Two days ago Attorney General Eric Holder publicly stated he knew nothing about the deadly Fast and Furious operation run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Unfortunately for Holder, a day after his pronouncement, officials confirmed that an AK-47 and a Beretta pistol linked to the ATF gun walking program were used in a Maricopa, Arizona crime scene back in 2010.
With over 2,000 guns "walked" into the hands of criminals, Holder must be wondering where the next ones will show up. Or maybe not. In his Wednesday statement the attorney general blamed Congress for politicizing the murders and called the operation a "flawed enforcement effort." Holder also went so far as to make light of his own dearth of leadership skills.
There are an awful lot of things that go on in the Justice Department...There's Operation Fast and Furious, [and] I'm sure there's Operation 'Fill In The Blank' going on right now that the people here in the department are not aware of.
The notion that somehow or other this thing reaches into the upper levels of the Justice Department is something that. ... I don't think is supported by the facts... It's kind of something I think certain members of Congress would like to see, the notion that somehow or other high-level people in the department were involved. As I said, I don't think that is going to be shown to be the case -- which doesn't mean that the mistakes were not serious.
Holder blames, denies, minimizes, and smugly mocks as he tries to wiggle out of this scandal. Senators Issa and Grassley, who are leading the investigation, should know that the families of the dead deserve better. If Holder is the kingpin of this project or if he's covering up knowledge of its existence, then he needs to be held fully accountable. If he didn't know, he should be removed.
Just because Holder didn't pull the trigger, doesn't mean he's blameless. After all, Tony Hayward head of BP stepped down after the oil spill disaster and he wasn't anywhere near the rig when it blew.
Read more M. Catharine Evans at Potter Williams Report
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