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| Project Gunwalker: Darrell Issa -- Janet Napolitano slow on Fast & Furious |
| 2011-10-27 |
| Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) dropped in on a House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday to suggest that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano acted too slowly to look into the circumstances surrounding the shooting death of a Border Patrol agent last December. Napolitano responded that her immediate concern was finding the killers of Agent Brian Terry and that she didn't know until the spring of this year that there were indications his death involved weapons that were part of the federal gun trafficking probe titled Operation Fast & Furious. "Our No. 1 priority was to make sure the shooters were found," she said. In earlier questioning, Napolitano said she had held off inquiring into the relation between the controversial Fast and Furious operation and Agent Brian Terry's death because that matter is the subject of a Inspector General investigation at the Justice Department. However, Issa noted that Terry was killed on Dec. 14 and the IG probe was requested by Attorney General Eric Holder in February, leaving what Issa said was "three months" (somewhat less, it would seem) for her to explore the matter before the internal DOJ probe was opened into the operation which allegedly allowed more than 1000 guns to flow unimpeded to Mexican drug cartels. "You had two dead agents. ... It has been months and you tell me you weren't doing it because of an IG investigation," said Issa, whose committee has been leading the congressional inquiries into Fast and Furious. "Wait just a minute," Napolitano countered. "That insinuation is not accurate." Issa offered to have the transcript read back to her. "No, it's the insinuation, I'm objecting to," Napolitano said. "For three months, you had a dead Border Patrol agent and there was no IG investigation. What did you do between December and February to find out about Fast and Furious? ... People on the ground knew those were Fast and Furious weapons found at the scene within hours. It wasn't something that wasn't known. It was known at the time." "I think your insinuation. ..." Napolitano replied, before Issa cut her off. "Ma'am please answer the question. Please don't talk in terms of insinuation," Issa said. After some more sparring and an appeal by Napolitano to the chair, she said her focus in the aftermath of Terry's death was on finding his killers. "I think we all should be outraged at the death of Agent Terry and I think the first thing is to recognize who actually killed him and that our No. 1 priority was to make sure the shooters were found -- some had gone back into Mexico -- and that the FBI was in charge of that investigation. Several days, as quickly as I could get to Arizona after his death, I met with the FBI, their agents in charge. I met with the AUSA who was going to conduct that investigation and that was my number one concern, that those responsible for the shooting death of Agent Terry were brought to justice. And that's what I was being kept apprised of," Napolitano said. "That's a laudable goal, Madame Secretary, but it was too late," Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said later in the session. He said Napolitano's department and the Justice Department should have had "better communication" about Fast and Furious, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives operation to which at least one DHS employee was assigned. "This committee has to avoid a rush to judgment here," Napolitano replied. "It seems to me there will be lessons learned from this." Earlier in the hearing, Napolitano acknowledged that the ATF told ICE agents to allow guns from Fast & Furious to cross the border at least twice in 2009. This is new information to me. Haven't read of this before. "ATF said that these are part of a larger investigation. Stand down," Napolitano told Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) Clips from the hearings. Each is a little over 6 minutes long. Worth the watch Issa Grills Obama Homeland Security's Napolitano on Fast and Furious Gowdy to Napolitano: What Did You Know About Fast and Furious? Chaffetz to Napolitano: What Role Did Homeland Security Dept. Play in Fast and Furious? |
| Posted by:Sherry |