It’s a little telling, isn’t it? The reaction of former US Attorney Dennis Burke to the constitutional exercise of congressional oversight over the gun walker fiasco (emphasis added):
Initial drafts of the letter reflected the hard tone of Burke’s unequivocal assertions that the allegations Grassley was hearing from ATF agents were wrong. Later drafts were more measured, prompting Burke to complain in one email: “Every version gets weaker. We will be apologizing” to Grassley “by tomorrow afternoon.” Regarding the allegation that ATF sanctioned the sale of assault weapons to a straw purchaser, the Justice Department denial was scaled back slightly from “categorically false” to “false.” ”Why poke the tiger,” Lisa Monaco, the top aide to the deputy attorney general, explained in an email to Ron Weich, the assistant attorney general for legislative affairs whose signature was on the letter.
In another email, Burke wrote, “By the way, what is so offensive about this whole project” of response “is that Grassley’s staff, acting as willing stooges for the Gun Lobby, have attempted to distract from the incredible success in dismantling” Southwest Border “gun trafficking operations” and “not uttering one word of rightful praise and thanks to ATF — but, instead, lobbing this reckless despicable accusation that ATF is complicit in the murder of a fellow federal law enforcement officer.”
An accusation that, as it turned out – and contra Mr. Burke’s strenuous denials – was true.
On Friday night, Grassley spokeswoman Beth Levine said that “Burke personally apologized to Sen. Grassley’s staff for the tone and the content of the emails” after learning from the Justice Department that the emails would be released.
Apologize now, or apologize later I suppose.
Perhaps its different in other parts of the federal bureaucracy, but in the Navy, at least, senior executives take congressional inquiries quite seriously. And you’d never make it to flag rank by committing your actual thoughts about congressmen or senators to an email.
Of course, flag officers are typically selected competitively based on such characteristics as intelligence, integrity and professional performance. US attorneys, being political appointees, may have other selection criteria.
Well it may depend upon where you were trained–Admirals and such mainly coming from the Naval Academy, Generals from West Point or the Air Force Academy (unless you’re a Marine or a graduate of Texas A&M, VMI, The Citadel etc.)
But Dennis Burke didn’t have those educational advantages. As I understand it, his alma mater was mostly the Illinois Democrat Machine. And they have their own set of ethics and views about those who would “interfere” with the Machine plans. As another one of their minions–now in high office in Washington–said “They bring a knife, you bring a gun”. Of course this is the same minion who gets photographed with a girlie bicycle helmet or hanging draperies, but he does like to talk butch.
We took one once a little less seriously. It was asked in all earnestness by Congress but we just didn’t have the wherewithal to answer honestly because we just didn’t know nor had the means to find out. It was asked in ’96, name all the ships, battlegroups, air wings, marine units that could have been exposed to deadly Iraqi toxins in Desert Storm. Our means were somewhat limited since the only internet any of us had was siprnet. Nothing like a search tool back then on that thing. A lot of us on that tiny staff knew where we were in the matter but hardly helpful in answering the Congress.
In the current Department of Justice the ONLY qualification seems to be a very high degree of Jackassery. From the Attorney General of the United States right down to the United States Attorney level it is clear that any knowledge of, or adherence to, the Constitution of the United States would be disqualifying. But, of course, their ultimate supervisor claims to be a Constitutional scholar and one time Professor of Constitutional Law. However, his actions for the past three years make it clear that he neither knows the Constitution, nor that he feels any duty to support and defend it.
It’s a sad state of affairs when the highest levels of our “Justice” (hardee harr harr) Department are complicit in running and then covering up a massive international criminal operation. They have facilitated the death of an American Border Patrol officer and who knows how many innocent Mexican citizens. I view the Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations. Wholesale slaughter of police, politicians, journalists, even bloggers, and they seem to like leaving beheaded bodies hanging from bridges. Isn’t that terrorism designed to strike fear into the hearts of any who oppose them? Isn’t our government supposed to be fighting terrorism, rather than abetting it?
This is corruption at the highest levels. There it is in black and white. Eric Holder’s minions outright lying to Congress and the American public. Holder himself straight up lied about this to the committee. And yet, nothing happens. I fear that a reckoning is coming soon to our country. A moral reckoning. We are going to have to choose between the truth, or accomodating criminal activity so we don’t upset our happy little status quo.
How much are we supposed to take?
When our Justice Department (hell, this whole administration) engage in outright deception of it’s citizens and engage in criminal acts do we just sit idly by and tsk tsk them?
My advice is buy more ammo.
If there was ever a case to sell more guns, Mexico makes sense to me. They don’t have the second amendment which makes Mexicans fodder for the cartels. On the other hand the police and army make up a very large part of the murdered and so do their children and wives.
It is a problem that will be resolved, in the end, with guns.
Curtis, it’s that resolution you speak of that scares me bad. But, there’s this old sayin’ about evil triumphing when good men do nothing….
In the world I wish I lived in his boss, the Attorney General, or his boss, the President would have but one reaction: “Fire the bastard!”
Alas, that’s not the world we live in.
And if the Attorney General’s boss fails to fire him, then impeach BOTH of their sorry lying butts, and also line up criminal charges against Holder and his band of co-conspirators.
As serious as the obvious crime are (lying to Congress of refusing to provide information, and forcing dealers to sell guns to illegal buyers), the greater crime is their thinly veiled campaign to undermine the Second Amendment via the “too many guns getting to Mexican gangs” scheme.
Remember, the reason for the Second Amendment is not to ensure hunters have access to arms, or even citizens for self defense against criminals. It is there to ensure that the government can never take away the rights of the citizenry.
John:
“It is there to ensure that the government can never take away the rights of the citizenry.”
Unfortunately, that only works if the citizenry is willing to do it. Deciding when it is necessary is also a difficulty. Timing is everything.
Paul
Curtis, the problem is only going to get worse as man’s fallen nature comes more to the fore with less and less moderation from Christianity. The only way this will be solved will be the return of the Prince of Peace to rule the earth.
Guns may allow us to live a bit longer by defending ourselves and families, but the solution above is the only permanent solution.
Well, I’m doing what little I can, thanks to the Anglican Mission in the Americas, who got me attending services again. It’s run out of the Anglican Province of Rwanda, to minister to the unchurched white folks around here. What a lot of people don’t know is that the vast majority of practicing Anglicans on the planet is non-white.
Loralee posted a marvelous flash mob video but as you say the character of the times is one that defies reasonable ammo loadouts. I’m afraid I don’t and won’t carry but the image remains of bulging pockets of .32 or .22 or .45 bullets. I do have more .45 magazines than you can shake a stick at thanks to Congress forcing the navy to dispose of .45 in favor of 9 mil.
I tend to dislike religion, a lot. We sought it out once for our daughter since both of us were raised in the church but definitely held no fixed beliefs in ritual. We settled on a church with music that we liked and gladful voices raised in song which did not keep my little one from reaching in and biting me on the nose one Sunday. She was only 18 months old. It usually takes people much longer to know me and bite my nose.
“Of course, flag officers are typically selected competitively based on such characteristics as intelligence, integrity and professional performance. US attorneys, being political appointees, may have other selection criteria.” Lex, maybe I’m not getting it. Were you being sarcastic? I am not so sure the politics at that level are that much different.
I think of General Dreedle in “Catch 22.” It was something like “New power alignments had coalesced around him which excluded him, while he was wasting his time doing his job.”
“after learning from the Justice Department that the emails would be released.” Or, “Oh yeah, I meant to tell y’all, but just hadn’t gotten around to it.”
That’s little-kid type behavior.
Well at least Holder apologized to the Terry family….right?
http://michellemalkin.com/2011/11/11/vile-holder-released-apology-letter-before-border-patrol-agents-family-received-it/
Burke’s apology should have been part of his resignation letter.
Holder needs to go, as does Obama. Holder was clearly complicit to this project, and Obama is covering for him.
Nobody died in Watergate.
Sarge,
I think Nixon did and so did democracy in America, for a time. Gerald Ford was a nice enough fellow but nobody ever elected him President or even Vice President. A weird time. As I think back, I was trapped on a little island named Ford in Pearl Harbor when Nixon died in fact.
To me, the real telling bit was the “willing stooges for the Gun Lobby” line. It shows EXACTLY why the Gunwalker nonsense went on, what their mindset was, what the ultimate goal was, and should be hammered home as the damning evidence that this whole thing had NOTHING to do with law enforcement and everything to do with gun control propaganda.
You’re so right about that, MikeD. EVERY (GOP) questioner in each up-coming hearing should zero-in on that and ask: “So….since it’s been well est. that you not only had NO capability to track the wpns, and didn’t even bother to inform the Mexican authorities to warn them and/or let them track the wpns, just what WAS the objective of the whole exercise, anyway?”
Curtis;
I’m not sure I understand your statement; Constitutional democracy worked exactly as intended with regard to Watergate.
The elected executive who was in a position responsible for an illegal debacle (whether or not he was directly culpable, he was most definitely responsible for what happened under his watch as chief exec) was in the process of being held responsible for violations of the public trust within his office, when he chose to fall on his professional sword rather than disgrace the country further.
That Spiro Agnew had chosen to resign (part of a plea deal to avoid serious penalties for bribery and extortion, you’ll recall – - not directly due to Watergate) doesn’t reflect too well upon him.
Ford became president in as legitimate a succession as any in history; he played the cards he was dealt honestly AFAICT and tried to prevent the country from damaging itself further. You may or may not agree with his actions as president, but there was nothing anti-democratic about his becoming president. He was duly elected to Congress; elected from within Congress as Speaker, elevated to vice president and then president according to Constitutional requirement.
Nobody ever elected Lyndon Johnson president, either. I have to admit that I find the idea of the holder of the presidency being selected by an assassin’s bullet to be far less democratic than having it dictated by the resignation of a disgraced chief executive, but in both cases, these are the reasons we have vice presidents and a succession, as well as elections.
Nixon died 20 years after Watergate, in his 80′s. Not sure how you figure Watergate ‘killed’ him.
There is the impropriety of the thing. When Nixon bowed out on the country there was no democratically elected successor. President Ford had a generation of service in Congress but make no mistake, Nixon picked him and he then served as President without any kind of vote at all.
It is easy enough to say that the vice presidents filled terms as President when the President was assassinated in office but Ford was unique.