Video: Obama Stands By Holder on Fast and Furious

It's become obvious that Barack Obama is going to stand by Attorney General Eric Holder when it comes to Fast and Furious. In light of what has become known about Holder's role in the scandal and the latter's inconsistent testimony about when he first heard of the operation, Obama's role in the operation should become more suspect. Back in March, when interviewing with Jorge Ramos at Univision, Obama said neither he nor Eric Holder authorized Fast and Furious. After documents were released this week, Holder may have committed perjury. At yesterday's news conference, Obama made a slight adjustment to that assertion. In March, he said forthrightly that Holder didn't authorize it. Here, he says that Holder 'indicated he was not aware' of the operation. Obama also took it a step further and said he (Obama) didn't know about it.

Another thing to watch for here is that Obama said both he and Holder would have been 'very unhappy' with whoever authorized it. At minimum, they should know who that is by now. It's been known for several months now that it was made by someone above ATF Director at the time, Kenneth Melson. That certainly narrows the field. For someone who would have been 'very unhappy,' it's certainly taking a long time to find the source of that unhappiness. The memos sent to Holder came directly from Asst Attorney General Lanny Breuer. If Holder's pleading ignorance, Breuer seems to be the person to target at this point.

Via CBS: