Gunrunner: Darrell Issa says the recent house cleaning in the DOJ isn’t enough
Pajamas Media has been doing a great job covering the Gunrunner scandal and with this article this morning they did not disappoint. Pajamas Media calls the recent reassignment of Kenneth Melson part of Eric Holder’s attempt to cover up his role in the deadly scandal, and I for one happen to think that this is exactly why Kenneth Melson was reassigned.
Here is part of the Pajamas Media article:
The move is suspect at best, given that Melson gave secret testimony about who knew what and when within DOJ, and included Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer.
ATF Special Agent Vince Cefalu, one of the original whistleblowers on the case, believes it’s motivated by a “cover your ass” attitude on the part of Holder. Cefalu notes Melson is a “lab rat” and believes he should never have been put in charge of ATF in the first place:
I think everything we said all along has been proven to be true. It’s no secret that they’re cleaning house.
Cefalu thinks Holder asked Melson what job he wanted in return for his silence:
You don’t think they gave him that for his stellar performance at ATF, do you?
Kenneth Melson’s reassignment in light of the role he played in the Gunrunner scandal is indeed suspect, especially when we recall the fact that early on in Darrell Issa’s investigation Eric Holder called for Kenneth Melson to resign.
If Kenneth Melson’s participation in the Gunrunner scandal was so insidious that Eric Holder would call for his resignation why is he suddenly being transferred with full pay and benefits to another division of the Department of “Justice” with full retirement benefits left intact, while the Department of “Justice” is now lauding his service, his commitment, and his loyalty to the agency?
When his effort to make Kenneth Melson the fall guy failed Eric Holder did the next best thing by bringing him closer to himself, while at the same time ensuring his silence by guaranteeing him his government pension. If Eric Holder was truly interested in justice and not simply interested in covering his own ass he would have fired Kenneth Melson, but that would have antagonized Melson and probably led him to spill the beans on Eric Holder.
With Kenneth Melson’s reassignment the total number of people directly involved in the scandal who have been either promoted or reassigned in return for their ensured silence is four. The four people that knew the most damning facts about this case are now most likely going to remain silent about Eric Holder’s involvement in this scandal, and that is exactly what Eric Holder was hoping for.
Darrell Issa has responded to the news of Kenneth Melson’s reassignment and I couldn’t be happier with what he had to say:
While the reckless disregard for safety that took place in Operation Fast and Furious certainly merits changes within the Department of Justice, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee will continue its investigation to ensure that blame isn’t offloaded on just a few individuals for a matter that involved much higher levels of the Justice Department. There are still many questions to be answered about what happened in Operation Fast and Furious and who else bears responsibility, but these changes are warranted and offer an opportunity for the Justice Department to explain the role other officials and offices played in the infamous efforts to allow weapons to flow to Mexican drug cartels. I also remain very concerned by Acting Director Melson’s statement that the Department of Justice is managing its response in a manner intended to protect its political appointees. Senator Grassley and I will continue to press the Department of Justice for answers in order to ensure that a reckless effort like Fast and Furious does not take place again.
Darrell Issa still thinks that this scandal goes up the ladder much higher than Kenneth Melson and sees this maneuver as an attempt to protect political appointees. The investigation will continue, and I hope it actually expands into these new promotions and reassignments.
The Pajamas Media article I linked to above sums it up thusly:
It’s fairly clear the real cover-up has started. The mid- to upper-level officials who could conceivably hurt the people at the top are being moved out or given promotions in order to keep them quiet.
In an attempt to cover up this scandal it appears as if Eric Holder is committing more crimes and, much like Watergate, the coverup could end up being more damning than the original crime. If that is possible because the original crime should also include the “Justice” Department being an accessory to murder.
America's Watchtower 
“You don’t think they gave him that for his stellar performance at ATF, do you?”
Does it bother you, Steve, that Holder’s recent actions with the so-called lateral transfers of the agents and now this deal with Melsen are such an obvious cover-up? It’s pretty damn brazen I’d say.
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C o F, it is “in your face, dare you to say anything” brazen. I think we had Attorney General Eric Holder pretty much pegged from the start, didn’t we? They know that we know what they are doing and they pretty much don’t care. I think they are above the law, or think they are and that we can’t do anything about it. Let’s hope that they are brought down and soon, or we will just move on to the next crisis. This Chicago Way has got to stop.
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Exactly!
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It bothers the hell out of me because this regime seems to feel as if they can do anything they want to and it is all justified because they are so much smarter than we are. This regime does not give a damn about the law and they do not give a damn about the constitution, all they care about is fundamentally changing America and part of that change is doing away with constitutional restraints.
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We know this, but how do we convince the liberals, MSM and kids in school that are having it drilled into them by very liberal teachers? What will it take, Steve? I used to think I had the answers to make things “better”, now I am not sure that is possible. I guess I wonder how we got to this point in time. Have we been so preoccupied with day to day life that we let the people WE voted into office start calling the shots without our consent? There is alot of blame to be put on the Dems and Reps, some for doing too much and others not doing enough. We need to take control again on who we send to Washington and make darn sure we start VETTING! I hold the media responsible for falling down on the job they used to do with vetting. If they had, maybe we would not be in the position we are in now. There is no excuse for voters becoming complacent, but the media hold some of the responsibilty.
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It is going to be a long, hard process to change this mindset. You are right, while we have been focused on our daily lives and making ends meet the left has been busy indoctrinating our children. They have been at if for years and we cannot change this overnight, it will take time and it may be frustrating but we cannot give up.
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This is just crazy Steve how blatant this is. Do they really think people are this dumb? Unbelievable!
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I think that they think that the American people simply don’t know about this scandal and I am afraid they are right. However, do they really think that Issa and Grassley are that dumb? If they do they could be in for a rude awakening.
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I think Issa’s response was a veiled message to Holder. He’s coming after him.
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Then that means that Rep. Issa is a racist, right? That can be the only answer. It isn’t because this administration is corrupt,is it? Well? And you must be a racist for even posting that. I must be a racist, too, for talking about it.
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I am surprised that nobody has made that claim yet now that you mention it. I would expect that as the investigation gets closer to Holder and Obama that the racism accusation will by flying.
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I hope you are right, and I think that you are.
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RJ, I think once Rep. Issa and Sen. Grassley are getting to the point of actually pointing fingers at certain people (right now it is hinted at), then we will see the Jacksons, Sharptons and the CBC come out swinging. We know the race card has to be played, because there is no other front that can be formed once the facts come out. Facts are facts and race should not come into play, but it will. Let’s hope the momentum keeps up and we don’t have another “crisis” that pops up. The devastation that occured with the latest hurricane, I don’t think met with the level that the WH had hoped for. They didn’t get enough coverage out of it in the form of photo ops and to show how on top of a disaster the president is. I don’t think the pain and suffering that people are experiencing due to the disaster should be used this way, but I feel it has been.
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