified letter; no comment on Holder's inconsistent testimony; no comment after this thing has been dragging on for over a year.

Via Daily Caller:

As someone who knows how the Department of Justice works, it's shocking that Meese would rather appear ignorant than informed. There has been far more than enough information made public over the last year for Meese to have a more substantive take than that.

Meese concedes knowing about Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's death and the deaths of hundreds of Mexicans but is unwilling to identify who should be held accountable after more than a year?!

His answer, in part, was that as a former Attorney General himself, it's hard to get to the truth. Uh, if it's that hard to get to the truth about something like a decision to put guns in the hands of bad guys, perhaps Mr. Meese, at the very least, would agree that the government is far too big.

Sipsey Street has an interesting take on Meese's reticence to assign blame.

Video: OMB Director Lies his face off for five straight minutes

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:45:00 +0000

I seriously do not understand how these people stand existing inside their own skin. For five straight minutes, Barack Obama's OMB Acting Director Jeffrey Zients would not answer a very simple question from Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) about whether the proposed budget would increase spending.

Wow, just wow.

h/t Fox Nation

The Question Darrell Issa's Office is not Answering UPDATEIssa Letter sent to Holder**

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:12:00 +0000

Look, let me be clear. Over the last year, I have been very happy with how Rep. Issa's office has gone out of its way to communicate with the public about what was going on in the Fast and Furious investigation. Issa's Press Secretary Becca Watkins has been very good at this, often sending links to videos, articles, statements, etc. that I wouldn't otherwise see. If I was giving her an evaluation, she'd have gotten an A++++++ (Christmas Story reference).

Over the weekend, I e-mailed Ms. Watkins the recent column penned by Tom Tancredo in which the former congressman suggested that House Speaker John Boehner could be "sabotaging" the investigation. I received a response from her less than two hours later.

Here is that response:

From: "Watkins, Becca"
To: "'benbarrack@yahoo.com'"
Cc: "Hill, Frederick"
Sent: Saturday, February 11, 2012 9:39 AM
Subject: Re: Becca, What is going on here?

Ben,

Please use this on the record from me:
Leadership has been, and continues to be, supportive of oversight's investigation into operation fast and furious. There is no substance to these rumors.

I've cced me colleague above in case he has something to add.

Becca Watkins Press Secretary House Oversight Committee Chairman Issa

I replied and included a CNN news story that reported the following:

A key congressional Republican who had threatened to bring a contempt citation against Attorney General Eric Holder if he did not comply with a demand for "Operation Fast and Furious" documents by 5 p.m. Thursday, has backed off his stated deadline.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-California, who has the backing of the committee's Republican majority, has granted a Justice Department request for an extension. No new deadline was set.

Here is the reply I sent to Watkins. More than 72 hours later, I still have no response to this question:

From: Ben Barrack
To: "Watkins, Becca"
Cc: "Hill, Frederick"
Sent: Saturday, February 11, 2012 11:15 AM
Subject: Re: Becca, What is going on here?

Becca,

Understood, thanks for the response, and will do.

Things like the CNN article seem to help feed a perception that you don't want to exist.

A perception that does exist among those who are demanding justice is that extensions of grace (like the one being granted to AG Holder) do seem a bit misplaced after all that's transpired.

I understand that your committee has far more information than any of us do but I'm just relaying how it looks.

P.S. I used to be in the litigation business and from a practicality standpoint, copying or Imaging 80,000 pages (approx. 40 boxes) took less than 48 hours when we used all of the resources we had at our disposal. I'm guessing the IG's office has digital copies at this point. As such, they should only have to hit the "print" button and call a courier to comply with the subpoena. Cole's assertion that it would be "impossible" to turn over all of the documents the IG has doesn't sound believable.

For the record, if there is no deal and there is a legitimate reason why this question cannot be answered, Issa's office surely must understand the concerns of people who are suspicious. I understand their frustration relative to reports of a deal if one doesn't exist but they should look at previous administrations and previous congresses as the source of that frustration, not those of us who question them.

Poor track records matter and have consequences. The track record of Congress very much warrants suspicion.

If there is no deal, I apologize in advance. If there IS a deal, it amounts to obstruction of justice and needs to be stopped. Call your congressman and see if you can find out.

I went into greater detail about this on my February 12th radio show.

----------------------------
***UPDATE*** Just found a letter from Issa to Holder in my in-box from Becca Watkins. It appears Issa is demanding that Holder give the committee a date on which the DOJ will honor the subpoena issued in October that had a February 9th deadline.

Here is an excerpt from the letter:

We cannot wait any longer for the Department's cooperation. As such, please specify a date by which you expect the Department to produce all documents responsive to the subpoena. In addition, please specify a Department representative who will interface with the Committee for production purposes. This individual should also serve as the conduit for dealing with the contempt proceedings, should the Department continue to ignore the Committee's subpoena.

The letter closed with a not-so-subtle jab at ranking member - who has also been registered with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) Caucus so his integrity is already next to zero as a result - Elijah Cummings.

As Ranking Member Cummings promised the family of slain BOrder Patrol Agent Brian Terry, "we will not rest until every single person responsible for all of this, no matter where they are, are brought to justice." I applaud his resolve, and I want to make it clear that Congress will not give up until this accountability has been achieved.

At the June 15, 2011 hearing, Cummings looked the Terry family straight in the eye and uttered those words. Despite that, his intellectual honesty in the months since has belied that promise. It has been Cummings and the Democrats who have been politicizing this scandal in what appears to be a blatant attempt to protect a Democratic administration.

Then again, to socialists, lying is like breathing.

Good letter.

Read it all HERE.

Video: Arizona Sheriff says Eric Holder 'Perjured himself'

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:03:00 +0000

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu isn't just a no-nonsense officer of the law, he's also running for Congress. Next to Joe Arpaio, you'll be hard pressed to find a tougher sheriff. Babeu spoke at CPAC last week and devoted his entire speech to the Fast and Furious scandal.

Babeu spoke to the Daily Caller at CPAC:

Pinal County, Ariz. Sheriff Paul Babeu, a Republican congressional candidate, told The Daily Caller he thinks Attorney General Eric Holder “perjured himself” before Congress when testifying about Operation Fast and Furious.

“I believe that [Holder], and many sheriffs in Arizona believe that, he has perjured himself,” Babeu said during an interview with TheDC at this weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. “His story has changed. After there was evidence produced that he did know — he was given briefings, he was given emails — he then started to walk back his statements to say that, ‘well, I misunderstood the question.’”

“As a police officer before I was a sheriff, when somebody I’m talking to starts to change their story — that’s a clue they’re not telling the truth,” Babeu continued. “So, this guy is in charge of the Department of Justice, still — to this day — from Dec. 15, 2010, so it’s been over a year and there’s still been no accountability, we still don’t know who’s approved this program. How can that be? In the Department of What?”

If reports about any alleged deal in the Fast and Furious investigation are true (not saying they are), the constant sunlight being shone on the scandal by the likes of Babeu will help prevent that deal from being sealed.

Keep the pressure on, even if Issa has not been instructed by Boehner to stand down.

Video: Former Al-Qaeda Supporter Endorses Ron Paul

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:28:00 +0000

The man you see in the video below is Yousef al Khattab, formerly Joseph Cohen. He is a close colleague of a man named Younes Abdullah Muhammad, formerly known as Jesse Morton. Muhammad recently pleaded guilty to three counts of, essentially, terrorism.

Via FBI website:

Jesse Curtis Morton, aka Younus Abdullah Muhammed, 33, of New York City, pleaded guilty today to using his position as a leader of Revolution Muslim Organization’s Internet sites to conspire to solicit murder, make threatening communications, and use the Internet to place others in fear.

Here is more on the website the two men co-founded.

Khattab has formerly expressed support for Osama bin Laden and the Revolution Muslim website is tied to quite a few terrorists.

Believe it or not, all of that is secondary to the purpose of this post. In this video, Khattab talks about his friend in sympathetic terms and if you fast forward to the 20:48 mark, he throws his complete and total support behind Ron Paul for president.

Hey Ron Pauliens, it's time to wake up now.

From Jawa via Shoebat

Romney losing to Santorum..... in Michigan?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:03:00 +0000

I don't want to make too much of this but if Santorum beats Romney in Michigan, it may be the equivalent of landing an upper cut on an opponent with wobbly knees. It would be devastating. However, according to the Public Policy Poll (PPP), not only is Santorum ahead of Romney in the latter's formerly home state but he's blowing him away.

Via PPP:

Rick Santorum's taken a large lead in Michigan's upcoming Republican primary. He's at 39% to 24% for Mitt Romney, 12% for Ron Paul, and 11% for Newt Gingrich.

Santorum's rise is attributable to two major factors: his own personal popularity (a stellar 67/23 favorability) and GOP voters increasingly souring on Gingrich. Santorum's becoming something closer and closer to a consensus conservative candidate as Gingrich bleeds support.

Santorum's winning an outright majority of the Tea Party vote with 53% to 22% for Romney and 10% for Gingrich. He comes close to one with Evangelicals as well at 48% to 20% for Romney and 12% for Gingrich. And he cracks the 50% line with voters identifying as 'very conservative' at 51% to 20% for Romney and 10% for Gingrich.

Yeah, that's a 15% lead for Santorum in Michigan. The vast majority of Gingrich's support would likely go to the former Pennsylvania Senator as well if the former Speaker dropped out.

A couple of random thoughts on this.

1.) As a Catholic, Santorum could very well be capitalizing on Obama's contraceptive mandate. It's a rule the administration issued that targets Catholicism more than any other religion since it goes completely against the Church's teachings. Though they're not supposed to endorse any political candidate, the Catholic Church might just be mad enough to do it with Santorum. Obama's Community Organizing tactics work when the CO's are underdogs. In the fight between Obama and the Catholic Church, the CO's are actually the bullies and the Church is the underdog. This, as much as anything, could be giving Santorum the momentum he's got.

2.) If Romney loses Michigan, it might be time for the establishment to throw up its hands and work for a brokered convention instead of coalescing behind any presumptive nominee other than Romney. Along those lines, if Romney represents the establishment and Santorum represents the Tea Party, how clear would that line of distinction be between Jeb Bush and Sarah Palin?

Via The Hill:

Santorum’s contraception boom — “We’re all Catholics now,” said Mike Huckabee — won’t hold up. Because we’re not. This race could well go to a brokered convention. If Jeb Bush is proposed, so Sarah Palin should be minutes later. She is now and always has been the singular Jacksonian voice in the original Tea Party phenomenon; the only one who can bring it to the mainstream. Her absence from the primary race has left a vacuum and no substitute has been found. Every other possible or potential leadership hopeful has risen and receded in this long Republican primary season.

But as The Hill’s Josh Lederman reports from the CPAC conference, the former Alaska governor received far and away the most spirited and enthusiastic reception at the convention of about 10,000 conservative activists. She drew the audience to its feet more than a dozen times during her keynote address on Saturday.

“The cheers for Palin were so loud that they drowned out her remarks again and again,” he writes. “Conference organizers had to set up three overflow rooms to accommodate the throngs of supporters eager to hear her words.”

Make no mistake. The second it's shown that Romney will not be the nominee, the establishment will fight, tooth and nail, to make sure neither Santorum nor Gingrich gets the nod and it certainly doesn't want Ron Paul (the one thing I agree with the establishment on). These are not just speculative rumors; they're practically self-evident truths.

They're only option at that point is to work toward a Brokered Convention. Jeb Bush and Mitch Daniels are warming up in the bullpen right...this...very...second.

h/t Hot Air

Fox Video Report: DEA and ICE involved in Fast and Furious

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:43:00 +0000

These kinds of news reports help to assuage suspicions that the Fast and Furious investigation is losing steam. In much the same way that ATF's involvement leads to Holder's Justice Department, DEA and ICE involvement leads to Janet Napolitano's DHS.

Via Oversight YouTube page:

Photo: What Can I say?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:39:00 +0000

Absolutely no comment needed.

Catholic Bishop invokes 'God's Judgment,' when talking about Catholic Democrats

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:26:00 +0000

Frankly, while words like these are right on target, they're long overdue, may be a little too late, and must be followed up with action or they won't matter. Nonetheless, Bishop Daniel Jenky's comments are indeed noteworthy.

Via the Catholic News Agency:

Politicians who consider themselves Catholic but collaborate in “the assault against their faith” should remember they will one day have to give account for their acts before God, Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria, Illinois said Feb 10.

“There is a last judgment. There is a particular judgment. May they change their minds and may God have mercy on them,” he told CNA during his visit to Rome.

When asked specifically about recent actions of Democratic Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius Kathleen Sebelius and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Bishop Jenky replied “I am utterly scandalized.”

“The Lord once said ‘if you deny me at the end, I will deny you,’ this from our most merciful, good Savior. And so if it is a choice between Jesus Christ and political power or getting favorable editorials in leftist papers, well, that’s simply not a choice.”

Both Sebelius and Rep. Pelosi have been at the forefront of attempts to force Catholic institutions to cover contraception, sterilizations and abortifacients as part of their staff’s health insurance plans.

Bishop Jenky said there are too many Catholic politicians in the U.S. who “like to wear green sweaters on St. Patrick’s Day and march” or “have their pictures taken with the hierarchy” or “have conspicuous crosses on their forehead with ashes” but who then “not only do not live their faith they collaborate in the assault against their faith.”

It's time for any and all Cardinals with influence in the United States to assert their authority as well.

Like I said, long overdue.

h/t GWP

Audio: John Bolton on Fast and Furious

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:28:00 +0000

Yeah, I know John Bolton endorsed Mitt Romney but if you can, check this out. The former UN Ambassador talks Fast and Furious with Dana Loesch at CPAC. In short, as someone who worked in the Reagan administration, Bolton said there's no way that Holder's counterpart at the time would not have known about the operation, especially since it involved another country.

h/t Sipsey Street

Three Years Later, Notre Dame finally gets it

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:01:00 +0000

If you remember the controversy in the spring of 2009 involving Barack Obama being invited to give the Notre Dame commencement speech, you might remember the ND88. It was a group of pro-life supporters, which included a priest, who were arrested on the orders of the University's president, John Jenkins for peacefully praying in protest on school property over Obama's invite.

In a classic "oops" moment, prominent members of the Notre Dame faculty are now speaking out against the contraceptive mandate, essentially vindicating the ND88. The signature of the man whose name should be at the very top of the signatory list - Jenkins - is conspicuously absent, however.

Via CNS News:

Twenty-five Notre Dame faculty members--led by the university’s top ethics expert, and including some of the school’s most eminent scholars--have signed a statement declaring that President Barack Obama’s latest version of his administration’s mandate that all health insurance plans in the United States must cover sterilizations and all FDA-approved contraceptives, including those that cause abortions, is “a grave violation of religious freedom and cannot stand."

The statement—put out on the letterhead of the University of Notre Dame Law School--is also signed by leading scholars from other major American colleges and universities, including Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, Georgetown, Brigham Young, Yeshiva and Wheaton College.

Prof. Carter Snead, a professor of law at Notre Dame, was one of the lead organizers of the statement, which was published on his official law school letterhead. Notre Dame's top ethics expert, Snead serves as director of the university's Center for Ethics and Culture, a position to which he was appointed by Father John Jenkins, the president of Notre Dame.

Ironically, Jenkins also awarded Obama an honorary law degree. Now, Obama is essentially going around Congress to tell universities like Notre Dame they must violate their consciences, which means he has no respect for the law, the first amendment in particular.

When Obama received his honorary degree at Notre Dame's May 17, 2009, commencement, he vowed to respect the conscience rights of those who believe abortion is wrong.

“Let's honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion, and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded not only in sound science, but also in clear ethics, as well as respect for the equality of women,” said Obama. “Those are things we can do.”

Once again, another provable lie.

HERE is a copy of the statement.

Video: Walid Shoebat explains "Muruna"

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:10:00 +0000

In Islam, there is a term known as "taqiyya." According to the Religion of Peace website, it means that it is ok for a practicing Muslim to lie if it advances the cause of Islam:

These circumstances are typically those that advance the cause Islam - in some cases by gaining the trust of non-believers in order to draw out their vulnerability and defeat them.

However, former PLO member and Muslim Brotherhood activist, Walid Shoebat has uncovered a deeper level of this deception; it is called "Muruna."

Via Shoebat:

Video: Meet Jose Peoples; he got paid $60 to Protest

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:01:00 +0000

It's really a shame that things this despicable transpire without any real consequence. Here, Daily Caller reporter Michelle Fields approaches ~~OWS protesters~~ protesters for hire outside the CPAC conference. The guy who gives her the most time is Jose Peoples. He tells Fields that everyone was paid $60 by the local union to show up. Peoples didn't know who or what he was protesting, just that he was given three Andrew Jacksons and told to show up.

Via Breitbart:

Occupy Miscreants still Proudly Tracking Arrests

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:36:00 +0000

This is what happens when you take paddling out of schools. Little miscreants grow up (in a literal sense only) and become big miscreants who are proud of how many arrests they can accumulate.

Currently at 6,526 and counting...

What are the odds that the vast majority of these whackos had poor relationships with their fathers?

Want proof?

Video: Soros Re-Affirms he wants Romney Nomination

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:18:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, George Soros said there would be no discernible difference between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney as president. It was, no doubt, something Romney didn't need (he's already trying to reinvent himself as a conservative despite his liberal history).

Now Soros is opining that Romney, if elected, will push for a stimulus. This is rather curious because as the most moderate candidate in the Republican field, it's obvious Soros would rather see Romney get the nomination. The perplexing part is Soros' willingness to show his hand.

Nonetheless, even if they agree with Soros, Team Romney has got to be rolling its eyes when stuff like this comes out in a primary season that requires their candidate to move as far to the right as he possibly can.

Via Daily Caller:

Here's Soros predicting there will be no difference between Romney and Obama:

Operation Cajones (BoehnerBalls)

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Great idea, courtesy of a Sipsey Street reader. As the days pass, the clues coming out of Congress only seem to reinforce the claims that House Speaker John Boehner is putting the kibosh on the Oversight Committee's Fast and Furious investigation.

Though it's a bit too early to say for sure, it's not too early to let Boehner know that he needs to grow a pair. At minimum, he's not expressing much public support for the investigation. At maximum, he could be obstructing justice.

Gayle Nyberg wrote into Sipsey Street with the draft of a letter she is encouraging everyone print out and send to House Speaker John Boehner, along with a couple of fuzzy balls. Here is the contents of the letter. Please print out; instructions on what to do next are at bottom.

Operation Cajones

An Outreach to Speaker Boehner
Speaker Boehner,

I have become increasingly frustrated of late, as you seem to lack the necessary courage and fortitude to pursue any number of actions that would lead the Congress to stopping the illegal and unconstitutional actions of this President.

Recognizing that perhaps your time in Washington has either removed or dramatically shrunk those essential apparatus from whence much courage and boldness spring, it is my humble hope that you will accept the enclosed prosthetic replacements for your own natural ones that clearly have atrophied to uselessness.

Please take these tokens and keep them in your pocket and at any time you feel the urge to cave in, cry, or give yet another pass to this budding tyrant, just reach into your pocket and caress these substitutes so you might be comforted in knowing you now have a big fuzzy pair.

Hope this helps.

Yours truly,

It's worth noting that the photo below, courtesy of Nyberg includes a bag of 100 fuzzy balls that can be purchased for less than $5 in most places. Please print out 50 copies of the letter, buy a bag of balls and hand out to 50 people.

Remember, you'll be doing Boehner a favor. If he truly cared about the future of our kids, he wouldn't obstruct justice by instructing Oversight Committee to pull back on its investigation:

Breitbart Bombshell: He has video of Obama during his Columbia years

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:15:00 +0000

Andrew Breitbart's speech at CPAC was a blockbuster. Check it out. In it, he refers to a dinner he had with none other than Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn. Once you get past the praise Breitbart had for Bill Ayers' cooking, he dropped a bombshell; he claimed he had video of Barack Obama at Columbia back in the early 1980's. Interestingly, Breitbart made the claim less than a week after he was in the Ayers' home.

Where did he get the videos?

Wasn't Bill Ayers at Columbia at the same time Obama was? To this point, it hasn't been proven that the two met each other there but will the videos reveal it?

Via MediaIte:

Here is video of Breitbart outside CPAC, confronting the OWS'rs:

h/t GWP

Tancredo thinks Boehner is shutting down Fast and Furious Investigation

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:23:00 +0000

Rumors about House Speaker John Boehner directing Oversight Committee Chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa to back off the Fast and Furious investigation began to surface a week or so before the Feb. 2nd hearing with Attorney General Eric Holder. Those rumors seemed to pick up momentum after the hearing, which many saw as a disappointment that helped reinforce those rumors.

The Daily Caller approached Boehner's office and was met with vehement denials. Curiously, however, the Speaker would not come out forcefully in support of the Committee's work, which also bolstered the credibility of those rumors. These are politically high stakes and Issa could definitely use some support from House leadership, to include Boehner and majority leader Eric Cantor. So far, he hasn't gotten much of it, at least not publicly. He should have gotten a heaping helping of it before the hearing.

Again, the silence of Boehner and Cantor don't just reveal political cowardice; it also gives further credibility to the claims that House leadership wants this to quietly go away.

Now we have a former congressman, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) lending credence to the charge that Boehner is wimping out.

Via WND:

The interesting question is why Speaker Boehner and other Republicans in leadership positions in the House are trying to hamper and curtail the Issa investigation. If Holder is innocent of the allegations, won’t that become evident when all the evidence is made public? If he is innocent, why does the White House fear the investigation?

What’s going on here? Every time Issa’s committee holds a public hearing, new evidence comes to light. Why should the investigation be aborted? Why would Republicans want the investigation halted? What possible “deal” could the White House offer to Boehner to persuade him to end the investigation? The only compromise Republicans in Congress should accept in the case of Attorney General Holder is his early resignation instead of impeachment and removal.

Over 100 members of Congress – I think it is 112 at the latest count – have called for Holder’s resignation. That’s more than a quarter of all congressmen. And while it’s not just his role in the Fast and Furious scandal that has led them to that conclusion, it’s hard to imagine any of them calling for an end to the investigation.

The reported “deal” Boehner and Holder are discussing would let higher ups in the Department of Justice off the hook if they prosecute one or two individual ATF supervisors. Holder would then claim he “cleaned up the mess” and be free from any moral or political culpability. How does that sound, folks?

Rep. Issa must persevere in his investigation and seek the truth no matter where it leads. As for Speaker Boehner, if he has a problem with this, he should go into the hospital for a backbone transplant.

If these claims against Boehner are true, it amounts to obstruction of justice. Clearly, that would be more egregious than Issa going along with it. However, Issa would actually be complicit in the obstruction if he does.

If Boehner is, in fact, demanding that Issa back off and the latter complies, the Oversight Committee should just shut down because it will have zero credibility.

***UPDATE*** After sending the Tancredo column to Issa's Press Secretary and asking for a response, I received the following reply:

From: "Watkins, Becca"
To: "'benbarrack@yahoo.com'"
Cc: "Hill, Frederick"
Sent: Saturday, February 11, 2012 9:39 AM
Subject: Re: Becca, What is going on here?

Ben,

Please use this on the record from me:
Leadership has been, and continues to be, supportive of oversight's investigation into operation fast and furious. There is no substance to these rumors.

I've cced me colleague above in case he has something to add.

Interesting: Charles Grassley now Focusing on Lanny Breuer and Jason Weinstein

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:48:00 +0000

Sipsey Street Irregulars wrote about the possibility that House Speaker John Boehner was putting the kibosh on Darrell Issa's investigation of Fast and Furious. According to the site's author - Mike Vanderboegh - sources were telling him that there would essentially be a deal between Issa and Attorney General Eric Holder that would allow both men to save face while not getting to the truth.

That face saving deal allegedly was being endorsed by House Speaker John Boehner and it involves the Justice Department throwing Asst Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division, Lanny Breuer and his deputy, Jason Weinstein under the bus and then allowing the investigation to quietly go away save for some house cleaning. Though it hasn't been necessarily quantifiable, Boehner's office has undoubtedly been receiving a significant deal of heat over this charge.

In light of the claim that Breuer and Weinstein are the top two guys who will take the fall in an attempt to make the scandal go away, coupled with the pressure Boehner is receiving from the indignant followers who are demanding justice, I found Senator Chuck Grassley's floor statement on February 9th quite interesting. He set his sights on two Justice Department employees specifically. Any guesses as to who they are?

Here's a hint. The title of Grassley's prepared statement is,

"Breuer Violates DoJ Policy in Advocating for Gunwalking"

Via Grassley's Website:

Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer proposed letting guns cross the border.

His proposal came at the same time the Department was preparing to send its letter to me denying that ATF ever does the very thing he was proposing.

In a February 4, 2011 email, the Justice Department attaché in Mexico City wrote to a number of officials at the Justice Department:

“AAG Breuer proposed allowing straw purchasers to cross into Mexico so [the Secretariat of Public Security] can arrest and [the Attorney General of Mexico] can prosecute and convict. Such coordinated operations between the US and Mexico may send a strong message to arms traffickers.”

So, we've got people here in Washington who say the program doesn't exist. At the same time we've got people talking down in Mexico City of what we're trying to accomplish by the illegal sale of guns.

Grassley then turned to...... Jason Weinstein

The recipients of this email included Mr. Breuer’s deputy, Jason Weinstein, who was helping to write the Justice Department’s letter to me that they would later withdraw for its inaccuracies.

Mr. Weinstein was sending updates about the draft letter to Mr. Breuer in Mexico. Yet, during his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Breuer downplayed his involvement in reviewing the draft letter.

It is outrageous to me that the head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division proposed exactly what his Department was denying to me was happening.

An interesting narrative coming out of the Oversight Committee right now has to do with Issa's team playing hardball with Holder over unsealing the wiretap applications. As that continues, pressure on Boehner would subside because the charge that Boehner is telling Issa to back down is belied by the request to unseal wiretaps.

It's interesting that the recent focus of Grassley seems to be on the same two individuals who Vanderboegh's sources told him would be part of the face saving deal involving Boehner.

To be clear, Breuer and Weinstein are definitely key players in Fast and Furious but they do not represent the high water mark of culpability in this scandal, which is why any potential deal involving their scalps only (save for some lower level ATF employees) should be perceived as a betrayal of justice.

I am not saying that Grassley is doing anything wrong or involved in any hijinks here. It's simply that if Breuer and Weinstein are part of some unjust deal, it's noteworthy that Grassley appears to be focusing on them during his prepared floor statement.

Here is the video of Grassley's statement (Fast Forward to the 4:15 mark):

New Fast and Furious Strategy? Focusing on Wiretap Applications

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:45:00 +0000

If the February 2nd Oversight Committee Hearing - at which Attorney General Eric Holder appeared - revealed anything, it's that not much had changed. The stonewall was still in place and though it took some more hits, not much new ground had been broken, save for a few revelations courtesy of a White House document dump less than a week before.

However, there seems to be a new tack that is being focused on by the Committee and it has to do with sealed wiretap applications. During his testimony, Holder seemed to assert that it would be very difficult to have the contents of those applications unsealed. This has apparently roused the interest of Committee leadership.

In a letter to Holder, signed by both Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, Senate Judiciary Ranking member, Charles Grassley and Oversight Committee member Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-PA) the case is made as to why the applications are being requested:

The contents of the wiretap applications are central in determining the level of involvement of senior Department officials during the pendency of Operation Fast and Furious. It is indisputable that gunwalking occurred during Fast and Furious, and it is therefore important to know whether any facts in the wiretap applications should have raised concerns that gunwalking, or other ill-advised tactics, were occurring. The contents of the wiretap applications are likely to resolve factual disputes about the level of detail available to senior Department officials during Fast and Furious.

This is a very interesting direction for the Committee to go in for at least one big reason.

At the hearing, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) presented holder with memos and e-mails that referred to Fast and Furious and gunwalking specifically. Holder's response was that he didn't read the memos and that Fast and Furious didn't raise red flags because it didn't mention 'tactics.'

If the Oversight Committee is able to get its hands on these wiretap applications and if they reveal that the tactics of Fast and Furious involved gunwalking, Holder has yet another problem on his hands. The harder DOJ fights the request to unseal the applications, the more likely it will be that there is something to hide.

In light of some rumblings that House Speaker John Boehner may be quietly telling Issa to back off, it will be interesting to see how far this will go. Democrats are already starting to push the narrative that there have been far too many hearings so Committee leadership needs to pick the best possible strategy to blow a hole in the stonewall and implement it.

Here is a Fox News report about the request to unseal the wiretap applications:

Here is the exchange between Gowdy and Holder that could be another flashpoint in this scandal if the wiretap applications reveal inconsistencies in Holder's testimony:

Part 2 (Fast forward to the 1:45 mark):

The subject of wiretap applications came up when Rep. Meehan questioned Holder at the February 2nd hearing. If pressed for time, fast forward to the 5:00 mark. Note that Holder attempts to dismiss the contents of the sealed applications by saying they might not contain verbiage about tactics. Meehan basically responds by ceding the point while also raising the possibility that they might.

Those who dispute the charge that this investigation may be getting quashed by House leadership could indeed point to this as a trap being slowly laid for Holder and DOJ. Holder did say here that he would work with the Committee to get the applications unsealed.

The letter sent to him requires his response by February 15th and politely asserts that if he needs a subpoena to have the applications unsealed, the Committee will provide him with one.

We shall see...

Senator 'Cornhusker Kickback' calls Obama Contraceptive Mandate 'Boneheaded'

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:51:00 +0000

Well, Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) has now chimed in on the contraceptive mandate controversy and has settled on calling the Obama administration's decision 'boneheaded.' He's also not the only Democrat to come out publicly against the decision.

Via ABC News:

A handful of Senate Democrats have split with President Obama’s controversial birth-control mandate and slammed the administration’s requirement that church-affiliated employers cover contraceptives.

The five Democrats in the Senate expressing concern about some parts of the administration’s policy include, most recently, Sens. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Bill Nelson of Florida, who have spoken publicly about their unhappiness with the mandate.

“This was a bone-headed decision by HHS,” Sen. Ben Nelson said of the new Health and Human Services mandates, according to the Nebraska Radio Network.

Nelson agreed with state Attorney General Job Bruning’s decision to file a legal challenge to the mandate.

Nelson has already announced that he will not run for reelection so these comments can't be about trying to get back voter support after the 'Cornhusker kickback.'

Like former Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), Nelson was the guy in his caucus that put Obamacare over the top. Also like Stupak, he paid a price.

Calling the latest HHS rule 'boneheaded' is likely more about bitterness than anything else.

h/t Weasel Zippers

Video: Carney says Contraceptive Mandate 'Virtually Identical' to Romney's

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:47:00 +0000

If you accept the premise, as I do, that Obama's preferred Republican opponent in the general election is Mitt Romney, we may have uncovered another reason that the recent contraceptive mandate was an overreach.

When asked to respond to criticism from Mitt Romney about the HHS rule which mandates that Religious institutions offer contraceptive services, to include the "morning after" pill, White House press secretary went after Romney for implementing a 'virtually identical' program when the latter was governor of Massachusetts.

Obama's rule has clearly become a campaign issue because of its controversy; it's an issue that Romney must address with Republican voters, though he probably would rather not have to based on his own record. Nonetheless, he did and Carney appears incapable of withholding his criticism of Romney, despite it being the most advantageously strategic thing to do if Mitt is the administration's desired opponent next November.

CNS News has the VIDEO

Iran and Turkey have a Syria-ous Problem

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:15:00 +0000

The 'Arab Spring' that has been ongoing for a year now is as much (if not more) about the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan) as it is about removing dictators. The Ikhwan seeks a return of the Ottoman Empire, which was centered in what is today Turkey. To varying degrees, the Muslim Brotherhood has gained control of the countries on the map that have red arrows pointing to them. This benefits Turkey tremendously.

Over the last several years, Iran and Turkey have had an alliance of convenience but the situation in Syria is putting great strain on that alliance. Syria, which borders Iraq to its east, Lebanon to its west, and Turkey to its north has essentially been an arm of Iran under the Assad regime. Assad has allowed his country to act as a funnel for weapons and Hezbollah fighters into Lebanon. Prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, those efforts were more difficult.

With the removal of Saddam Hussein and the subsequent withdrawal of American troops from Iraq more than eight years later, Iran has essentially gained control of Iraq. At least one high-ranking cabinet member inside the Iraqi government is also a high-ranking Quds official with loyalties to the Ayatollah; his name is Hadi al-Ameri. That someone like him would hold the position of Transportation Minister in Nouri al-Maliki's government is a serious red flag that signals Iran has already annexed Iraq.

In this behind-the-scenes struggle between Turkey and Iran, the latter has control of Iraq, which also shares a border with Turkey to its north. This makes Syria all that more important for both countries. If Assad is removed from power, the Brotherhood will most assuredly attempt to wrest control for the larger Ottoman movement. Despite its public stance, Turkey is licking its chops over the possibility of acquiring Syria. It would be a huge victory for the Ikhwan and a huge defeat for Iran, which will not give this up easily, however.

As long as Assad is in power, Iran's guy is running the country. When and if he ultimately steps down or is removed, Iran will do all it can to ensure Syria does not come under the control of the Brotherhood.

At that point, Israel could take a back seat in the minds of Iran and Turkey. Syria is that important. As both nations fight over Syria, the mask that has been hiding much of the geopolitics in the region could slip significantly. Turkey's desire for stealth could be more difficult to maintain. In either case, Iran has far more to lose relative to Syria than does Turkey but the latter country has far more to gain if it gets control.

In this game of chicken, Syria is like a piece of meat Iran desperately wants to keep on its plate. Conversely, the Muslim Brotherhood desperately wants to gobble it up for its master - Turkey.

h/t Shoebat

Romney has now taken a Proverbial Pop to the Chops

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Barrack) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:48:00 +0000

Remember the scene in the first Rocky movie when Rocky Balboa finally entered the ring against reigning champion, Apollo Creed? The outcome was a foregone conclusion. Creed's overconfidence against Balboa's serious doubts that he could even go the distance. The first round went the way most expected; Creed toyed with Rocky and the challenger looked small, until....

....sorry, this is the best version I could find....

Romney may have encountered a similar surprise with Rick Santorum's victories in Colorado, Missouri, and Minnesota. In this metaphor, however, while Romney and the Republican establishment is represented by Creed, Santorum isn't the one represented by Balboa (neither is Ron Paul); the American people are because the four-man field is making things difficult for Romney in a way almost opposite from the way it was supposed to help him.

Via John Fund at NRO:

Mitt Romney’s campaign will have lots of explanations for their man’s poor showing tonight. Yes, Colorado and Minnesota were caucus states — the turnout is skewed in such contests toward a more conservative electorate. Yes, Missouri’s primary was a “beauty contest” and didn’t award any delegates.

But what Romney won’t be able to explain away is just how much more poorly he did tonight in those three states than in his 2008 showing — when he lost the GOP nomination for president.

In 2008, Romney crushed John McCain in the Minnesota caucuses by nearly two to one. Tonight, he was sent into a humiliating third-place finish, trailing both Rick Santroum and Ron Paul. In Missouri, McCain held John McCain and Mike Huckabee to something close to a three-way tie, winning 29 percent of the vote. This year, with fewer opponents, he won only 25 percent. In Colorado, Romney outperformed John McCain by three to one in 2008. This year, albeit with only early returns in, he is trailing Santorum. Results from Denver caucus sites will likely boost Romney’s overall showing, but it’s tough to see him winning the state with Santorum performing as well as he is in Colorado Springs and the rural areas.

We're seeing a trend develop that has the establishment quaking in its boots. The 'flyover country' so frequently mocked by the elites is a real threat now.

Here is Santorum's victory speech in Minnesota:

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