Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea

USA --(Ammoland.com)- “During your testimony before the Committee last week, you pledged to work with Congress to find a way to make the wiretap applications from the Fast and Furious investigation available for congressional review,” Chairman Darrell Issa of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Patrick Meehan, and Ranking Member Charles Grassley of the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder yesterday.

“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,” their letter continues.

Citing requirements to determine “legal sufficiency to make an application,” they advise Holder “The federal wiretap statute describes what this legal sufficiency entails, requiring that the application include “a full and complete statement of facts and circumstances justifying the application.”

They also remind Holder his testimony “that wiretap applications ‘don’t always go into all of the techniques that are used in a particular investigation’” falls far short of that standard.

Continue reading on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/issa-meehan-grassley-to-holder-unseal-fast-furious-wiretap-apps

Photo © Oleg Volk. Used with permission.

About David Codrea:
David Codrea is a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He is a field editor for GUNS Magazine, and a blogger at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance. Read more at www.DavidCodrea.com.

NRA-ILA's Chris W. Cox

FAIRFAX, Va. --(Ammoland.com)- Last Thursday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to answer questions about his role in the deadly “Fast and Furious”gun-running scandal.

However, instead of answers, Congress got more defiance, more arrogance, and more wasted time with an attorney general who clearly feels no sense of obligation to the American people or our rule of law.

But for all the stonewalling, there was at least one telling moment at this hearing, and it should concern law-abiding gun owners and all Americans who expect accountability from our government.

In a rash attempt to deflect attention away from himself and his own irresponsibility, Holder let Congress know that the Obama administration is still working toward the day when it can reinstate former President Bill Clinton’s so-called “assault weapons” ban.

According to Holder:

This administration has consistently favored the re-institution of the assault weapons ban. It is something that we think was useful in the past with regard to the reduction that we’ve seen in crime, and certainly would have a positive impact on our relationship and the crime situation in Mexico.

It’s difficult to follow Holder’s logic here, but it goes something like this …

The Obama administration — particularly Eric Holder’s Justice Department — oversaw an epic scandal whereby our own federal government illegally funneled thousands of firearms into the hands of Mexican drug lords. This contributed to the death of one U.S. Border Patrol agent and hundreds of Mexicans.

Despite being head of the Justice Department and our nation’s chief law enforcement officer, Eric Holder claims he doesn’t know how or why this scandal occurred, or even who under his charge may have authorized it. He also refuses to turn over critical documents to congressional investigators that could help prevent something this tragic and corrupt from ever happening again.

Therefore, Obama and Holder are confident that if they can ban a large number of the legal firearms that law-abiding Americans use every day for self-defense, hunting, and recreational and competitive target shooting, it will help solve Mexico’s crime problem.

What’s particularly galling about Holder’s shallow and illogical attempt to use “Fast and Furious” to further the Obama administration’s gun-ban agenda is that during the same hearing, he lectured Congress for playing political “gotcha” games in an election year.

Amazingly, Holder seems incapable of understanding that this isn’t a Republican or Democratic issue, it’s an American issue, and all Americans deserve to know how and why their government purposefully allowed thousands of guns to flow into the hands of murderous Mexican drug cartels.

The family of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry deserves to know why two of these guns were found at the scene of Terry’s murder.

Eric Holder’s Justice Department oversaw this illegal operation, but all Holder is willing to do is call for gun bans on law-abiding Americans, withhold critical information from Congress, and pat himself on the back for a job well done.

As Holder told Congress on Thursday: “I’m proud of the work that I’ve done as attorney general of the United States, and looked at fairly, I think I’ve done a pretty good job.”

Eric Holder has long since proved himself inept and incapable of holding the trust that Americans place in our nation’s chief law enforcement officer. The longer Holder refuses to step down as attorney general, the more lasting his damage to this sacred institution will be.

Chris W. Cox is the executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) and serves as the organization’s chief lobbyist.

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington DC - -(Ammoland.com)- At one point during the hearings before the House Oversight Committee on February 2nd, Attorney General Eric Holder said he hadn’t learned of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s death until 24 hours after it happened.

However, this timeline seems questionable at best when you consider that at 2:31 a.m. on very night of Terry’s death (Terry was shot on the night of December 14/15, 2010), then U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke received an email from an unnamed official that read:

On December 14, 2010, a BORTAC agent working in the Nogales, AZ AOR was shot. The agent was conducting Border Patrol operations 18 miles north of the international boundary when he encountered [redacted word] unidentified subjects. Shots were exchanged resulting in the agent being shot. At this time, the agent is being transported to an area where he can be air lifted to an emergency medical center.

Approximately one hour later, Burke received a follow-up email which said “our agent is dead.” The email was sent to Monty Wilkinson, Holder’s Deputy Chief of Staff at the time. And a few hours later, Wilkinson responded that the incident was “tragic” and added: “I’ve alerted the AG [Holder], the Acting DAG, Lisa, etc.”

Here’s the problem: the time-frame doesn’t match up. What I mean is, if we go by the times the emails were sent and the time at which Wilkinson responded to say he had alerted Holder about Terry’s death, it’s not unreasonable to suppose Holder knew within 12 hours of the murder. Claiming that he didn’t learn about Terry’s death until 24 hours after the fact gave him 12 extra hours in which he could go golfing or play tennis or perhaps even get his team at the DOJ on the same page before news of Terry’s death broke(?).

Such a scenario isn’t that far-fetched when you consider the fact that Burke, who was the middle man for the emails in the wee hours of the morning of December 15, was also the attorney who actively tried to conceal the ties between Fast and Furious and Terry’s death. And moreover, as recently as November 2011, when Holder testified before the Senator Judiciary Committee, his stated position was that, “It is not fair…to assume that the mistakes that happened in Fast & Furious directly led to the death of Agent Terry.”

Honestly folks, no wonder Josephine Terry, Agent Terry’s mother, is so absolutely frustrated right now. She just feels like Holder isn’t giving straight answers and that he isn’t taking her son’s death seriously.

Wrote Josephine on her Facebook page:

Mr. Holder. How come you can never say my son’s name? You never have. All I ever hear you say is “I didn’t find out or I can’t say.” I’m actually tired of hearing your double talk in answering questions. What a joke you are. You know my son was a real AMERICAN, a WARRIOR, and a HERO, who was also protecting COWARD POLITICIANS like you. [I] hope you remember that.

Signed,

PROUD MOM OF BRIAN A. TERRY

AWR Hawkins

About:
AWR Hawkins writes for all the BIG sites, for Pajamas Media, for RedCounty.com, for Townhall.com and now AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.

His southern drawl is frequently heard discussing his take on current events on radio shows like America’s Morning News, the G. Gordon Liddy Show, the Ken Pittman Show, and the NRA’s Cam & Company, among others. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal (summer 2010), and he holds a PhD in military history from Texas Tech University.

If you have questions or comments, email him at awr@awrhawkins.com. You can find him on facebook at www.facebook.com/awr.hawkins.

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington DC - -(Ammoland.com)- As Attorney General Eric Holder sat before the House Oversight Committee on Thursday February 2nd, his answers were as predictable as they were unacceptable: predictable because they were the well-rehearsed answers he gives each time he’s asked about Fast and Furious (except when he gives different answers because the timeline demands it) and they were unacceptable because many of his answers were simply contrary to reality.

For example, consider how Holder continued to defend (and rationalize) the speed at which the DOJ is releasing subpoenaed documents to the committee. How he simultaneously maintained that the DOJ has “shared huge amounts of information” and promised to share more, albeit on the DOJ’s timetable rather than that of the Oversight Committee.

But the reality is that the DOJ has only released 8% of the subpoenaed documents, or approximately 6,000 documents. And according to a report from the Oversight Committee, among these 6,000 were many which consisted “of blacked-out pages containing no information,” as well as “many duplicate documents” meant only “to bolster [the DOJs] page count.” (In other words, among the measly number of documents delivered, many contain no information on them.)

At the same time, Holder & Co. have turned over 92% more materials (about 80,000 documents) to the DOJ’s in-house Inspector General. And I’m not the only one who views this through a skeptical lense, especially since the IG falls under the auspices of the DOJ. In fact, it’s easy to assume that Holder’s being more open with the DOJ’s IG because he fears them less than he fears Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) and others on the Oversight Committee.

Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN) certainly believes this is so. Thus during his exchange with Holder last week he said: “I think you’re hiding behind something here.  There [are] things you don’t want us to see.” Added Burton: “You ought to give us the documents.”

Stop for a moment and think about this: What would happen to the average American if they only provided a court or a federally-backed investigative committee with 8% of what that court or investigative body requested? Moreover, what if a portion of the 8% of documents they turned over were blacked-out pages “containing no information”?

Why then should Holder receive special treatment? (It’d be nice if the law were applied equally, to the ruling class as it is to the country class.)

The good news is that Issa is on record saying that if Holder hasn’t reversed course and complied with the document subpoenas by February 9th, the “committee will have no alternative but to move forward with proceedings to hold [Holder] in contempt of Congress.” Therefore, between now and the 9th Holder needs to hand over the documents  and we need to remind Issa that we expect him to follow through with the contempt charges if Holder simply thumbs his nose at the Oversight Committee again.

AWR Hawkins

About:
AWR Hawkins writes for all the BIG sites, for Pajamas Media, for RedCounty.com, for Townhall.com and now AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.

His southern drawl is frequently heard discussing his take on current events on radio shows like America’s Morning News, the G. Gordon Liddy Show, the Ken Pittman Show, and the NRA’s Cam & Company, among others. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal (summer 2010), and he holds a PhD in military history from Texas Tech University.

If you have questions or comments, email him at awr@awrhawkins.com. You can find him on facebook at www.facebook.com/awr.hawkins.

Democrats Praise Holder's 'Dignity and Honor' Then Call for More Gun Control

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington DC - -(Ammoland.com)- During the House Oversight Committee hearings yesterday, Attorney General Eric Holder denounced what he called a “political gotcha game.”

And he was not without his defenders, Democrats all, who also tried to spin the hearing into nothing more than an election year sideshow orchestrated by Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA).

Yet ironically, even as Holder and his defenders tried to make Issa and his Republican colleagues look like naïve political opportunists, the rhetoric of the Democrats was little more than a politically charged lesson in sycophancy 101.

For example, when Congressman Gerald Connolly’s (D-VA) time began, he addressed the room, and Holder, thus: “Thank you for being here and showing such dignity and honor in the face of some who are suggesting that you are other [than dignified and honorable].” And Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL)  opened his time by referring to yesterday’s hearing as a “bonfire of the vanities.” He said this was so because “after nearly six hearings, [by those who] are looking for the perfect case to embarrass the AG and the President,” all that’s been learned is that “this is not it.” These two examples were indicative of the praise Democrats heaped upon Holder, and they clearly demonstrated that the facts don’t matter. Rather, they put party and power above the truth.

Yet as stomach turning as this was, perhaps even worse was the Democrats’ unabashed, open pursuit of more gun control during yesterday’s hearings. Almost to a man, once they finished praising Holder they took turns trying to alleviate the pressure he’s under by suggesting Fast and Furious couldn’t have happened if we had more stringent gun control laws. (In making this point, they conveniently overlooked the number of gun control laws that violated with impunity during Operation Fast and Furious.)

So as the saga unfolded yesterday, once Connolly had praised the “dignity and honor” of Holder, he and the AG basically had a conversation in front of the world about the supposed need for a new federal firearms trafficking law.

And Holder indicated that there is no significant federal straw-purchasing law either: so he wants that too. (Here, Holder was disingenuous at best because anyone who has bought a firearm within the last fifteen years knows that on the yellow federal background check form, the buyer has to declare that he’s the actual buyer of the weapon: that he’s not buying it for someone else who can’t legally buy it. In other words, the buyer is declaring that he’s not a straw purchaser.)

And I didn’t even get into the latter portions of Quigley’s time, where he also bemoaned the lack of a new federal firearms trafficking statute, spoke highly of the long gun reporting measure Holder & Co. implemented in the wake of Fast and Furious, and then actually expressed support for expanding the budget of the ATF, as well as boosting the number of ATF agents.

And hapless Holder concurred: “If we’re serious, as we all say we are,  in dealing with the problem of guns going to Mexico…we need more people than we have now in ATF.”

When Holder then tried to turn the hearing into a discussion about the need for the Senate to confirm a new head of the ATF, Chairman Issa interrupted and brought matters back to reality by saying the president had spent more than two years without even bothering to nominate a head for ATF.

The bottom line: It’s just not that important to them folks. And Holder (and his defenders) only bring these issues up now as a way to get Issa, Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX), Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and others, off Holder’s trail.

The Democrats have no intention of pursuing justice on the matter of Fast and Furious, and they proved it again yesterday.

AWR Hawkins

About:
AWR Hawkins writes for all the BIG sites, for Pajamas Media, for RedCounty.com, for Townhall.com and now AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.

His southern drawl is frequently heard discussing his take on current events on radio shows like America’s Morning News, the G. Gordon Liddy Show, the Ken Pittman Show, and the NRA’s Cam & Company, among others. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal (summer 2010), and he holds a PhD in military history from Texas Tech University.

If you have questions or comments, email him at awr@awrhawkins.com. You can find him on facebook at www.facebook.com/awr.hawkins.

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Appropriately, it’s Groundhog Day.

Because Attorney General Eric Holder has just testified that he spent another year hiding in a hole, oblivious to what was going on in his department or even what was in his inbox.

In testimony before Darrell Issa’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Holder’s defense was – in the words of one DEMOCRAT -- the “Sergeant Schultz defense”: “I know nooothing!”

This, notwithstanding the fact that there were no fewer than seven memoranda sent to Holder (as early as July, 2010) briefing him on the Fast and Furious Operation, and the fact that his department was intentionally allowing guns to go across the border to Mexican drug cartels.

Those guns have already resulted in the deaths of over 300 Mexican nationals, in addition to U.S. Border Agent Brian Terry.

Yet, Holder smugly asserted that he didn’t have time to read memoranda forwarded to him by his subordinates detailing criminal conduct by his department under his watch. (Never mind Holder’s assertion today that his management style was one that is “hands on.”)

Which leads to this question: Could a hedge fund manager escape culpability by arguing that he didn’t read letters from his subordinates or attorneys warning him of criminal misconduct?

And another thing: What was Eric Holder doing that was so important that the deaths of 300 people didn’t warrant any of his “precious” time?

Let Holder explain to the families of the dead that their lives were trivial because he was so busy promulgating illegal regulations governing multiple gun sales reporting, unlawfully banning shotgun importation, and unconstitutionally justifying non-recess recess appointments.

Holder protested that questioners were “disrespecting” his office. But Holder has dragged his office and his department into the cesspool. The proper response to him is: “Disrespect? What about 300 murdered Mexicans?”

It is time for him to go.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington DC - -(Ammoland.com)- The highlight of the exchanges today between members of the House Oversight Committee and Attorney General Eric Holder came when Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY) was given her time to question the AG.

Her questions are important because she speaks for a district in New York, far removed from the border mayhem and violence connected to Fast and Furious. The fact her constituents are outraged goes a long way in describing how widespread the angst and disgust over Fast and Furious really is.

After opening her time by pointing out that Holder had frequently responded to charges in a dismissive way, by saying they were all part of a political game, or an election year charade, Buerkle said:

I think it’s important to recognize that you, as the Attorney General, with all due respect, need to  be held accountable, or someone does, as to what happened. Of all the issues that face this country, this is the issue that I hear from my district so frequently about. In fact, today I have no fewer than 30 questions from folks in my district who want to know what happened, why it happened, and who’s going to be held accountable.

She then stated that she’d been “taken aback” by Holder’s haughty declarations to others on the committee, wherein he said “I am the Attorney General,” as if that meant he were above reproach. Said Buerkle: “With all due respect, yes you are [the Attorney General], but you are also accountable not only to the folks in my district, but to the American people.

Buerkle then played a video clip from a June 2011 hearing wherein the spokesman for Brian Terry’s family asked if the dragnet in the investigation of Fast and Furious would be set deep enough and wide enough to catch everyone involved, and would those involved face charges? After the clip had played, Buerkle looked at Holder and asked how far the investigation has come since June of last year, and whether “everyone in that operation who had to deal with [the weapons used in Terry’s death] will be brought up on charges for facilitating the murder of Brian Terry?”

Holder rambled and stuttered like Obama without a teleprompter:

We’re certainly working now to, it’s an ongoing investigation, this is a very sensitive time, I’m not sure I can talk an awful lot about where the investigation is. I’ve indicated that I think we’re pretty close to making some announcements.

…And with regard to people who were involved in Operation Fast and Furious, we are endeavoring to find out who made the determination to allow guns to walk. I am not at liberty to talk about weapons that were used during the actual incident.

(Call me crazy, but Holder’s answer seemed like little more than a long, circuitous way of saying “Nope, the investigation hasn’t come that far since last June.”)

Anyway, Holder finally quit trying to answer and instead started to clarify what he’d meant when he’d earlier declared “I am the Attorney General.” Said Holder: “I did not mean to imply that I should not be held accountable. But I also believe there’s a certain fairness component in this thing as well. …I am more than willing to admit mistakes when I have made them. …We need to put aside the political gotcha games.” At this point, Buerkle interrupted Holder and said, “Excuse me sir, my time is ticking away, and I have one more question.”

Buerkle then asked the best question of the morning:

I was one of the members [of this committee] who called for your resignation. I feel that [as head of the] DOJ, that you’re responsible for all activities that fall under your umbrella. You’ve denied knowledge of the program and that accordingly you should not be held accountable. My question to you here today is what more could have possibly gone wrong? …How many more Border Patrol agents would have had to die for you to take responsibility?

Holder reacted by painting the question as ridiculous, and added: “I mean, really, as a member of Congress, is that the way you want to be seen, or the way you want to be known?” (i.e., do you want to be known as the one who asked such an asinine question?)

The problem for Mr. Holder is that the American people don’t believe the question was out of line in any way. Moreover, the American people also took note of another important fact: Holder never answered the question…

AWR Hawkins

About:
AWR Hawkins writes for all the BIG sites, for Pajamas Media, for RedCounty.com, for Townhall.com and now AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.

His southern drawl is frequently heard discussing his take on current events on radio shows like America’s Morning News, the G. Gordon Liddy Show, the Ken Pittman Show, and the NRA’s Cam & Company, among others. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal (summer 2010), and he holds a PhD in military history from Texas Tech University.

If you have questions or comments, email him at awr@awrhawkins.com. You can find him on facebook at www.facebook.com/awr.hawkins.

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington DC - -(Ammoland.com)- Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) opened this morning’s hearings by providing a timeline for Fast and Furious: a timeline that briefly described the role of every law enforcement agency involved.

He spoke about the debt we owe Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, and agent Terry’s family. And he announced that ATF whistleblower John Dodson was present in the room for the hearings today. (Dodson is the Phoenix agent who risked his career and his life to inform Congress about details of Fast and Furious as they were visible to him on the street.)

Then Issa dug in deeper:

On Oct 11, 2011, after months and months and months of this committee trying to get further documents, we issued subpoenas for documents and were told they’re hard to get. Yet, ten times as many documents have been provided to the Inspector General. Mr. Attorney General, when is the primary investigative committee of congress going to be allowed the same access that the IG has? That the twelve thousand members of the IG have? We ask very little of government by contrast, …but we believe we deserve those answers in at least as timely a fashion as your own IG gets.

We’re going to ask you many things today, hopefully you came prepared to know [the answers to questions] on Fast and Furious. Questions like: What can you do to bring this to a close? What can you do to help the American people know this is no longer going on and will not happen again in the future?

Issa then went on to talk in detail of how frustrating it’s been to try to get information to date. In doing this he referenced former U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke, the attorney who covered up the connection between Fast and Furious and Brian Terry’s death. And he suggested that Burke “clearly didn’t do his job in a way that anyone can be proud of.” Issa then pointed to more stonewalling on the part of the DOJ, and specifically drew attention to Patrick J. Cunningham, who, when subpoenaed, invoked the 5th to keep from telling what he knew about Fast and Furious.

After Issa set the stage thus, it was time for the ranking Democrat on the committee, Elijah Cummings (MD), to provide his opening statement. And Cummings used the statement to let Holder know the Democrats were on his side. He then talked of how cooperative Holder has been and gave the A.G. credit for discovering that the roots of gun-running lie with George W. Bush, not the current administration. (Who knew?)

Said Cummings:

We’ve interviewed 22 witnesses and reviewed thousands of pages of documents. Because of our extensive work we’ve had concrete results. The committee has uncovered a 5 year practice of gun-walking out of the Phoenix ATF office.

Cummings then referenced Operation Wide Receiver again and compared it to Fast and Furious, which is like comparing a toddler’s fastball pitch to that of Nolan Ryan, and added: “But the committee found no evidence that the AG authorized gun walking. None of the agents described talking to the AG about gun walking.” Cummings then directed the closing portion of his comments to Chairman Issa, instead of Holder, and said this was the 6th time the Attorney General had testified about these issues, and he criticized Issa for holding what Cummings described as “more of a political campaign than a real hearing.”

Bottom line: The opening salvo showed that Issa is all business and intends to get to the bottom of this today. However, the Democrats, for whom Cummings spoke, have let Holder know they’ve got his back, regardless of the facts.

AWR Hawkins

About:
AWR Hawkins writes for all the BIG sites, for Pajamas Media, for RedCounty.com, for Townhall.com and now AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.

His southern drawl is frequently heard discussing his take on current events on radio shows like America’s Morning News, the G. Gordon Liddy Show, the Ken Pittman Show, and the NRA’s Cam & Company, among others. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal (summer 2010), and he holds a PhD in military history from Texas Tech University.

If you have questions or comments, email him at awr@awrhawkins.com. You can find him on facebook at www.facebook.com/awr.hawkins.

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee tomorrow morning to answer for his failed leadership in regard to Operation Fast and Furious.

This operation, which was shepherded by Obama’s Justice Department, has led to thousands of guns being smuggled into Mexico — and to the deaths of two federal agents.

Holder has already been caught in several lies and appears to be digging in his feet even further.

Committee Chairman Darrell Issa will be grilling Holder once again and has threatened the Attorney General with contempt charges if he continues stonewalling.

Issa warned that if the Attorney General continues to obstruct his investigation, “this committee will have no alternative but to move forward with proceedings to hold you in contempt of Congress.”

GOA staff has been working closely with House committee members, and we will be attending the hearings and reporting to you on developments — both public and behind-the-scenes.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Congressman Issa Threatens Eric Holder with Contempt of Congress

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington DC - -(Ammoland.com)- I just received an email from Congressman Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) office, and as I alluded to in my last post on Big Government, zero hour is fast approaching for Attorney General Eric Holder.

He is to appear before the  House Oversight Committee for questions over Fast and Furious this Thursday at 9 am, and the closer we get to that time, the greater the pressure that seems to be mounting on Holder.

At the head of the crowd applying pressure to Holder is Issa himself, who has simply grown sick and tired of waiting on Holder to comply with the numerous subpoenas he’s received for documents related to Fast and Furious. As a result, Issa has moved from a “wait and see” approach to one of demanding Holder comply or else. To that end Issa sent Holder a letter on January 31 warning him that he has until Feb. 9 to turn over all documents or face “contempt” charges.

Wrote Issa to Holder:

[Your] actions lead us to conclude that the department is actively engaged in a cover-up. If the department continues to obstruct the congressional inquiry by not providing documents and information, this committee will have no alternative but to move forward with proceedings to hold you in contempt of Congress.

Issa has plenty of reasons to suspect a cover-up, and he’s not alone in doing so.  After all, the most recent DOJ document dump (on Friday, January 27), proved that despite months upon months of denials, the DOJ did have knowledge of gun-running all along. Not only that, but the DOJ’s own Lanny Breuer actually suggested gun-running at a tactic.  Who knows how many more revelations await us if Holder will only hand over the rest of the documents Issa has subpoenaed?

One thing’s for sure, it seems we’ve finally reached a breaking point where there are only two options: Either Holder complies with Issa’s demands or he faces charges of contempt. One way or another, we’re getting closer to finding out where the blame lies for this criminal undertaking referred to as “Fast and Furious.”

AWR Hawkins

About:
AWR Hawkins writes for all the BIG sites, for Pajamas Media, for RedCounty.com, for Townhall.com and now AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.

His southern drawl is frequently heard discussing his take on current events on radio shows like America’s Morning News, the G. Gordon Liddy Show, the Ken Pittman Show, and the NRA’s Cam & Company, among others. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal (summer 2010), and he holds a PhD in military history from Texas Tech University.

If you have questions or comments, email him at awr@awrhawkins.com. You can find him on facebook at www.facebook.com/awr.hawkins.

And Your Father Smelt Of Elderberries, An Open Letter To The Attorney General

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Mr Attorney General, I have followed with great interest your performance, testimony and numerous statements to the press regarding the Fast and Furious Scandal.

And frankly, as an American Citizen I find you to be an embarrassment, an utter failure in upholding the Rule Of Law and a contemptible person.

You are unworthy of the title of US Attorney General, in fact, you have revealed, by your own words and actions that you are not even suitable to serve as a janitor in any Court of Law in the Country, let alone as an attorney and certainly not as ” The Chief Law Enforcement Officer in the Nation “.

You have clearly forgotten or more likely given your apparent hubris, simply do not care that you swore an Oath to defend and uphold the US Constitution and the laws of the United States. That means you are required to follow the laws, not disregard the ones you don’t like, in furtherance of your personal ideology and political goals. There is ample evidence to support the contention that you personally , along with several other high ranking Administration Officials, including but hardly limited to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Dept of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, your collective staff and underlings have committed numerous criminal violations of Federal and State Law, including violations of International Arms Treaties and weapons exporting laws, conspiracy to commit those same violations, perjury, providing aid or comfort to an enemy of the United States, Obstruction of Justice, and being an accessory to murder with depraved indifference.

Any single one of these violations, were they committed by a Citizen, would have resulted in near instantaneous charges being filed and a public “shaming” in the form of a publicized “perp walk ” of the accused, for all the major media to follow and report on.

But for you and your acolytes, things are different. There are clearly special rules for you and your associates. You go on television and claim ignorance, you assert (falsely and blatantly) I might add, that you are committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice and smugly expect the American People to believe that. Had you ever possessed even a shred of a sense of personal honor, integrity, character, respect for the institutions of law or responsibility, you would long ago have tendered your resignation from your position.

Instead you choose to allow retaliation against several whistle blowers who exposed this program, actively shielded personnel that implemented and carried out this Operation and proclaimed to the media that anyone seeking to hold anyone, including yourself responsible was doing so out of “racism” , clearly not caring that every time someone plays the “race card” for the obvious purposes of distracting others from their own culpability, it is not only transparent, it cheapens the term to the point that people become inured against actual cases of racist behavior.

Your clear contempt for the intelligence of the American People and for the tenants of the Rule of Law, applied equally to all is breathtaking in its scope and breadth. You have single-handedly managed to cast a long and dark shadow of dishonor on yourself, your Office, Law Enforcement and the so called “ Justice System” I would take this opportunity to remind you of the thoughts of a former Supreme Court Justice, commenting on behavior such as has been seen during the investigation into the Fast and Furious Scandal.

“Decency,security and liberty alike demand that government officials shall be subject to the rules of conduct that are commands to the citizen.

In a government of laws, existence of government will be imperiled if it fails to observe the law scrupulously. Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a law-breaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.” ~ Supreme Court Justice Louis D Brandeis

Mr Attorney General, do you actually believe that you will escape any judgement or penalty for your actions ?

While it is true that you may escape punishment at the hands of a Court of Law, judgement and punishment comes in numerous forms and is not limited to laws. Everyone of us, at some point, will face accountability for our actions, either by man, karma, fate, or a Higher Power. Sooner or later we all must accept responsibility for our actions and pay a price, and that includes you.

You do not deserve the title of Attorney General, the American People are entitled to someone much better then you have demonstrated to represent them as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in the land. In closing, I have one more thing to say. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries !

More articles, commentary and information by Dan Roberts available at That Every Man Be Armed.com

Chairman Issa explained that the only legally valid reason to assert the Fifth Amendment was fear that testimony would incriminate the witness in a manner that could be used in a future prosecution.

NRA - ILA

Charlotte, NC --(Ammoland.com)- In a move that stunned members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the chief of the criminal division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona has cited his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and refused to testify.

The hearing took place on Jan. 20. The official, Patrick J. Cunningham, had been subpoenaed by Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) to appear before the committee to respond to questions about his knowledge of and involvement in the “Fast and Furious” gun running scandal.

Chairman Issa called the assertion of Fifth Amendment rights “extremely rare.”

“The assertion of the Fifth Amendment by a senior Justice official is a significant indictment of the department’s integrity in Operation Fast and Furious,” said Issa. “This is the first time anyone has asserted their Fifth Amendment right in this investigation and heightens concerns that the Justice Department’s motivation for refusing to hand over subpoenaed materials is a desire to shield responsible officials from criminal charges and other embarrassment.”

Cunningham’s attorney asserted that his client is innocent, “but he has been ensnared by the unfortunate circumstances in which he now stands between two branches of government.”

However, Chairman Issa explained that the only legally valid reason to assert the Fifth Amendment was fear that testimony would incriminate the witness in a manner that could be used in a future prosecution.

This is the latest in a long series of failures by the Department of Justice to cooperate with congressional investigations into the “Fast and Furious” scandal. It is clear that after more than a year, it is the policy of the Obama DOJ and Attorney General Eric Holder to deny Congress and the American people the truth about “Fast and Furious.”

NRA-ILA continues to call for Attorney General Holder to be fired—and for the DOJ to fully cooperate with this investigation and tell the truth about who approved and oversaw this reckless operation.

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea

USA --(Ammoland.com)- Email from aide appears to demonstrate Holder perjury

“Emails Show How ‘Fast and Furious’ Ambush News Unfolded At Justice Dept.,” NPR reports tonight.

“For the first time, the Justice Department has made public a series of sensitive messages that passed to the highest levels of the agency within hours of an ambush that killed a U.S. border patrol agent…The email messages show the former top federal prosecutor in Arizona, Dennis Burke, notifying an aide to Holder via email on Dec. 15, 2010 that agent Brian Terry had been wounded and died. ‘Tragic,’ responds the aide, Monty Wilkinson. ‘I’ve alerted the AG, the acting Deputy Attorney General…’”

This correspondent was on the phone with Mike Vanderboegh of Sipsey Street Irregulars a few hours ago ths evening, shortly before the NPR release. From Vanderboegh’s assessment:

“White House dumps 500 plus pages of documents tonight…NPR was apparently the preferred outlet for the dump…Holder is screwed. Of course the only reason they’re doing this is to further the modified limited hangout, which now apparently includes Eric Holder. Remember, these are the emails that the WH WANTED to release. What does that tell us? That they’re protecting the White House and are willing to dispose of Holder to do it.”

Continue reading on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/documents-say-doj-knew-of-fast-and-furious-connection-day-after-terry-murder

Photo © Oleg Volk. Used with permission.

About David Codrea:
David Codrea is a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He is a field editor for GUNS Magazine, and a blogger at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance. Read more at www.DavidCodrea.com.

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Attorney General Eric Holder — recently caught lying under oath concerning his knowledge of his department’s Fast and Furious program — may be moving a step closer to the inside of a jail cell.

On Thursday, February 2nd, Chairman Darrell Issa’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold another hearing on the disastrous Fast and Furious operation.

Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar, a member of that committee, is also pushing a resolution of “no confidence” in Holder’s management – or lack of management – of the Justice Department.

That resolution, H. Res. 490, provides a course of action for the momentum generated by that hearing.

H. Res. 490 finds that, as a result of “Holder’s failure to properly control, monitor, or establish Operation Fast and Furious, it is likely Mexican nationals were killed or wounded by weapons sold through this scheme” — and that the victims of Holder’s incompetence included U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

It goes on to resolve that the House has “lost confidence” in Holder, which is, basically, a call for him to resign.

Clearly, the Justice Department believes it can stonewall Issa’s inquiry and bull its way through questions concerning its criminal malfeasance. Adoption of the Gosar resolution would make it much, much more difficult to do so.

ACTION: Contact your Representative and urge him or her to cosponsor H.Res. 490. Click here to send a prewritten message to your Rep.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The Supreme Court yesterday unanimously sided with Gun Owners of America in finding that the placement of a Global Positioning Device on an automobile constitutes a “search” for purposes of the Fourth Amendment.

The majority opinion in U.S. v. Jones was written by Justice Antonin Scalia and follows GOA’s reasoning to throw out the “reasonable expectation of privacy” test which has been thought to be the dominant Fourth Amendment standard in recent years.

The Obama Administration argued that because the police could theoretically follow Antoine Jones’ car, he had no “reasonable expectation of privacy,” and thus, placing a GPS device on his car was justified. GOA argued, however, that this constituted an “unreasonable search and seizure” which violates the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.

This decision will have dramatic ramifications for gun owners. Indeed, the Court looked to the Founders’ intentions with respect to the Fourth Amendment, which, until the latter part of the 20th Century, was understood to restrict the ability of police to “trespass” upon the persons or property of Americans.

“This is no less than a fundamental transformation of American jurisprudence concerning searches and seizures,” according to GOA’s Executive Director Larry Pratt. “And it is a transformation which throws out fake modern jurisprudence and restores the Founders’ intent.”

The “reasonable expectation of privacy” test flowed from a Justice Harlan concurring opinion in Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967). Gun Owners of America had argued that the Supreme Court should jettison that decision by an activist court, and a majority of the justices agreed.

“The ‘expectation of privacy’ test for searches and seizures arose without support in the text or historical context of the Fourth Amendment, and has proven wholly inadequate to protect the American people from their government,” argued GOA.

Four members of the court – led by Samuel Alito, and joined by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Elena Kagan – argued for the continuation of the “reasonable expectation of privacy test,” but concluded that planting a GPS device on a car for 28 days constituted a Fourth Amendment “search” under that standard as well.

The Obama administration, which had argued that planting a GPS device on a car was not a “search” under the Harlan standard, was unanimously repudiated by the High Court. And the case is being cited by the mainstream media as a defeat for Obama and his Justice Department, which is led by Attorney General Eric Holder.

Said Pratt: “This is yet another failure by Eric Holder, the most corrupt and incompetent Attorney General in the history of the Republic.”

Gun Owners would like to thank its activists for their support. Your contributions helps GOA to assist in future cases like this at the Supreme Court.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Arizona to Prosecute Those Responsible for Fast & Furious Who Feds Won't

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington DC - -(Ammoland.com)- Nationally, Fast and Furious has entered the vernacular.

As a result, Americans of all walks of life now know that the ATF and DOJ oversaw the sale of approximately 2,500 guns to straw purchasers who, in turn, passed them to criminals in Mexico and elsewhere.

Moreover, Americans know that the plan from the get-go was to have these guns carried across an international border and passed to criminals whom the ATF then planned to arrest (but they never got around to arresting them because they hadn’t bothered tracing the guns from the point of sale).

Therefore, Americans also know that of the 2,500 guns originally sold, approximately 1,300 are still on the streets and unaccounted for. At least two of these guns were found at Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s murder scene in December 2010, and Americans increasingly know that while Terry may have been the first American victim, odds are he won’t be the last with such a large number of weapons on the loose.

Lastly, Americans know that President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have both denied complicity in Fast and Furious, particularly in the gun-running aspects of it. Throughout the course of denying complicity, Holder has changed his story more than once, Obama has demonstrated confusion over when he first learned about Fast and Furious, and former U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke (Arizona) was allowed to retire without charges although he was demonstrably involved in covering up the connection between Fast and Furious and Agent Terry’s death.

Perhaps through all this, the one thing the American people have witnessed to a sickening degree is the stark failure to prosecute those involved in Fast and Furious to the full extent of the law. Holder has been handled with kid gloves, Burke is now living a private life, and Obama is not being asked to clear up the many discrepancies in his timeline.

Enter Arizona.
Where the same state that brought you S.B. 1070 —the immigration law aimed at allowing the state to do the job the feds won’t do— is set to open their own investigation into Fast and Furious and bring state charges against those the feds have heretofore refused to charge. Andy Tobin, Arizona’s Speaker of the House, will announce tomorrow (Monday, January 23rd) the scope of the investigation, and will call for state investigators to have their findings back to him no later than March 30.

The bottom line: Arizona is about to the do the job the feds won’t do – again.

AWR Hawkins

About:
AWR Hawkins writes for all the BIG sites, for Pajamas Media, for RedCounty.com, for Townhall.com and now AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.

His southern drawl is frequently heard discussing his take on current events on radio shows like America’s Morning News, the G. Gordon Liddy Show, the Ken Pittman Show, and the NRA’s Cam & Company, among others. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal (summer 2010), and he holds a PhD in military history from Texas Tech University.

If you have questions or comments, email him at awr@awrhawkins.com. You can find him on facebook at www.facebook.com/awr.hawkins.

Congressional Action Needed to Stop Obama/Holder Gun Registration Scheme

National Rifle Association

FAIRFAX, Va. --(Ammoland.com)- Last week, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. issued a ruling upholding an Obama administration policy that requires federally licensed firearms retailers in states bordering Mexico to report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles.

The case was brought by two NRA-backed firearms retailers and by the National Shooting Sports Foundation acting on behalf of its affected members.  Plaintiffs have already filed an appeal—but while we await the outcome, your help is urgently needed in seeking congressional action to end this illegal policy.

Devised by Attorney General Eric Holder’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the plan requires all of the 8,700 firearm dealers in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to report all sales of two or more semi-automatic rifles within five consecutive business days, if the rifles are larger than .22 caliber and use detachable magazines.

In July, the Justice Department announced that it would proceed with the controversial reporting procedure.  During consideration of the FY 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill, pro-gun U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) offered an amendment in committee to prohibit the use of funds for the unauthorized reporting plan and the amendment was passed by a vote of 25-16.  Unfortunately, the Rehberg amendment did not make it through the appropriations process.

Much has transpired since then regarding BATFEs’ failed “Operation Fast and Furious,” and evidence is now clear that “Fast and Furious” was used as justification to force the multiple sales reporting requirement.

In early December, CBS News reported that BATFE “discussed using their covert operation “Fast and Furious” to argue for controversial new rules about gun sales.”  In particular, agency officials wanted guns to fall into Mexican drug cartel hands and be traced back to gun dealers in the U.S. to make a case for requiring the multiple sales reporting.

According to CBS, “Emails show they discussed using the sales, including sales encouraged by ATF, to justify a new gun regulation called Demand Letter 3.  That would require some U.S. gun shops to report the sale of multiple rifles or ‘long guns.’”

CBS singled out a July 14, 2010 email sent by BATFE Field Operations Assistant Director Mark Chait to Bill Newell, the agency’s Special Agent in Charge in Phoenix, where “Fast and Furious” was based.  In the email, Chait asked Newell to “see if these guns were all purchased from the same [licensed gun dealer] and at one time.  We are looking at anecdotal cases to support a demand letter on long gun multiple sales.”

Last March, U.S. Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) introduced S. 570 — “a bill to prohibit the Department of Justice from tracking and cataloguing the purchases of multiple rifles and shotguns.”  The bill would prohibit the use of federal money needed to fund the multiple sales reporting requirement.

It is imperative that you contact your U.S. Senators and ask them to cosponsor and support S. 570.  You can find contact information for your elected officials by using the “Write Your Representatives” tool at www.NRAILA.org, or you can call your U.S. senators at (202) 224-3121.

S. 570 currently has 33 cosponsors.  To see if your senators are cosponsors, please click here:  http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:SN00570:@@@P

Again, it is critically important that you contact your U.S. Senators as soon as possible and urge them to cosponsor and support S. 570.  Ask your Senators to defund, and defeat, the Obama/Holder Gun Registration Scheme.

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea

USA --(Ammoland.com)- “Attorney General Eric Holder used Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy on the anniversary of the civil rights leader’s birthday Monday to emphasize the Obama administration’s dedication to protecting the American people from discriminatory voting practices,” Politico reports.

The remarks followed a December move by Holder’s agents at the Department of Justice to block “South Carolina’s new voter ID law from taking effect, claiming that the measure will put an unfair burden on minority voters,” according to an earlier Politico piece.

Naturally, the move is endorsed by Ben Jealous and the NAAPoC (I mean really, “CP” in this day and age?) because…well, maybe Mississippi can shed some light on motive. If only we could have NAACP-requested UN poll watchers…

Still, in fairness, let us examine the rationale Holder’s DoJ relies on in his decision to have the federal government block a law duly-enacted by a sovereign state.

Continue reading on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/holder-s-position-on-voter-id-exposes-racial-discrimination-against-gun-ownershi

About David Codrea:
David Codrea is a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He is a field editor for GUNS Magazine, and a blogger at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance. Read more at www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/david-codrea

NRA - ILA

Charlotte, NC --(Ammoland.com)-Moments ago, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. issued a ruling upholding an Obama administration policy that requires federally licensed firearms retailers in states bordering Mexico to report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles.

The case was brought by two NRA-backed firearms retailers and by the National Shooting Sports Foundation acting on behalf of its affected members. Plaintiffs plan to appeal immediately—but in the meantime, your help is urgently needed in seeking congressional action to end this illegal policy.

Devised by Attorney General Eric Holder’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the plan requires all of the 8,700 firearm dealers in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to report all sales of two or more semi-automatic rifles within five consecutive business days, if the rifles are larger than .22 caliber and use detachable magazines. (The plaintiffs in the case pointed out that this was about 20 times more dealers than had been subject to any similar “demand letter” before, but in today’s decision the court nonetheless found the new requirement “limited in scope.”)

In July, the Justice Department announced that it would proceed with the controversial reporting procedure. During consideration of the FY 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill, pro-gun U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) offered an amendment in committee to prohibit the use of funds for the unauthorized reporting plan and the amendment was passed by a vote of 25-16. Unfortunately, the Rehberg amendment did not make it through the appropriations process.

Much has transpired since then regarding BATFEs’ failed “Operation Fast and Furious,” and evidence is now clear that “Fast and Furious” was used as justification to force the multiple sales reporting requirement.

In early December, CBS News reported that BATFE “discussed using their covert operation “Fast and Furious” to argue for controversial new rules about gun sales.” In particular, agency officials wanted guns to fall into Mexican drug cartel hands and be traced back to gun dealers in the U.S. to make a case for requiring the multiple sales reporting.

According to CBS, “Emails show they discussed using the sales, including sales encouraged by ATF, to justify a new gun regulation called Demand Letter 3. That would require some U.S. gun shops to report the sale of multiple rifles or ‘long guns.’”

CBS singled out a July 14, 2010 email sent by BATFE Field Operations Assistant Director Mark Chait to Bill Newell, the agency’s Special Agent in Charge in Phoenix, where “Fast and Furious” was based. In the email, Chait asked Newell to “see if these guns were all purchased from the same [licensed gun dealer] and at one time. We are looking at anecdotal cases to support a demand letter on long gun multiple sales.”

Last March, U.S. Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) introduced S. 570 — “a bill to prohibit the Department of Justice from tracking and cataloging the purchases of multiple rifles and shotguns.” The bill would prohibit the use of federal money needed to fund the multiple sales reporting requirement.

It is imperative that you contact your U.S. Senators and ask them to cosponsor and support S. 570. You can find contact information for your elected officials by using the “Write Your Representatives” tool at www.NRAILA.org, or you can call your U.S. senators at (202) 224-3121.

S. 570 currently has 33 cosponsors. To see if your senators are cosponsors, please click here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:SN00570:@@@P

Again, it is critically important that you contact your U.S. Senators as soon as possible and urge them to cosponsor and support S. 570, and defeat the Obama/Holder Gun Registration Scheme.

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

National Association for Gun Rights

Colorado -–(Ammoland.com)- First they called you an “extremist.”

Then they called you a “terrorist” and “out of the mainstream.”

Now they’re calling you racist.

You see, they’re trying to marginalize you . . . they want you to cower and go away.

As the most anti-gun President and Attorney General in our nation’s history, Barack Obama and Eric Holder are doing (and saying) everything in their power to crush any investigation into the ATF’s deadly gun-running scandal, “Fast & Furious.”

When all other insults have seemingly failed to stop an investigation into their actions, President Obama dispatched Eric Holder to the gutters – to participate in the worst kind of politics – to play the “race card.”

Recently, in an effort to deflect attention from “Fast & Furious,” and brand patriots like you as “racist,” Eric Holder said this:

“This is a way to get at the president because of the way I can be identified with him – both due to the nature of our relationship and, you know, the fact that we’re both African-American.”

To be honest with you, this type of insult isn’t anything new to anyone who’s been involved in conservative politics. Personally, I’ve been called everything under the sun (though I can’t repeat most of those words in print).

From my experience, every time the “race card” is played by any politician, that politician is attempting to get you to back off and run for cover — to go away.

It usually works. For more than two decades, I’ve seen activists and politicians run for the hills for fear that their name would be attached to the word “racist.”

But my answer to such a charge is quite simple — don’t back off, and crank up the pressure.

Now is as good a time as any to remind you of the outrageous, and deadly, actions of Eric Holder’s ATF . . .

. . . and ask you to take action.

“Fast & Furious” was a tool used by the ATF to push gun control on the American people.

This is the very scandal that found the ATF using taxpayer funds to walk firearms across the border into the hands of Mexican narco-terrorists.

But dig even deeper, and gun activists will find out this scheme was concocted as a public relations blitz by the Obama Administration to advance their anti-gun agenda with the UN Small Arms Treaty, a renewed so-called “Assault Weapons” ban, and a host of dangerous gun controls.

The “Fast & Furious” program itself was nothing but a manufactured crisis designed to scare Americans into banning firearms.

“Fast & Furious” was also the same program that led to the death of at least three American border patrol agents.

Eric Holder can call gun owners anything he wants, including racists, but I won’t back down. And I don’t want you to either.

The investigation into Holder’s actions would not have been possible without your activism and pressure.

He’s feeling your heat… and reverting to his Alinsky-taught tactics to try and get you to shut up.

I want you to crank up the heat on Congress to renew the push to “Fire Eric Holder.”

With less than one year before the November elections, Barack Obama and Eric Holder are going to do anything they can to appease their big-money gun control backers.

I’m going to do my best to keep you up-to-date on all the latest developments in the “Fast & Furious” scandal.

Please continue to pressure Congress to “Fire Eric Holder.”

The National Association for Gun Rights is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, single-purpose citizens’ organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the Constitutionally protected right-to-keep-and-bear-arms through an aggressive program designed to mobilize public opposition to anti-gun legislation. The National Association for Gun Rights’ mailing address is P.O 7002, Fredericksburg, VA 22404. They can be contacted toll-free at 1-877-405-4570. Its web address is www.NationalGunRights.org/

Not produced or e-mailed at taxpayer expense.

Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea

USA --(Ammoland.com)- “Breaking: ATF reportedly relieves Fast and Furious managers prior to OIG report,” Gun Rights Examiner reported last Tuesday, simultaneously with a related report by Mike Vanderboegh of Sipsey Street Irregulars, and supplemented with additional details by Dave Workman.

“ATF sidelines officials in gun sting debacle,” Reuters corroborated a day later in the Chicago Tribune.

The basic details of this development, from my January 4 report:

“William Hoover, ATF’s Deputy Director during Fast and Furious, who was recently reassigned as Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office, Assistant Director in Charge of Field Operations Mark Chait, likewise reassigned as head of the Baltimore Field Office, and Deputy Assistant Director of Field Operations William McMahon have reportedly been sidelined pending the outcome of the anticipated report from the Office of Inspector General.”

Which leads to another interesting development noted by Vanderboegh on Friday, where he observed a photograph of the recently-sidelined McMahon standing next to Attorney General Eric Holder at the funeral of an ATF agent killed by a police officer during a drugstore robbery.

Continue reading on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/why-are-holder-and-mcmahon-shoulder-to-shoulder-after-sidelining

About David Codrea:
David Codrea is a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He is a field editor for GUNS Magazine, and a blogger at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance. Read more at www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/david-codrea

Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea

USA --(Ammoland.com)-A joint release by David Codrea and Mike Vanderboegh

Dear Rep. Issa and Sen. Grassley,

Congratulations on the exceptional leadership you both have shown in advancing congressional investigations on the Fast and Furious “gunwalking” criminal enterprise. The two of you have taken things a long way since we first felt compelled to write an open letter requesting attention and action nearly a year ago.

We once more feel a need to correspond openly because we realize our voices are small compared to the many larger ones demanding your attention, and because it is in the public’s interest to be aware of the points we wish to call your attention to.

Continue reading on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/open-letter-to-darrell-issa-and-chuck-grassley-on-anticipated-gunwalking-report

About David Codrea:
David Codrea is a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He is a field editor for GUNS Magazine, and a blogger at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance. Read more at www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/david-codrea

Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea

USA --(Ammoland.com)- Gun Rights Examiner and Sipsey Street Irregulars received information this evening that three of the prime Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives players in the Fast and Furious gunwalking scandal have been relieved of duties.

William Hoover, ATF’s Deputy Director during Fast and Furious, who was recently reassigned as Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office, Assistant Director in Charge of Field Operations Mark Chait, likewise reassigned as head of the Baltimore Field Office, and Deputy Assistant Director of Field Operations William McMahon have reportedly been sidelined pending the outcome of the anticipated report from the Office of Inspector General.

Debbie Bullock a mid-level manager has reportedly been advised that she is now the acting SAC for Baltimore, and will assume Chait’s functions.

Continue reading on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/breaking-atf-reportedly-relieves-fast-and-furious-managers-prior-to-oig-report

About David Codrea:
David Codrea is a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He is a field editor for GUNS Magazine, and a blogger at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance. Read more at www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/david-codrea

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington DC - -(Ammoland.com)- I just received an email update from Congressman Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) office, stating that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on February 2.

The questions will center on the Department of Justice’s knowledge of, and response to, the gunwalking tactics that were used in Operation Fast and Furious.

The A.G. will also be asked to address the DOJ’s “steadfast refusal to disclose information following the February 4, 2011 letter to Senator Grassley, which the [DOJ] has withdrawn because it contained false information denying allegations made by whistleblowers about Operation Fast and Furious.”

Wrote Issa:

The Department of Justice’s conduct in the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious has been nothing short of shameful. From its initial denials that nothing improper occurred, to efforts to silence whistleblowers who wanted to tell Congress what really happened, to its continuing refusal to discuss or share documents related to this cover-up, the Justice Department has fought tooth and nail to hide the full truth about what occurred and what senior officials knew. Attorney General Holder must explain or reverse course on decisions that appear to put the careers of political appointees ahead of the need for accountability and the Department’s integrity.

The last portion of the letter provided me via Issa’s email highlights new (and startling) information on the DOJ’s refusal to cooperate with investigators to date.

According to the letter, in December 2011 the DOJ “explicitly informed the Committee that it would not deliver subpoenaed documents relating to Operation Fast and Furious created after February 4, 2011.” Moreover, “in interviews with committee investigators, senior Justice Department officials who had management responsibilities for Operation Fast and Furious have also refused to answer questions about decisions and conversations that occurred after February 4, 2011.”

Whatever happened to the transparency Obama & Co. promised us when running for office in 2008? And what exactly could Holder & Co. be hiding that forces them to go to such extremes to prevent a discovery of the truth?

It is high time for prosecution to begin. Holder & Co.’s contempt for Congress knows no bounds.

AWR Hawkins

About:
AWR Hawkins writes for all the BIG sites, for Pajamas Media, for RedCounty.com, for Townhall.com and now AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.

His southern drawl is frequently heard discussing his take on current events on radio shows like America’s Morning News, the G. Gordon Liddy Show, the Ken Pittman Show, and the NRA’s Cam & Company, among others. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal (summer 2010), and he holds a PhD in military history from Texas Tech University.

If you have questions or comments, email him at awr@awrhawkins.com. You can find him on facebook at www.facebook.com/awr.hawkins.

Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea

USA --(Ammoland.com)- Gun Rights Examiner just received the following press release from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

It is reproduced below in total because, at the time of this writing, it has not yet been posted on the committee website…

Continue reading on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/attorney-general-holder-to-testify-feb-2-on-fast-and-furious

About David Codrea:
David Codrea is a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He is a field editor for GUNS Magazine, and a blogger at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance. Read more at www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/david-codrea

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) recently introduced a resolution expressing “no confidence” in the Attorney General of the United States for his role in the Fast and Furious scandal.

Attorney General Eric Holder has been hauled before Congress multiple times to explain a government operation that led to thousands of firearms going to violent drug cartels in Mexico, and which have turned up at crime scenes on both sides of the border.

Holder initially denied knowing about the operation before admitting that “mistakes” were made, yet he remains uncooperative with Congress’s efforts to get to the bottom of the gunrunning scheme.

The Department of Justice provided some carefully selected information to the House Judiciary Committee, but nothing that would reveal who authorized the multi-million dollar, multi-agency, international operation.

There are “materials we have not and will not produce,” Holder said defiantly in testimony before the committee last month.

In fact, no one within the Department of Justice is being held accountable for approving the operation. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) told Holder during the December hearing that bureaucrats have put the wagons “in a pretty tight circle.”

“The American people need the truth,” added Rep. Sensenbrenner. “They haven’t gotten the truth from what has been coming out of the Justice Department in the last year.”

Holder’s refusal to provide any information regarding who is responsible for Fast and Furious has led many lawmakers to suspect that the Attorney General himself was intimately involved in the operation from the start.

The Gosar resolution sends a strong message to the Justice Department that the government’s reckless disregard of the law will not be tolerated. It will also help to raise public awareness of a misguided government operation that has contributed to the deaths of two U.S. law enforcement officers and some 200 Mexicans.

“It is imperative that the citizens of our nation have confidence in our Attorney General,” Congressman Gosar said in a statement. “After months of evasive answers, silence and outright lies it is time that Congress speak up on behalf of the many people who have or will fall victims to the firearms in the flawed gunrunning operation Fast and Furious.”

GOA, which is rallying Congress to use every means available to hold the government accountable for wrongdoing in Fast and Furious, applauds Rep. Gosar for authoring this resolution.

Click here to contact your own Representative today and urge him or her to cosponsor House Resolution 490, stating that Congress has “lost confidence” in the Attorney General.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

NRA News

Fairfax, VA --(Ammoland.com)- NRA-News is a valued partner that continues to cover breaking gun rights news with a new and improved short video format in the “NRA News Minute” videos.

To view the current firearms or gun rights news video, please click above:

Cam Edwards talks to Frank Borelli from Officer.com on the past years rise in officers deaths and Attorney General Eric Holder placing the blame on more guns with no mention of Fast & Furious.

Read More on these topics:

• Eric Holder’s Hubris is Stunning
• Attorney General Eric Holder Blames Americans for Gun-Running
• Attorney General Eric Holder Should Resign

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea

USA --(Ammoland.com)- The investigation into Fast & Furious now exceeds time it took Warren Commission to produce report on JFK murder.

“I will certainly await the report that comes out of the inspector general and I will assure you and the American people that people will be held accountable for any mistakes that were made in connection with Fast and Furious,” Attorney General Eric Holder testified in a November 8 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

This leads to the questions of why it’s taking so long, and if the end result will be indicative of the self-serving stonewalling and foot-dragging the Department of Justice has exhibited throughout congressional investigations of “Project Gunwalker.”

As things stand, Holder has been able to play the OIG card every time a question he does not wish to answer comes up.

Continue reading on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/holder-s-oig-gunwalker-investigation-passes-historic-milestone-today

About David Codrea:
David Codrea is a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He is a field editor for GUNS Magazine, and a blogger at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance. Read more at www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/david-codrea

Gunlaws.com

PHOENIX, AZ --(Ammoland.com)- The lamestream media told you:

“WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers told Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday to fire some Justice Department subordinates over the flawed arms-trafficking investigation called Operation Fast and Furious,” according to Pete Yost, writing for the Associated Press, about Holder’s testimony to Congress in early December. [Democrats, by implication and omission, see no problem here and have asked for no action.)

“Why haven’t you terminated the people involved?” asked Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that is investigating the arms-tracking operation.

“The operation’s goal was to follow the gun supply chain from small-time gun buyers at a number of Phoenix-area gun shops and make cases against major weapons traffickers,” AP writer Yost claims.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
It is widely recognized that the BATFE claims in Fast and Furious do not match the facts. There was a concerted effort NOT “to follow the gun supply chain” which BATFE helped smuggle out of the country. The conclusion, if facts matter, is that the smuggling operation increased the number of U.S.-supplied firearms to drug cartels, which were then found at crime scenes domestically and abroad. This manufactured increase was then used publicly to advance an imaginary threat, to justify increased government power, controls, and infringing on the Second Amendment.

The congressional committee, after an initial flurry of remarks and verbal jousting, stunningly refused to place Holder under oath, since he more than once said, “I’m here to tell the truth,” instead of taking an oath. That made my mouth hang open. This helps insulate him from a potential charge of felony perjury before Congress. He failed to testify under oath. The “news” media failed to report this tiny insignificant fact.

What the “news” also failed to report was only the most significant parts of the hearings. Holder, who repeatedly claims he is not stonewalling, performed a “document dump” on Congress, delivering more than 5,000 documents, most of them emails, and not a single one came from or was sent by Mr. Holder, the main unindicted conspirator in the smuggling scheme and the main target of the investigation. Actually no one has been indicted, thanks to Holder’s stonewalling.

That became obvious during questioning by Ben Quayle, who happens to be my representative. After noting that many in Congress seek Holder’s resignation, Quayle asked, “Will you resign?” Holder said, “No.” Naming and asking if the underlings just below him would resign, Holder replied “No.” Naming the underlings under them with the same question, Holder said, “No,” the three shortest answers he gave in the whole charade. Time ran out for Mr. Quayle, so the Chair of the committee asked the obvious last question, will anyone be forced out, and Holder continued with his terse replies, saying, “No.” In the AG’s opinion, as delivered to Congress, no one should be held accountable for these gross violations of law and multiple murders.

This is hard news, so was unreported for reasons that remain unclear.

Nearly a year after it began, Holder has refused to identify the person who authorized the operation, a very simple task, though it might implicate him or his boss, the current occupant of the White House.

A democrat at the hearing said that “2,000 automatic rifles” had walked. The AG said, “Yes, that’s correct.” No automatic weapons were involved, since these were retail store purchases. Hey, it’s such a small point, what do you expect. A big thank you to Rep. Ted Poe of Texas for asking some really hard-as-nails questions. The AG though ducked every one.

Daryl Issa threatened the AG with Contempt of Congress for failure to turn over documents. Contempt of Congress! This extremely serious development was also not widely reported, though Mr. Sensenbrenner’s vague allusion to an impeachment of someone (unnamed) did make the “news.” The AG’s omitted communiques in the document dump was perhaps dwarfed by the Justice Department’s flat refusal to release anything after Feb. 2, 2011, probably the most significant material. A Feb. 4 email which was a blatant lie to Congress, now admitted, has been “withdrawn.”

When Holder had previously said his 4-state long-gun registration scheme is a “reasonable requirement,” none of the officials challenged him — on the fact that it’s strictly illegal, he is specifically denied authority to do it by law, and in fact such action has been specifically outlawed by Congress. Maybe they didn’t know. And he didn’t know.

Holder and his department’s preposterous position that there is no statute against gun smuggling is a naked power grab without support. Not one official challenged that statement. Making each purchase is a separate federal felony, that’s 2,000 right there; lying about the nature of the purchase is a federal felony; delivering the guns to the real buyer is a federal felony; smuggling the guns across state lines is a federal felony; delivering the guns to foreign nationals without an export license is a federal felony; using undeclared income to make the purchases is a federal felony; handling illegal obtained cash is a federal felony; conspiring to do any of this with anyone is a federal felony.

Holder has acknowledged that the mess is a fiasco, inexcusable and a prohibited policy, and of course, people have been murdered as a result. In his opinion, no one pays for it. Prediction: That shall not stand.

About GunLaws.com:
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Bloomfield Press, founded in 1988, is the largest publisher and distributor of gun-law books in the country. Our website, gunlaws.com, features a free national directory to gun laws and relevant contacts in all states and federally, along with our unique line of related books and DVDs. “After Your Shoot” for media review is available on request, call 800-707-4020. Our authors are available for interview, call to schedule. Call for cogent positions on gun issues, informed analysis on proposed laws, talk radio that lights up the switchboard, fact sheets and position papers. As we always say, “It doesn’t make sense to own a gun and not know the rules.” Visit: www.gunlaws.com

List of Congressmen Calling for Holder’s Resignation Continues to Grow

National Rifle Association

FAIRFAX, Va. --(Ammoland.com)- Attorney General Eric Holder remains embroiled in controversy over the highly publicized and ill-fated “Operation Fast and Furious.”

When we reported on this issue on December 9, 52 U.S. Representatives, two U.S. Senators, and multiple GOP Presidential candidates had called on Attorney General Eric Holder to resign as a result of the scandalous “Fast and Furious” operation.  As of this week, at least 90 congressmen have either signed Rep. Paul Gosar’s (R-Ariz.) “no confidence” (in Holder) resolution or believe he should quit.

According to a December 20 article in The Daily Caller, Gosar’s “no confidence” resolution alleges that Holder’s actions have proven he is not “competent, trustworthy and beyond reproach,” and that he has sought to “cover up” mistakes rather than cooperate with Congress “in disclosing the events and circumstances and transparently addressing the issues.”

The article further notes that, including Gosar, there are 81 members of Congress who no longer trust Holder to continue to hold office, and 60 congressmen have now demanded that Holder resign.  Between the two lists, which don’t perfectly overlap, there are now at least 90 members of the House who don’t approve of Holder.

In addition to the 60 congressmen, two U.S. Senators, all of the top GOP presidential candidates and two sitting governors have demanded that Holder resign.

NRA has also called for Holder’s resignation.  In fact, NRA-ILA has prepared a video that all freedom-loving Americans need to watch showing that Holder’s actions prove he can’t be trusted with the sanctity of our freedoms, the powers of his office, or the lives of our law enforcement officers.  To watch the video, please click here.

Please help spread the word and forward this video to family, friends and fellow gun owners.

To view a NRA News video of reporter Ginny Simone talking with Rep. Sensenbrenner about Holder’s appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, please click here.

To view videos of Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) questioning Holder before the House Judiciary Committee, please click here and here.

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

Eric Holder Calls Americans Racist for Questioning Him on Fast and Furious

NRA News

Fairfax, VA --(Ammoland.com)- NRA-News is a valued partner that continues to cover breaking gun rights news with a new and improved short video format in the “NRA News Minute” videos.

To view the current firearms or gun rights news video, please click above:

Ginny Simone talks to Congressman Allen West (R-FL) on Eric Holders recent comments that the Race Card is all they have to say when they are caught lying.

Read More on these topics:

• Holder Answers Fast and Furious Charges By Calling Accusers Racists
• New York Times Stacks Deck So Holder Can Play Race Card
• Attorney General Eric Holder Blames Americans for Gun-Running

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

NRA News

Fairfax, VA --(Ammoland.com)- NRA-News is a valued partner that continues to cover breaking gun rights news with a new and improved short video format in the “NRA News Minute” videos.

To view the current firearms or gun rights news video, please click above:

Ginny Simone talks to Congressman Joe Walsh (R-IL) on Eric Holders recent comments that any one that questions his Fast & Furious attack on the Second Amendment, is Racist.

Read More on these topics:

• Holder Answers Fast and Furious Charges By Calling Accusers Racists
• New York Times Stacks Deck So Holder Can Play Race Card
• Attorney General Eric Holder Blames Americans for Gun-Running

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

NRA News

Fairfax, VA --(Ammoland.com)- NRA-News is a valued partner that continues to cover breaking gun rights news with a new and improved short video format in the “NRA News Minute” videos.

To view the current firearms or gun rights news video, please click above:

Cameron Gray and John Popp talk to J. Christian Adams about an article about a New York Times profile of Eric Holder he wrote for PJ Media entitled “How the New York Times and Charlie Savage Lie”

Read More on these topics:

• Gun Control – A Relic of Racism
• Holder Answers Fast and Furious Charges By Calling Accusers Racists
• Eric Holder – Depends On What The Meaning Of ‘Is’ Is

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington DC - -(Ammoland.com)- Late yesterday, House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa’s office sent me an email with a copy of a letter the Congressman had sent to Attorney General Eric Holder on December 15 – a letter to which the A.G. has yet to respond.

In it, Issa informs Holder that the Committee would like him to appear for more testimony on January 24, 2012.

In other words, Fast and Furious isn’t going away any time soon.

Issa wrote:

The hearing will examine flaws in the management structure of the Justice Department as demonstrated in the genesis and implementation of ATF’s Operation Fast and Furious. Specifically, the hearing will focus on what senior Department officials could and should have done to put a stop to this reckless program, as well as the specific areas where failures in communication and management occurred.

As those of you who watched the hearings on December 8th certainly noticed, Holder isn’t a big fan of the way Issa deals with him.

For example, while other Congressman—specifically Democrats—were fawning all over Holder in December, Issa’s demeanor clearly demonstrated that he was sick and tired of Holder’s obfuscation and, dare I say, out and out lies. That’s why I love the fact that Issa’s recent letter pulls no punches. In black and white for all to see, Issa asserts there were “flaws in the management structure of the Justice Department,” as it pertained to Fast and Furious. Moreover, he makes it clear that the January hearing will focus on how those flaws “could and should” have been averted.

I continue to be an Issa fan because he won’t back down—and he shouldn’t.

Making his point clear, Issa added: “The Department’s February 4, 2011, letter to Congress will be but one example of these failures in management.”

In other words, one of the things that will get special attention on January 24th is the fact that the DOJ submitted a letter to Congress on Feb. 4 that was so misleading so full of errors that it had to be withdrawn. (Again, you’ll remember from the December 8th hearings that Issa said to Holder: “It is unheard of for letters or testimony to be taken back.”)

On the 8th Issa also said of Fast and Furious: “Brian Terry is dead today because of this program.” And if for no other reason than that, I hope the Honorable Congressman keeps Holder’s feet to the fire.

AWR Hawkins

About:
AWR Hawkins writes for all the BIG sites, for Pajamas Media, for RedCounty.com, for Townhall.com and now AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.

His southern drawl is frequently heard discussing his take on current events on radio shows like America’s Morning News, the G. Gordon Liddy Show, the Ken Pittman Show, and the NRA’s Cam & Company, among others. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal (summer 2010), and he holds a PhD in military history from Texas Tech University.

If you have questions or comments, email him at awr@awrhawkins.com. You can find him on facebook at www.facebook.com/awr.hawkins.

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington DC - -(Ammoland.com)- In an interview published over the weekend by the New York Times, Attorney General Eric Holder reminded us he will go to any length to conceal his culpability in Fast and Furious.

His latest ploy is to declare as “racist” everyone who’s hounding him about the illegal guns sales, the gun smuggling, and the death, cover-ups, and other examples of lawlessness connected with the operation.

In the Times piece, Holder intimated that President Obama is disliked because of his race, and that people are piling on the bandwagon against Holder as a means to get Obama.

Holder’s exact words: “This is a way to get at the president because of the way I can be identified with him…both due to the nature of our relationship and, you know, the fact that we’re both African-American.”

And who are the people going after Holder and Obama because of their race? Those rascally “conservative commentators and bloggers” of course. They are those who are part of what Holder describes as a “more extreme segment” of news reporting. (I suppose it’s extreme because it’s not news that’s run through a White House sensor or an MSNBC producer before being disseminated to the public.)

Besides informing us that we’re racists for making a big deal out of hundreds of deaths among Mexican citizens, thousands of weapons sold illegally (and over 1,000 still on the street), as well as the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, Holder also took a little time out to pat himself on the back during the Times interview.

Said Holder: “I think that what I’m doing is right” and “I think the stands I have taken are totally consistent with a person who is looking at things realistically, factually.”

By the way, last week 75 members of Congress voted that they had “No Confidence” in Holder’s ability to properly execute the duties of the office of A.G., and more than 60 have called for his resignation due to Fast and Furious.

But they’re probably all racists.

AWR Hawkins

About:
AWR Hawkins writes for all the BIG sites, for Pajamas Media, for RedCounty.com, for Townhall.com and now AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.

His southern drawl is frequently heard discussing his take on current events on radio shows like America’s Morning News, the G. Gordon Liddy Show, the Ken Pittman Show, and the NRA’s Cam & Company, among others. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal (summer 2010), and he holds a PhD in military history from Texas Tech University.

If you have questions or comments, email him at awr@awrhawkins.com. You can find him on facebook at www.facebook.com/awr.hawkins.

Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea

USA --(Ammoland.com)- “A Partisan Lightning Rod Is Undeterred,” Charlie Savage of The New York Times writes in a December 17 page one exclusive political ad for Attorney General Eric Holder.

The tone is set. Any Fast and Furious investigation is a partisan power grab. Savage, one of the leading apologists (some assessments are more scathing) for the administration on the Fast and Furious story, makes full use of the amplifier and loudspeaker that are at his disposal. In just one “report,” the über “Authorized Journalist” can reach more readers than a year’s worth of investigative effort by lowly bloggers.

And reach them he does, with a meme familiar to those who disagree with the administration on policy and actions: Smear anyone challenging them as a racist.
Continue reading on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/new-york-times-stacks-deck-so-holder-can-play-race-card

About David Codrea:
David Codrea is a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He is a field editor for GUNS Magazine, and a blogger at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance. Read more at www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/david-codrea

NRA - ILA

Charlotte, NC --(Ammoland.com)- NRA-ILA grass roots news continues to cover break gun rights news with a new and improved format for the “Grassroots News Minute” video!

To view the current video in its new format, please click above:

Krista Cupp discusses the purpose of Obama’s Fast & Furious was to pile on more Gun Control Laws and make the Second Amendment the fall guy and on the continuing calls for Eric Holder to resign.

Read More on these topics:

• Attorney General Eric Holder Blames Americans for Gun-Running
• Fire Eric Holder
• Eric Holder has Been Served

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

A Timeline of When Holder Shared Fast & Furious Information

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington DC - -(Ammoland.com)- Last night I was on the NRA’s Cam & Company with Cam Edwards, and talked about the way Attorney General Eric Holder and his associates have thus far been able to spin and twist their way out of the prosecution they deserve for Fast and Furious.

As we talked and I thought of how Holder has vacillated on what he knew and when he knew it, I couldn’t help but think of how helpful it would be to provide somewhat of a timeline of when information on Fast and Furious was made available to Holder long before he admits.

As you read it, keep in mind this is only a partial record.

On April 2, 2009 Holder gave a speech in Cuernavaca, Mexico in which he boasted about Operation “Gunrunner” and told Mexican authorities of everything he was doing to insure its success. In that speech he told the the audience:

Last week, our administration launched a major new effort to break the backs of the cartels. My department is committing 100 new ATF personnel to the Southwest border in the next 100 days to supplement our ongoing Project Gunrunner, DEA is adding 16 new positions on the border, as well as mobile enforcement teams, and the FBI is creating a new intelligence group focusing on kidnapping and extortion.

Following that speech, Project Gunrunner began and was followed by Fast and Furious. During the earliest parts of Fast and Furious, there were three people in the White House who received email updates on Fast and Furious: Kevin O’Reilly, Dan Restrepo, and Greg Gatjanis. And for the purposes of this article, the important thing about those updates is that they came from the ATF’s William Newell, a supervisor who ultimately answers to Holder.

Then came March 2010, which is when the ATF briefed Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler on Fast and Furious. (The briefing was literally one in which the ATF briefed the DOJ on Fast and Furious using a slideshow that can be viewed here.) If you’re thinking it’s hard to believe all these things could have happened without Holder knowing about Fast and Furious then join the club. I would go further and say it seems almost impossible that he didn’t.

But any ambiguity that he might have hidden behind theretofore was completely removed by July 2010 which, according to CBS News, is when Holder himself was sent briefings on the operation. Moreover, three months later—October 18, 2010—Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer sent communiqués to Holder warning that indictments for Fast and Furious could come soon. And those of you who’ve been keeping track of this mess will remember that just four days later—on October 22, 2010—a Deputy Attorney General sent Holder a memo in which he basically said there was not need to expect much trouble to arise if knowledge of gun walking became public, because it was already an accepted fact that U.S. guns were being used by Mexican gangs in Mexico. The Deputy Attorney General’s exact words to Holder: “It’s not going to be a big surprise that a bunch of U.S. guns are being used in [Mexico], so I’m not sure how much grief we get for guns walking.”

Think about it folks: a memo on gun walking was sent to Holder in October yet to this day he vehemently denies he knew that gun walking was taking place.

Here’s the bottom line. By the end of October 2010, Holder had given a speech on Project Gunrunner, men under him had sent Fast and Furious updates to White House officials, his Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler had been briefed on Fast and Furious, Holder was sent briefings directly on Fast and Furious in July 2010, Assistant A.G. Breuer had sent him a memo about gun walking and four days later another memo was sent telling him not to panic because no one would get worked up about guns crossing the border. (But people did get worked up because on the night of December 14 /15, Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry lost his life to criminals using Fast and Furious weapons.)

Now fast forward to May 3rd, 2011, when Holder appeared before the House Oversight Committee and told Darrell Issa (R-CA) he had only known about Fast and Furious for a “few weeks.”

If you believe that, I feel confident you still believe Bill Clinton “did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”

AWR Hawkins

About:
AWR Hawkins writes for all the BIG sites, for Pajamas Media, for RedCounty.com, for Townhall.com and now AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.

His southern drawl is frequently heard discussing his take on current events on radio shows like America’s Morning News, the G. Gordon Liddy Show, the Ken Pittman Show, and the NRA’s Cam & Company, among others. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal (summer 2010), and he holds a PhD in military history from Texas Tech University.

If you have questions or comments, email him at awr@awrhawkins.com. You can find him on facebook at www.facebook.com/awr.hawkins.

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington DC - -(Ammoland.com)- On December 8th, the very day Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before the House Oversight Committee to answer questions about Fast and Furious, I had a post on Big Government which highlighted Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner’s (R-WI) mention of impeachment.

You’ll recall Sensenbrenner essentially told Holder he was sick and tired of the way the DOJ was dragging its feet in answering questions, and he was particularly weary of Holder’s habit of answering inquires with, “gees, somebody else did it.”

And even if you haven’t followed Fast and Furious closely up till now, if you read the exchanges that took place between Sensenbrenner and Holder on Dec. 8th, it’s easy to see why the Congressman was pushed to his wits end.

But just in case you need a primer, as you read the transcript below, please keep two things in mind. First, on May 3rd, Holder gave testimony to Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) in which he claimed he had only learned of Fast and Furious in the past “few weeks.” This claim by Holder is demonstrably false —has been proven false— and Holder has since changed his answer. And secondly, on Feb. 4th, the DOJ submitted a letter to Congress in which they claimed no gun-walking had taken place in relation to Fast and Furious (in other words, they claimed that none of the 2,500 weapons sold to straw purchasers had been smuggled, or been allowed to “walk,” into Mexico). That letter, like Holder’s prior testimony, was recanted.

That’s the backdrop for the following exchange on December 8:

Sensenbrenner: There have been inconsistent submissions to Congress. You yourself testified that you’d only heard about [Fast and Furious] a few weeks earlier, and then in November you said it probably was a few months. [And] as late as October 7th, in response to allegations that you lied on May 3rd, you wrote to Congress that your statements on Fast and Furious have been “truthful and consistent.” [Yet] one of your underlings, on Feb. 4th, Assistant A.G. Ronald Weich, responded to Senator Grassley denying that the ATF had walked guns and that letter ended up being withdrawn.

Clearly, Sensenbrenner was incensed as he thought of the lies surrounding Fast and Furious. So much so, in fact, that as he spoke he took pains to try to be measured in his speech:

Lying to Congress is a federal felony. I don’t want to say that you have committed a felony Mr. Attorney General, but obviously there have been statements so misleading that a letter had to be withdrawn. I think that some heads should roll.

At this point, an exchange took place that literally defies reality:

Holder: “Nobody in the justice department has lied.”

Sensenbrenner: “Then why was the letter withdrawn?”

Holder: “The letter was withdrawn because there was information in there that was inaccurate.”

As Holder continued to fumble in trying to frame his explanation for how the Feb. 4th letter contained “inaccurate” statements that weren’t lies, Sensenbrenner interrupted and asked, “What is difference between lying and misleading Congress in this context?”

Holder: “Well, if you want to have this legal conversation, it all has to do with your state of mind. And whether or not you had the requisite intent to come up with something that can be considered perjury or a lie.”

Holder might as well have said, “it depends upon what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” (I’m pretty sure that’s what Sensenbrenner and Issa heard him say.)

AWR Hawkins

About:
AWR Hawkins writes for all the BIG sites, for Pajamas Media, for RedCounty.com, for Townhall.com and now AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.

His southern drawl is frequently heard discussing his take on current events on radio shows like America’s Morning News, the G. Gordon Liddy Show, the Ken Pittman Show, and the NRA’s Cam & Company, among others. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal (summer 2010), and he holds a PhD in military history from Texas Tech University.

If you have questions or comments, email him at awr@awrhawkins.com. You can find him on facebook at www.facebook.com/awr.hawkins.

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The government’s “gun walking” scandal heated up a Capitol Hill hearing this week.

Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before the House Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing on the Department of Justice, but Operation Fast and Furious dominated the discussion.

Holder, as he has already done numerous times in testimony before Congress, continued his practice of stonewalling and deflecting blame for the failed scheme that led to thousands of firearms “walking” across the border into Mexico and into the hands of violent drug cartels.

Committee members grilled Holder on misleading Congress, not dealing appropriately with the individuals who called the shots on Fast and Furious and, even worse, for using the guns that the government allowed to “walk” to Mexico as an excuse for greater gun control in the U.S.

Fast and Furious Leading to More Gun Control
From his opening statement, Rep. Daryl Issa (R-CA), a chief congressional investigator looking into Fast and Furious, made clear that gun control, not crime control, is really the main objective of the Obama administration.

Rep. Issa pointed to recent ATF regulations to register many long-gun purchasers in southwest border states:

The idea that regulations, without any approval of Congress, to create databases in the southwestern states…clearly shows that, in fact, this administration is more interested in building databases, more interested in talking about gun control than actually controlling [the Fast and Furious guns].

Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), a strong ally of gun owners, further pressed the point, assuring Holder that:

If the American people learned that the motivations for [Fast and Furious] was somehow to make a case to deprive them of their Second Amendment rights or to make a case to further the Department’s ability to further regulate gun rights within the United States, that would make them very angry.

Rep. Franks went on to read from an email between Mark Chait, ATF Field Operations Assistant Director, and Bill Newell, ATF’s Phoenix Special Agent in Charge of Fast and Furious. Chait wrote:

Bill – can you see if these guns were all purchased from the same [licensed gun dealer] and at one time. We are looking at anecdotal cases to support a demand letter on long gun multiple sales. Thanks.

The demand letter Chait was referring to is a regulation (which is in violation of federal laws protecting gun owners’ privacy) requiring more than 8,500 firearms dealers in four states to report multiple sales of long guns to the ATF.

In other words, the Justice Department helped to create a huge mess, and is now seeking more authority to regulate firearms to clean it up. At the same time, the Department has taken no action to hold anyone accountable within the government.

No Accountability at ATF
Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) questioned the Attorney General about holding specific people responsible for the government’s actions.

“Who is the person in the United States government that made the decision…to facilitate the guns going to Mexico,” Rep. Poe asked Holder, who claimed not to know.

After the hearing, Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren brought up that question to committee member Steve King (R-IA).

“Whoever was so stupid to authorize this operation…is still sitting there with the Justice Department because no one will tell us who the one is with such flawed judgment,” Van Susteren said.

King replied that, “If Eric Holder will not identify that person or answer that question, you have to wonder if Eric Holder isn’t the person.”

Holder remains defiant, and has rebuffed calls to step down or to fire those involved.

GOA Petitions Congress to Get ATF off the Backs of Gun Owners
President Obama and his Attorney General are clearly going after American gun owners, and they will stop at nothing to achieve their goal of more gun control.

Eric Holder should be fired immediately for his mishandling of Fast and Furious, and then further investigated for possible criminal wrongdoing.

But there needs to be more done, which is why GOA is urging Congress to take firearms out of the ATF’s jurisdiction.

The Fast and Furious scandal is not an isolated incident, but just the latest in a long string of abuses by the agency. As far back as 1982, a Senate committee noted that ATF “has trampled upon the second amendment by chilling the exercise of the right to keep and bear arms by law-abiding citizens.”

But even in light of its many documented abuses, the agency has continued to grow in its budget, personnel, and mission.

This rogue, unconstitutional agency is dedicated to infringing on Americans’ fundamental right to keep and bear arms. And left unchecked, they will regulate it right out of existence.

If you haven’t already signed the petition, please do it today. Citing a long string of agency abuses, it asks the Congress to exercise its constitutional authority to get the ATF out of the firearms business. The petition goes directly to your Representative and two Senators.

The ATF has abused the rights of gun owners for far too long. If enough Americans make their voices heard, we can do away with this unconstitutional agency.

So please, click here to sign the petition today, and then help spread the word.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul