Video: Rep. Jim Jordan Eviscerates FBI Director over lack of knowledge on IRS Scandal

The IRS Scandal broke one month ago. The FBI allegedly launched an investigation immediately. Yet, today, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Director Robert Mueller knew nothing about the investigation; he couldn't even name the lead case agent.

Unbelievable.

Did John Brennan's actions play a role in Benghazi attacks?

When coupled with the shocking claim by John Guandolo, that Barack Obama's chief counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, converted to Islam while a station chief in Saudi Arabia in the 1990's, some of the details released from a new book written by a retired Green Beret and a Navy SEAL may take on added significance. Among other things in the book, Brennan's orders while operating from the White House are identified as the motivation for the 9/11 attacks in Benghazi.

Brennan is Obama's nominee to replace David Petraeus as CIA Director.

But first, take a look at some other relevant information taken from the book, starting with power players at the CIA who wanted Petraeus gone as CIA Director.

Via The Daily Mail:

Media reports indicate that the FBI began investigating Petraeus' affair with Broadwell after Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, a friend of Petraeus and his wife Holly, reported that she had received threatening emails from the mistress warning her to stay away from Petraeus.

The authors say that Kelley's report may have started in the FBI investigation - but CIA officers pressured the Justice Department to keep the inquiry open.

Webb said his sources in the FBI told him federal agents wanted to close down their investigation when they learned that nothing illegal had happened, but they were told to keep digging. The FBI investigators, Webb says, never wanted to out Petraeus' affair.

The FBI reports to the Department of Justice, which is headed by Attorney General Eric Holder. Surely, something as big as investigating the CIA Director had to be something Holder was aware of. Based on the fact that the subject of the investigation was someone like Petraeus, Holder almost necessarily had to have approved pushing it forward, but to what end?

Was it - at least in part - to open the door for Brennan to head the CIA? Early indications are that authors Brandon Webb and Jack Murphy don't appear to go that far but they certainly piece together the groundwork for such a scenario.

Again, via the Daily Mail:

Murphy and co-author Brandon Webb also revealed that the September 11 Benghazi terrorist attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, was retaliation by Islamist militants who had been targeted by covert U.S. military operations.

The book claims that neither Stevens nor even Petraeus knew about the raids by American special operations troops, which had 'kicked a hornet's nest' among the heavily-armed fighters after the overthrow of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

John Brennan, President Barack Obama's Deputy National Security Adviser, had been authorizing 'unilateral operations in North Africa outside of the traditional command structure,' according to the e-book. Brennan is Obama's pick to replace Petraeus as head of the CIA.

If this is true, it would mean that Obama himself could be directly accountable for the attacks in Benghazi because Brennan was ordering these raids from the White House. As such, he was a direct arm of the Obama administration. These raids weren't just carried out on orders of the administration. They apparently weren't made known to the people who would ultimately face what could be identified as their consequences.

Petraeus was furious, they say, because he was kept in the dark about the raids being conducted without his knowledge by the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) across Libya and North Africa.

Webb and Murphy claim that the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate and a CIA outpost in Benghazi proved to Petraeus that he was an outsider in the Obama administration and that he would remain marginalized as long as he was at the CIA.

The central premise of 'Benghazi: The Definitive Report' is that the attacks were precipitated by secret raids JSOC had performed in Libya. An attack on the Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia days before September 11 may have been the final straw.

According to what Webb and Murphy are saying here, Petraeus was forced out and Brennan's orders to raid Islamist strongholds led to the Benghazi attacks on an unsuspecting consulate and CIA Annex. At least calling that last part into partial question is the fact that U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and Sean Smith both seemed more than just a little concerned about coming under attack. Stevens sent cables to the State Department requesting more security and Smith made reference to losing his life while gaming from the consulate / Special Missions Compound (SMC) on the day of the attacks. That said, it's still possible that a growing threat was felt but not fully understood.

Check out this particularly explosive excerpt from the book. It seems to add credence to the concerns of Senator Rand Paul, raised during his questioning of Hillary Clinton last month:

John Brennan also ran a highly compartmentalized program out of the White House in regard to weapons transfers, and Stevens would not have been trusted with that type of information. Stevens likely helped consolidate as many weapons as possible after the war to safeguard them, at which point Brennan exported them overseas to start another conflict.

Ostensibly, that "exported them overseas" part is a reference to weapons sent from Libya (the annex?) to the Syrian rebels (via Turkey?).

If Petraeus and Stevens were kept in the dark relative to Brennan's raids and those raids served as the motivation for the attacks on the consulate and annex, that places blood directly on the hands of those behind Brennan's orders and secretiveness with respect to them. Under such a scenario, it would appear that Brennan is less qualified to be CIA Director than Petraeus was after the affair became public.

Also, if the claims of Webb and Murphy are true, Obama must certainly know that truth. If so, why would he be nominating Brennan to replace Petraeus unless he was fully behind what Brennan was allegedly doing?

That leads us directly to a covert, pro-Muslim Brotherhood strategy coming directly from the Obama White House, which brings us back to the claim made by Guandolo, that Brennan secretly converted to Islam while in Saudi Arabia and that he was turned by the Muslim Brotherhood specifically.

People might point to Brennan's orders to raid Islamist locations in Libya as evidence that he did NOT convert to Islam because his new religion would forbid him from attacking his own. In reality, the concept of Muruna, espoused by none other than the Brotherhood's most senior spiritual adviser - Yusuf al-Qaradawi - sanctions the killing of Muslims if doing so furthers the cause of Islam.

Again, just operating under the premise that Guandolo has already put forth...

If Brennan's objective was to raid Islamist strongholds for the purpose of confiscating weapons that could then be sent to the Syrian rebels in the latter's fight to overthrow Bashar al-Assad, such a thing would be perceived by the Brotherhood as a greater good.

The bottom line, however, is this: If Brennan was the guy behind operations that both left the consulate and the Annex unprepared to defend against attacks caused by White House policy AND if Brennan was the guy behind secretly ordering weapons be sent to Syrian rebels, all of that is made much worse by Obama's decision to nominate him for CIA Director in the first place.

That would tie Obama directly to gun-running from Libya to Syria and THAT would make Fast and Furious look like child's play by comparison.

The cherry on top would be this administration's attempt at gun control in the U.S. while arming al-Qaeda.

Documents: FBI knew mentor for Fort Hood jihadist purchased tickets for 9/11 hijackers

Thanks to State Department documents obtained by Judicial Watch, it has been learned that the FBI was quite likely aware - as early as September 27, 2001 - that Anwar Al Aulaqi - the man who inspired Fort Hood jihadist Nidal Malik Hasan - had purchased plane tickets for at least three of the 9/11 hijackers before the attack.

Via JW:

According to a September 27, 2001, FBI transcription, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State and Federal Bureau of Investigations (No. 1:12-cv-00893)), al-Aulaqi purchased airline tickets for the following 9/11 hijackers:

Mohammed Atta, America West Airlines, 08/13/2001, for a flight from Washington, DC, to Las Vegas, Nevada, to Miami, Florida. 

S. Suqami, Southwest Airlines, 07/10/2001, for a flight from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to Orlando, Florida. 

Al-Sheri, National Airlines, 08/01/2001, for a flight from San Francisco, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, to Miami, Florida. 

The documents also include material showing that al-Aulaqi was uncooperative with FBI agents investigating the 9/11 attacks and was seemingly a central focus of the FBI investigation and monitoring related to 9/11.

That last part, about al-Aulaqi being uncooperative would seem to suggest that the Feds may have decided to rely more on the carrot than the stick when dealing with him. The thinking also could have been that by giving him such access could bring others out of the shadows.

For example, in February of 2002, al-Aulaqi gave a speech on moderate Islam at a Department of Defense luncheon and was given red carpet treatment. Nihad Awad, Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was also invited. These newly released (and heavily redacted) documents, acquired by Judicial Watch, provide yet another in an increasing number of examples that the U.S. Government in general and the FBI in particular, knew a lot more about al-Aulaqi than they've been willing to admit.

Later that year, al-Aulaqi was detained at JFK airport and then released, despite there being an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

Whatever the reasons were behind the actions / inaction of the Feds, it's quite possible that the disastrous consequences for the 14 who were murdered and the 32 who were injured at Fort Hood on December 5, 2009 could have been prevented.

More than three years later, justice has not been served and a judge who ruled that Hasan's beard had to be shaved, was replaced by another judge who ruled the jihadist could keep it.

In testimony before a congressional committee early last year, FBI Director Robert Mueller, who was appointed to his position one week prior to the 9/11 attacks, said he was "painfully aware" of what took place prior to the Fort Hood attack with regard to warning signs.

What's more disturbing is the refusal of those in positions like Mueller to admit the truth about the attack and the politically correct culture that helped to facilitate it.

Until that happens, we've learned nothing.

Was David Petraeus Blackmailed by the White House?

The definition of "blackmail" is as follows:

any payment extorted by intimidation, as by threats of injurious revelations or accusations.

If then CIA Director David Petraeus was instructed to give false testimony to Congress in the days after the 9/11/12 Benghazi attack in exchange for his extramarital affair to remain under wraps, that would be a form of blackmail. The payment would be his compliance / false testimony. We now know that Petraeus did in fact give false testimony on 9/13/12.

Via ABC News:

The attack that killed four Americans in the Libyan consulate began as a spontaneous protest against the film “The Innocence of Muslims,” but Islamic militants who may have links to Al Qaeda used the opportunity to launch an attack, CIA Director David Petreaus told the House Intelligence Committee today according to one lawmaker who attended a closed-door briefing.

The question then becomes: Did Petraeus knowingly give false testimony?

According to the October 26th speech by his alleged mistress, Paula Broadwell, Petraeus knew what was happening "within 24 hours" of the attack. If that can be confirmed, then we can rightfully conclude that Petraeus DID knowingly give false testimony to the House Intelligence Committee.

This leads to a very simple question: Why did he do it?

With hindsight, a few important things have come to light:

1. The Obama administration wanted to push a narrative that said the attack in Benghazi was caused by a reaction to the anti-Muhammad video, as evidenced by U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice's five appearances on five different Sunday shows in which she parroted that narrative.
2. Attorney General Eric Holder likely knew of the Petraeus affair prior to the 9/11/12 attack.
3. The FBI knew of the affair as far back as last spring.

The amazing thing here is that because these officials had this information and didn't act on it, Petraeus was indeed susceptible to blackmail, not by external forces but by internal ones - the Obama administration itself.

Here is Charles Krauthammer speaking to this very thing on November 13th:

Or how about Lt. Col. Ralph Peters from November 9th:



As has been made clear since news broke of an extramarital affair between CIA Director David Petraeus and his biographer Paula Broadwell, the reason it is significant is because it exposed him to blackmail. Since his resignation, we have been told by pundits and reporters that while the Petraeus affair was unfortunate, it ultimately posed no threat to national security.

Via CNN:

Retired Gen. James "Spider" Marks, for whom Broadwell once worked and who knows Petraeus, said he doubts security protocols were breached despite what seems an unlikely indiscretion on the part of Petraeus.

"There's almost zero percent chance that national security was compromised or at risk," he said Monday.

Via the Youngstown Vindicator:

...the affair between former general and ex-CIA director David Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell, may not have any greater national security implications than the celebrated affair of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor during the filming of “Cleopatra.”

Matthew Miller at the POLITICO, which is essentially a White House ventriloquist dummy, insists that the FBI followed the rulebook in its handling of the matter:

In this case, it appears the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation handled the matter entirely in keeping with those rules and precedents. And, importantly, they passed the most crucial test faced whenever the department investigates a senior member of the existing administration: They conducted the entire investigation without playing favorites and without a hint of political interference.

For the sake of argument, let's assume Miller is right and that the handling of the Petraeus matter by DOJ and FBI was flawless. He doesn't account for one very disturbing possibility.

Blackmail by the White House.

h/t WZ

Smoking RPG: Emails fire hole in Obama administration's Benghazi story

Three separate emails sent from someone at the State Department to multiple recipients at State, Department of National Intelligence (DNI), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have been released by CBS' Sharyl Attkisson and others. What these e-mails unequivocally show is that very  specific details of the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi were known in real time.

The attack began at approximately 3:40pm EST / 9:40pm EET (Libya Time). The first of the three emails that were released is time stamped 4:05pm EST, which was during the actual attack.

Here is what the first email said:

(SBU) The Regional Security Officer reports the diplomatic mission is under attack. Embassy Tripoli reports approximately 20 armed people fired shots; explosions have been heard as well. Ambassador Stevens, who is currently in Benghazi, and four COM personnel are in the compound save haven. The 17th of February militia is providing security support.

The Operations Center will provide updates as available.

The second email, at 4:54pm EST / 10:54pm EET reads:

(SBU) Embassy Tripoli reports the firing at the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi has stopped and the compound has been cleared. A response team is on site attempting to locate COM personnel.

The third email blows a hole through the Obama administration narrative that it pushed for at least two weeks after the attack. That narrative was that an anti-Muhammad video - Innocence of Muslims - was responsible. This email, sent slightly more than two hours after the first one above (6:07pm EST / 12:07am EET), contains a smoking RPG in the subject line:

Update 2: Ansar al-Sharia Claims Responsibility for Benghazi Attack (SBU)

The body of the email contains one sentence, which reads:

(SBU) Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on Embassy Tripoli.

Yet, despite these real time emails, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were featured in a PSA intended for air in Pakistan that was based on the lie that the video was the cause of the attack. That PSA was produced one week after the attack at the expense of $70,000. If we want to talk about disgusting, reprehensible, and despicable videos, perhaps we should start with this one:



During an interview with Sarah Palin on 10/23, as news of these emails was breaking, Greta continued to come back to one question:

Why was the Obama administration so intent on blaming the video?

Pay attention to what Greta says, beginning at the 5:40 mark (via Sarahnet):



It's not only long past time to find out why the administration blamed the video. It's also long past time to find out who / what was really behind its production.

Where is Eiad?

Innocence of Muslims producer arrested by the Feds

Folks, the arrest of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula for violating his parole may seem like a victory for Muslim and leftist forces who want to squash our First Amendment right of free speech but, as they say, things aren't at all what they seem. Early indications are that his arrest is indeed a victory for the good guys.

Via the Smoking Gun:

The producer of the controversial anti-Islam film “Innocence of Muslims” has been arrested for violating terms of his probation and is set for an appearance this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, is scheduled for an initial appearance before Judge Christina Snyder, who sentenced him in June 2010 following a bank fraud conviction.

Investigators have not yet provided details about how Nakoula allegedly violated probation, but it seems clear that his involvement in the “Innocence of Muslim” production is central to the government's new charge.

Nakoula (seen above) was sentenced to 21 months in prison to be followed by six months in a halfway house. Upon completion of the custodial term, he was placed on probation for five years.

Included in his probation terms were prohibitions on his use of the Internet, unless he secured prior approval from his probation officer. Additionally, he was not to “use, for any purpose or in any manner, any name other than his/her true legal name or names without the prior written approval of the Probation Officer.”

While producing “Innocence of Muslims,” Nakoula repeatedly used the alias “Sam Bacile” (and other variants) in communications, online postings, and dealings with cast and crew working on the film.

Nakoula has a history of criminal behavior and has been on parole ever since he was convicted for his role in a bank fraud scheme back in 2010. That's why he was arrested, not because he made an anti-Muhammad film. The narrative being pushed by the mainstream media, in fact, has been that Nakoula is a Coptic Christian.

In reality, according to Shoebat, Nakoula gave an interview in Arabic in which he admitted that he is neither Christian nor Jew.

Moreover, the crimes he was found guilty of committing were done in conjunction with a man named Eiad Salameh, a Muslim fundamentalist who hates Christians and Jews.

In short, the arrest of Nakoula should be cheered by conservatives, Christians, and Jews. He broke the law and quite possibly scammed everyone who was even remotely involved in the production of the film.

Breitbart: Obama and Ayers shared 4th of July BBQ at Ayers house in 2005

Remember, in 2008, Obama was asked about his relationship with Bill Ayers no more than once by the fawning mainstream media; it was during a debate with Hillary Clinton. Obama dismissed the notion saying that Ayers was little more than 'a guy who lives in my neighborhood.' Well, now we know that this particular guy who lives in Obama's neighborhood held a 4th of July BBQ in 2005 that Obama attended.

Via Breitbart:

As a presidential candidate in 2008, Barack Obama disavowed any connection with former domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, the Weather Underground radical who was one of Obama's early backers and his colleague on the board of the Woods Fund in Chicago. We now have proof that Obama's association with Ayers continued even after Obama had been elected to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate--in the form of a now-scrubbed blog post placing Obama at the home of Ayers and his wife, fellow radical Bernardine Dohrn, on July 4, 2005.

Of course, Obama and Ayers shared a business office for no less than three years, beginning in 1995. His 2005 visit to Ayers' home would make that, at minimum, Obama's 2nd visit in ten years, with the first known visit taking place in 1995, when Obama's political career was launched there. This means that the two men had a combined working and personal relationship that spanned no less than an entire decade.

There were plenty of us in 2008 who saw this relationship with Ayers not just disturbing but potentially very dangerous, in part because of the revelations of the only man who successfully infiltrated the Weather Underground for the FBI - Larry Grathwohl. This video of Grathwohl in 1982 continues to take on added significance each time more information about the Obama / Ayers relationship is revealed.



Remember, Ayers has not renounced his terrorist acts. Obama attended a Bill Ayers BBQ four years after 9/11, which was also four years after a magazine cover showed Ayers standing on a crumpled American flag. This video shook many of us to the core four years ago and though we tried to sound the alarm bells, not enough listened. That, and McCain told us we had no reason to fear an 'Obama presidency.'

On a side note, here is Obama's 2008 exchange with Hillary. It's just plain laughable for anyone to assert that Obama wasn't lying here.

Fast and Furious: Fox's William La Jeunesse provides Critical information about those two FBI Informants

On yesterday's installment of Fox's Special Report, a very short but extremely explosive segment seems to have flown under the radar for now. Sipsey Street's Mike Vanderboegh caught it live and posted it to his website but to this point, the only thing further I've been able to find on the story is a transcript posted to Lexis Nexis, which is posted below.

We first learned that the ATF allegedly let Fast and Furious ringleader Manuel Celis-Acosta free after having reason enough to arrest him twice, was so that he could gather more information on two drug lords. The Los Angeles Times reported the story and revealed that those two drug lords were actually... wait for it... FBI informants. According to Vanderboegh, the two men are brothers and one of them only has one arm. Their names are Eduardo and Jesus Miramonte and they reportedly are intimately involved in the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

Here is the relevant excerpt from La Jeunesse's report:

WALLACE: New this evening, the justice department is pushing back against claims that lawmakers on Capitol Hill did not receive recently disclosed "Fast and Furious" documents. Justice says they were law enforcement sensitive, and whoever leaked them is compromising the department prosecutions.

Correspondent William La Jeunesse examines some other lingering questions, including doubts about the ATF's desire to bust the gun tracking ring.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM LA JEUNESSE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When buying a gun, buyers must state on this federal affidavit the gun is for them, not someone else, otherwise, it's a felony. In March 2010, Uriel Patino (ph) bought eight weapons at this store and claimed the guns were for himself. Two days later, police found Patino's guns in Manuel Celis-Acosta's car, yet, the ATF arrested neither.

In fact, agents allowed Patino to lie on applications and buy another 300 weapons (ph) for Acosta, spending over $300,000 while on food stamps. Police even stopped Acosta at the Mexican border with 75 rounds of ammunition and nine cell phones hidden in his car. Still, the ATF let him go.

Why? Well, the agency claimed it wanted the big fish in Mexico buying the guns. Unknown to them, those fish worked for the FBI. The identities of Eduardo and Jesus Miramonte Esverella (ph) had been kept secret until now. Sources familiar with classified material say the two were national security assets, untouchable and unindictable. Documents they say the FBI never told the ATF.

CHUCK GRASSLEY, (R-IA) SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: One agency works hard to get information, and they don't want to share with others.

LA JEUNESSE: The Miramontes (ph) worked as informants for police in Miami, the Marshall service and DEA before the FBI say sources who believe the two spent $250,000 on "Fast and Furious" guns, about two-thirds of which are still missing.

GRASSLEY: You're getting at the very basis of our investigation, but I'm going to have to wait until I get the information before we bring down the hammer.

LA JEUNESSE (on-camera): Asked about the role of their informants in "Fast and Furious," the FBI said today, quote, "It cannot provide additional information even when inaccuracies are being reported because of a pending investigation. We do know the FBI did brief the ATF 11 months and hundreds of guns after `Fast and Furious' began."
In Los Angeles, William La Jeunesse, Fox News.

Again, the fact that this information is not being released by the Justice Department, but through back channel leaks only serves to further demonstrate just how devastating this is to Eric Holder.

**UPDATE** Video of La Jeunesse's report is below. Here is a link to an article with more detail.

Fast and Furious Circus: ATF released suspect to gather information on two FBI Informants

This is an extremely significant development in the Fast and Furious scandal. Earlier this week, we learned that the lead suspect in the investigation - Manuel Celis-Acosta - was apprehended near the Mexican border back in May 2010 with loaded "AK type" magazines and was already under investigation for firearms trafficking. He should have been arrested then and there but lead ATF case agent Hope MacAllister let him go after getting his predictably empty promise that he would help her track down a couple of drug lords.

That was bad enough but now, thanks to the Los Angeles Times, we learn that those two drug lords were FBI informants:

When the ATF made alleged gun trafficker Manuel Fabian Celis-Acosta its primary target in the ill-fated Fast and Furious investigation, it hoped he would lead the agency to two associates who were Mexican drug cartel members. The ATF even questioned and released him knowing that he was wanted by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

But those two drug lords were secretly serving as informants for the FBI along the Southwest border, newly obtained internal emails show. Had Celis-Acosta simply been held when he was arrested by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in May 2010, the investigation that led to the loss of hundreds of illegal guns and may have contributed to the death of a Border Patrol agent could have been closed early.

Yes, the man who may ultimately be responsible for so many guns going into Mexico AFTER being stopped in May of 2010, was released so he could track down two men who were already working for the FBI!!

Oh, what's that part about the DEA? Yeah, apparently ATF and DEA were both tracking Acosta unbeknownst to each other.

Documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times/Tribune Washington Bureau show that as far back as December 2009 — five months before Celis-Acosta was detained and released at the border in a car carrying 74 live rounds of ammunition — ATF and DEA agents learned by chance that they were separately investigating the same man in the Arizona and Mexico border region.

ATF agents had placed a secret pole camera outside his Phoenix home to track his movements, and separately the DEA was operating a "wire room" to monitor live wiretap intercepts to follow him.

That's not all. When Acosta was finally arrested less than two months after Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's death - a death Acosta may have been directly responsible for - the ATF learned that the two drug lords were FBI informants. This information was known more than one year ago, when Acosta was arrested on February 2, 2011.

The ATF had hoped he would lead them to two Mexican cartel members. But records show that after Celis-Acosta finally was arrested in February 2011, the ATF learned to its surprise that the two cartel members were secret FBI informants.

This is relevant for at least two reasons. First, the Justice Department stonewall, which Rep. Darrell Issa and Senator Charles Grassley have been dealing with for about as long, was hiding this very damaging fact. This revelation points directly at a coverup. Second, in testimony before the House Oversight Committee one year later, on February 2, 2012 Attorney General Eric Holder emphatically asserted and reiterated more than once that his Department would not release any correspondence after the February 4, 2011 letter from Asst Attorney General Ronald Weich to Grassley. That letter was proven to have been false and ultimately withdrawn by the DOJ about one year later.

Ronald Kolb posted one of these exchanges between Holder and Issa on February 2, 2012:

Congressman Darrell Issa from California later asked Holder if he would provide e-mails and communications past February.

Holder: As I have indicated, we are not going to be turning over after February...

Issa: Are you aware of the fact that by doing so, that the fact that we have already issued a subpoena, you are standing in contempt of Congress unless you give a valid reason[?] ... [O]therwise you will leave the committee no choice but to seek contempt for your failure to deliver or to cite a constitutional exemption.

These developments seem to indicate that with Acosta's arrest in February of last year came a realization at the highest levels of these departments that there would be serious implications if the truth came out. That coverup quite possibly began with the demonstrably false February 4, 2011 letter. Issa has been almost patient to a fault when it comes to issuing that contempt order he has threatened but this could do it. As Issa explained in an interview on Fox News recently, the contempt order he issues would go directly to the US Attorney for Washington, D.C. That person's boss is Holder. This obviously complicates things for the Committee chairman but these revelations about Acosta being a big fish released to gather intelligence on two informants from another agency could seriously ratchet up the political pressure on Holder to comply.

As for the deadly multiple agency circus, this video definitely seems to fit:



h/t Sipsey Street

Ted Nugent Chimes in on Fast and Furious (Not Happy)

Those who think the Fast and Furious scandal has faded into the darkness because of stall tactics, stonewalling, and coverups are definitely mistaken. This week's news that the head of the criminal division in the Arizona US Attorneys Office, Patrick Cunningham, was subpoenaed and then pleaded the fifth is quite newsworthy. It also comes less than two weeks before the biggest Eric Holder / Darrell Issa showdown yet, when the Attorney General faces the Oversight Committee for the first time on February 2nd.

If the Feds thought the public would cry uncle after the repeated stonewalling, they were wrong. In fact, they've apparently roused Uncle Ted, who also says this is worse than Watergate.

Via Washington Times:

The United States of America has turned into bizarro land. Think of this: Our very own Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), under the direct guidance of the attorney general of the United States - America’s top cop, mind you - not only allowed, but encouraged American gun dealers to sell about 2,000 guns to known punks involved in the drug trade in order to trace the guns to Mexican drug cartels. If you think that’s unbelievably nuts, get a load of this: The suspected goons who bought the guns were not even placed under law enforcement surveillance.

This is analogous to the Drug Enforcement Administration knowingly allowing international dope pushers to sell heroin on American streets without placing the dope dealers under surveillance in hopes that somehow, some way, the dope pushers would enable the DEA to trace the heroin back to some dirty, cave-dwelling Afghan opium poppy farmer so we could then poison the farmer’s poppy fields. Wait a minute, let’s not give this crackpot administration any more loony ideas.

In all of its bureaucratic buffoonery, the ATF lost control of the weapons. Of course it did, as there were no electronic tracing components on the guns. Our less-than-esteemed attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., to whom the ATF reports, claimed not to know a thing about this brain-dead operation.

What kind of inebriated idiot would hatch an evil scheme such as this and then believe that, somehow, the guns could be traced to Mexican drug cartels without an electronic tracing component? This isn’t some low-ranking bureaucratic village idiot but a high-ranking government bureaucratic idiot who is paid by U.S. taxpayers.

Read it all. 

Feds Indict File-Sharing Site, Hacked by 'Anonymous'

As the forceful public rejection of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) escalates, an increasing number of congressmen are backing down. All four Republican presidential candidates vehemently denounced the legislation at the CNN debate, with the exception of Rick Santorum. Though he expressed disapproval with the bills in their current form, he defended them to some degree. Amidst the pending legislation, the Feds issued indictments to a large file-sharing website known as Megaupload.

Via the UK Guardian:

The US government has closed down one of the world's largest filesharing websites, accusing its founders of racketeering, money laundering and presiding over "massive" online piracy.

According to prosecutors, Megaupload illegally cheated copyright holders out of $500m in revenue as part of a criminal enterprise spanning five years.

A lawyer for Megaupload told the Guardian it would "vigorously" defend itself against the charges, dismissing the criminal action as "a civil case in disguise".

News of the indictment – being framed as one of the biggest copyright cases in US history – came a day after major internet firms held a 24-hour protest over proposed anti-piracy laws.

According to a Department of Justice release, seven people associated with Megaupload were indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this month over the charges.

While this seems like something SOPA and PIPA were written to help enforce, verbiage in the two bills could allow the Justice Department to shut down sites it doesn't like (think China).

In any event, it appears that the computer hacking group known as 'Anonymous,' has attacked multiple government and media websites in response to both SOPA and the Megaupload indictments.

Via Gizmodo:

Anonymous has sure been quiet lately, but today's federal bust of Megaupload riled 'em up good: a retaliatory strike against DoJ.gov (and plenty of other foes) leaving them completely dead.

DownForEveryoneOrJustMe.com is reporting the department's site as universally nuked, and an Anonymous-affiliated Twitter account is boasting success. This is almost certainly the result of a quickly-assembled DDoS attack—and easily the widest in scope and ferocity we've seen in some time. If you had any doubts Anonymous is still a hacker wrecking ball, doubt no more.

Be sure to check out the Gizmodo link; they are providing several updates to this story. One of them includes a statement from 'Anonymous' about the attack. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) website was one of the sites that went down. Interestingly, the chairman of MPAA is former Connecticut Senator, Chris Dodd. The statement from Anonymous includes a list of all the sites it attacked as well as some specific personal information about Dodd.

Most of the sites appear to be back up but it's safe to say that this is getting pretty ugly.

h/t Drudge

CAIR Targets FBI for Arresting Tampa Jihadist

Yugoslavian born, would-be Islamic terrorist Sami Osmakac planned massive destruction in Tampa, FL. He apparently made it onto the FBI's radar when he told an unidentified person that he wanted to purchase an al-Qaeda flag. Subsequent requests made by Osmakac about wanting to carry out multiple terror attacks before killing himself led to an FBI sting operation that took him down before he could do any damage.

Apparently, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) thinks he's just another innocent Muslim targeted by the FBI:

Via IPT:

Despite Osmakac's commitment to carry out multiple deadly attacks, CAIR officials went on the offensive against the FBI for capturing another "innocent" Muslim. Trying to create tension between Muslim Americans and law enforcement is part of CAIR's regular response to government counterterrorism investigations.

Executive Director of CAIR San Francisco Zahra Billoo was quick to paint the arrest as a scam, stating that she was "wondering how much of the thwarted terror plot in Florida was seeded by the FBI, [a]ppreciating that even the MSM mentioned the informants." Dawud Walid, Executive Director of CAIR-Michigan, released a tweet saying, "it is not the job of civil rights groups to be commending the FBI on their use of informants, given the FBI's history."

The Director of CAIR's Florida chapter, Hassan Shibley, gave a more lukewarm and confusing response to news of the arrest. Although he stated that Osmakac "was no friend or supporter of the Muslim community" and that the Muslim community had played a "vital role" in his arrest, he also expressed "concern about a perception of entrapment."

"The weapons and explosives were provided by the government. Was he just a troubled individual, or did he pose a real threat?" said Shibly to the press this morning. As the day progressed, he was quoted casting additional mistrust of the government's intentions. "I think the fear at the point is that he was just mentally disturbed...I think that community members hoped that by reporting him, he could get the proper assistance," Shibly explained to MyFoxTampaBay.

The details of the case make plain the intentions of the plotter.

Notice that Shibley credited the Muslim community for helping the FBI to arrest Osmakac. A little later in Emerson's article, we find that there were Muslims who knew of Osmakac's intentions and did nothing.

He also talked of taking down Tampa Bay area bridges to "crush the whole economy" in the region and to create food crisis, but concluded it need more people. Osmakac also lamented that he was unable to inspire other local Islamists to enter the plot with him, indicating that other local Muslims knew of his plot and had not reported him.

The FBI should identify all of the individuals Osmakac attempted to recruit and question them. If there are applicable charges, they should be filed.

After all, Islamic terrorism is a crime, not an act of war.

Read it all.

Breaking News about FBI Informant at Brian Terry Murder Scene

If this is true, operation Fast and Furious just got exponentially more scandalous. Again, focus on the missing third gun allegedly found at the scene that has magically disappeared. Consensus seems to be that it was there because an FBI Confidential Informant (CI) put it there. There also must be a reason for that gun to be more damning than the two guns found at the scene that are themselves Fast and Furious guns.

It looks like Bob Owens at Pajamas Media might be onto that reason and, if true, it's big. The 'Rip Crew' that included Terry's killer may have been given foreknowledge about the location:

The rip crew was in Peck Canyon that evening with the intention of stealing money and drugs from a specific shipment of which they had prior knowledge.

Sources claim the Department of Justice has been trying for almost a year to hide the key information — how the rip crew knew the shipment was coming through that night.

Criminal informants (CIs) are a common tool of law enforcement agencies. When agencies apprehend criminals, agencies often reduce or drop charges in exchange for information leading to the arrests of higher-ranking criminals. Earlier this year, reports claimed that Operation Fast and Furious weapons smuggled over the border were actually chosen by an FBI informant, and paid for with money provided by the federal government.

The rip crew knew to be in Peck Canyon that December evening because a CI working for the FBI found out about a smuggling run — from the FBI.

Again, if this is true, it not only implicates the FBI along with the ATF but it would implicate the FBI directly in the creating the circumstances that led to Terry's death. Not only that but Owens makes the claim that the DEA knew about the ambush as well:

The CI used this information to organize an ambush of the drug convoy. A source tells PJM that the FBI knew from wiretaps that the CI was using their information to set up an ambush.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) — through its own CIs and communications intercepts — was also aware of the planned assault. 

Neither the DEA nor FBI warned Border Patrol about the expected criminal activity.

This is a must-read.

Video: CNN Covers Fast and Furious after Eight Months

When I received an email from Issa's office yesterday, though it contained several video links, the one that caught my eye featured Oversight Committee chairman Issa on CNN with Wolf Blitzer, talking about the Fast and Furious scandal. That was surprising in and of itself but then after watching it, I was doubly surprised because it was actually quite fair. This scandal is not going away; it has been taking root for several months. In fact, it's getting bigger by the day. Scandals come and go all the time and as much as the left wing media has tried to further that cause on Fast and Furious, it has failed to this point. We're now seeing the media being dragged to the scandal instead of being instrumental in disposing of it.

People are going to start taking note, if for no other reason, than because it's been going on so long that it will start generating even more curiosity. Nonetheless, nothing earth-shattering in this exchange between Blitzer and Issa if you've been following the scandal via other venues but it's absolutely noteworthy that CNN has decided to put its toe in the water on Fast and Furious.

More Fast and Furious Audio Tapes: ATF Agent 'Collateral Damage'

This side of the Operation Fast and Furious scandal is growing increasingly despicable. Again, ATF lead case agent Hope McAllister and Gun Store owner of Lone Wolf Trading Company Andre Howard can be heard on these recordings. Taken at face value, it appears that Howard, despite being the person who made these recordings, is in on the coverup. There are some disgusting things that become quite apparent in listening to this latest release of recordings. The lack of concern for Border Patrol agent Brian Terry is off the charts; Howard can be heard referring to him as 'collateral damage.'

Howard can then be heard expressing disgust for agent John Dodson for blowing the whistle. Interestingly, Howard then says Dodson won't be able to 'substantiate' his claims because the evidence is 'gone.' Could it be that Howard was making a reference to the third gun found at Terry's murder scene, the one that was the result of an FBI informant leaving it there?

After listening to the first rounds of recordings, I wondered if Howard might have been stringing the ATF along since he was the one making the recordings but it's looking less and less likely that's the case. After listening to these, I'm left with the impression that he likely made the recordings to cover his own butt. If so, it looks like that was a bad idea for him. Though these recordings make McAllister and the ATF look bad, this latest round makes Howard look much worse.

Via CBS:



Here is the transcript that corresponds with audio above:

EXCERPT 1

Dealer: Unfortunately a consequence occurred from a weapon shall we say that found its way into the wrong area ok and that was not anticipated. Nobody could foresee that that's collateral damage I think the term is. It happened. It's terrible. That's life ok we move on. Unfortunately, Mr. Dodson with his allegation is a pain in the a--. Now, my understanding now is it will be impossible now that he will be able to substantiate anything directly because that evidence is gone. I want you to know that. It don't exist. Not that one. You understand me?

Agent: MMhmm.

Dealer: Good. I get that.

EXCERPT 2

Dealer: My biggest problem is Dodson. You know this guy has damaged the hell out of me. I mean I walked out of here yesterday.

Agent: Mmhmm.

Dealer: I got it from the tattoo parlor, I got some damn Mexicans and white trash over there.

Agent: Yeah...

Dealer: Yelling across the parking lot: "can i buy 300 AK 47's?? Would you turn me in, over that?" This is the kind of sh-- i'm getting.

Agent: Yeah.

EXCERPT 3

Dealer: The most damning thing that you guys got to be aware of I think hypothetically is was there, you have to ask yourselves this first I'm just throwin this out there, was there a communication that hypothetically the US Attorney's office uh was entertained with the DOJ in reference to any ballistics tests or anything? Is there any way any of these idiots..

Agent: The problem is I mean we're not investigating that case.

Dealer: I know the FBI is.

Agent: And he's (Dodson) assigned to the FBI. I, I have not, I don't have any way of knowing what he has access to. And that's on the FBI. I mean that's on them. If they consider him, don't consider him an operational security issue, that's their f-----g fault. But I don't have access to that sh--, I don't know I have no idea what the FBI.

Dealer: (unintell.) I know you don't...I'm saying that's a whole parallel issue.

Agent: Right.

EXCERPT 4

Dealer: What about the emails copies he's got?

Agent: Those emails are a year ago that's why I wonder what he I mean

Dealer: Let me help you out. Here's what I smell. There's a reason you ran (unintell.) about not talking about any of your other agents out there.

Agent: Yeah.

Dealer: You got some rats in there honey...

(Crosstalk)

Dealer: I'll tell you some of these motherf-----s, I don't know if they're giving it to Dodson, I think they are, somebody's got some inter-agency copies not just this sh--.

These recordings are now coming out daily and each time, appear to be more incriminating. I expect those involved in this scandal to start singing soon.

CLICK HERE for previously released recordings.

More Fast and Furious Audio Tapes Coming Out

Sharyl Attkisson over at CBS continues to release audio recordings of conversations between the Lone Wolf Trading Company owner, Andre Howard and the lead ATF case agent, Hope McAllister. A new bit of information here is that according to Attkisson, the source of the recordings is Howard, which makes what's on them even more curious. If Howard is speaking honestly to McAllister, these recordings are very damaging to him because they implicate him in a coverup. Why would someone intentionally record something that would harm them? It looks like we're going to have to wait for the answer to that one. How did Atkisson get her hands on these recordings? Did Howard willingly give them to her?

The two guns found at Border Patrol agent Brian Terry's murder scene came from Howard's store. Note that in the recordings, you hear both Howard and McAllister discuss the FBI. McAllister twice mentions that the FBI 'has their own problems.' Could this be a reference to the third gun found at Terry's murder scene? The existence of that gun was allegedly covered up because it was an FBI informant who put it there.

Via CBS:

In a series of secretly recorded audio tapes believe to have been recorded last March and obtained by CBS News, an Arizona gun dealer and an ATF agent involved with ATF's "Fast and Furious" operation worried about the unraveling scandal.

The conversations were recorded by Andre Howard who ran the Lone Wolf Trading Company. Howard's gun dealership had been cooperating with the ATF in "Fast and Furious." At least two of his weapons were sold to a straw buyer before turning up later at the murder scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Hope MacAllister, the ATF agent heard in the conversations, was the lead case agent.

Below is the audio, with transcripts underneath.



This scandal is reaching critical mass folks.

The gun dealer is Andre Howard, the agent is ATF Agent Hope MacAllister.
Dealer: He's (Dodson) more toxic than you realize. I can tell you casue I asked him. How much of this f-----g file did you release?

Agent: Mmmhm

Dealer: He said basically the underlying case file. I said okay, who'd you release it to? F-----g Patrick Leahy! Ok? Wasn't just Grassley it was Leahy alright? Leahy as we both know has adjourned this inquiry right now okay with no plans to reconvene it. So your people were successful on that end.

Agent: Right.

Dealer: Obviously that's good. However these other idiots from

Agent: Yeah I saw that. The House?

Dealer: Yeah and that I don't know. What is troublesome with this I expected Darrell Issa's signature to be on this it wasn't. He's your biggest thorn, he hates Holder.

Agent: Yeah. Where's he out of?

Dealer: Darrell Issa?

Agent: Yeah.

Dealer: California.

Agent: California.

Dealer: Lamar Smith you know's out of Texas, I don't know. Holder has to respond to this tomorrow.

Agent: Yeah he's gonna respond.

Dealer: I know he is. And I can assure you the media isn't gonna like his response because basically it's gonna mirror what he's told Grassley.

Agent: Yeah.

Dealer: He can't deviate.

Agent: Well if, I mean I've seen a rough copy at least of what our US Attorney here has sent up. Whether or not he has the b---s to actually use it or not, I doubt it. But I mean it's pretty aggressive. Um. The way I see it our local US Attorney is extremely aggressive. When it gets to DC..

Dealer: Who Emory?

Agent: No...THE US Attorney.

Dealer: Burke, yeah, used to work under Clinton. Guy used to work under Clinton. Talking about Burke?

Agent: MMhmm.

Dealer: yeah well

Agent: But the problem is once it gets to dc it just gets... well you know

(unintell.)

Dealer: Discombobulated that's a good term for it yeah I get that.

Dealer: Let me tell you you got more people out there now talking about this f-----g thing than anything I've ever seen...(unintell.) ... they're not shutting the hell up

Agent: (unintell)

Dealer: and that goes from DHS to f-----g FBI to everybody...

Agent: Yeah.

Dealer: I'm hearing hypothetically on every fringe

Agent: Yeah.

Dealer: Thru third parties and I can assure you they're all like what the hell are they nuts?

EXCERPT 2

Dealer: But you have got to put the word out there to all the departments tell the f------g FBI shut the f--- up. (whispering)

Agent: FBI'S got their own problems, trust me.

Dealer: I know I hear.

Agent: They've got their own problems.

Dealer: Hypothetically.

Agent: If anybody's gonna get sued it's gonna be the FBI in my opinion.

EXCERPT 3

Dealer: What is it with the FBI they just have a h--- on for you guys or what?

Agent: The FBI's got their own problems. Like I said they're focusing on our problems they should probably turn it inward, cause they got their own problems right now.

Dealer: That ain't no lie.

Agent: So.. so hahaha.

EXCERPT 4

Dealer: What's Holders' office got to say about this?

Agent: Well like I said they're supposed to come out with little more um b----y statement than they have in the past, so...

Dealer: God they're (intell)

Agent: I mean at some point they're gonna say have to say Grassley you're just gonna have to sit your a-- down. I mean that or they're gonna have to (unintell). I mean like I said my understanding is he can't call a hearing. Somebody from the majority party has got to call a congressional hearing and as of right now...

Dealer: Patrick Leahy's an a----e, you know that. He gets ahold of something he's like a dog with a bone.

Agent: As of right now we don't have any info that's occurred. So...

Dealer: No, not now, but

Agent: I know there was a presentation given to Judiciary committee and everybody aside from Grassley is is satisfied. At least at this point.

Dealer: So they say you know I don't trust em...

Agent: No but I mean that's all I've got...it's all (unintell.)

It's very interesting that within those recordings, there seems to be the realization that Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee was told to stand down by the DOJ and he obeyed. This is the quintessential example of how Congress is ceding its power to the Executive Branch.

CLICK HERE to listen to recordings released earlier.

h/t Sipsey Street

Solyndra Scandal: Will Democrats throw Obama Under the Bus?

The Solyndra scandal seems to be heating up quite a bit but I find myself wondering why it's doing so this quickly. If the head of the Justice Department, which oversees the FBI, Eric Holder is as beholden to the Obama administration as he's demonstrated, why was the FBI permitted to raid a company covered with so many Obama fingerprints? Is it because of another coverup? Is it serving as a distraction away from the Fast and Furious investigation, which has been setting the hook for several months now? As bad as the Solyndra scandal is, Fast and Furious would be much worse if both reach to Obama.

The Democratic Party is becoming quite disgruntled with Obama, especially in the wake of the special election in which Anthony Weiner's old seat went Republican for the first time since the 1920's.

Two sayings come to mind. The first is, 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall.' The second is, 'if you live by the sword, you die by the sword.' One of Obama's political swords has been throwing people under the bus to protect his own skin. As the Tea Party rises and the Democrats continue to experience political earthquakes like the one in Weiner's old district, we may begin to see them less willing to defend Obama.

By all accounts, the Solyndra scandal is huge. So why is the far left media establishment, including ABC News and Washington Post, reporting on it so thoroughly?

Via Washington Post:

EXCLUSIVE | The Obama White House tried to rush federal reviewers for a decision on a nearly half-billion-dollar loan to the solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra so Vice President Biden could announce the approval at a September 2009 groundbreaking for the company’s factory, newly obtained e-mails show.

The Silicon Valley company, a centerpiece in President Obama’s initiative to develop clean energy technologies, had been tentatively approved for the loan by the Energy Department but was awaiting a final financial review by the Office of Management and Budget.

The August 2009 e-mails, released exclusively to The Washington Post, show White House officials repeatedly asking OMB reviewers when they would be able to decide on the federal loan and noting a looming press event at which they planned to announce the deal. In response, OMB officials expressed concern that they were being rushed to approve the company’s project without adequate time to assess the risk to taxpayers, according to information provided by Republican congressional investigators.

Solyndra collapsed two weeks ago, leaving taxpayers liable for the $535 million loan.

One e-mail from an OMB official referred to “the time pressure we are under to sign-off on Solyndra.” Another complained, “There isn’t time to negotiate.”

Here is the video of Joe Biden and Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu at the Solyndra groundbreaking ceremony in 2009.

Via Verum Serum:

Video: Senator John McCain Grills FBI Director Mueller and DHS Secretary Napolitano on Fast and Furious

At a recent Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee hearing, Senator John McCain pressed both DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and FBI Director Robert Mueller on their knowledge of Operation Fast and Furious. In the case of Napolitano, she denied having any knowledge of the Operation that led to the murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry until after his death. Considering the fact that this was a joint operation involving DHS, some rogue supervisor should have already been fired or Napolitano herself should be for having been so ignorant.

When McCain's questioning turned to FBI Director Robert Mueller, he got the same responses that these committees have been getting from everyone else, including Napolitano; the DOJ Inspector General is investigating and there is no information available. It was obvious that McCain and others are growing quite frustrated with this response. The one thing McCain should have asked Mueller about but didn't was the breaking story from late last week that news of a third gun found at Terry's murder scene was covered up because it was put there by an FBI informant.

Via The Hill:

McCain asked Napolitano to supply the committee with the specific date when she found out that guns sold under the operation were found at the scene of Terry’s killing.

McCain has long butted heads with Napolitano, who is the former governor of Arizona, but he is a latecomer to criticism of the administration regarding Fast and Furious.

The lead congressional investigators have been Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

As Issa has continued his probe into the operation and who authorized it, he has attracted a bevy of Democratic naysayers who contend that he is jeopardizing the DOJ IG’s investigation as well as the prosecution of nearly two dozen men accused of illegally purchasing and carrying weapons sold under the operation.

If Napolitano knew about Fast and Furious before Terry's death, she committed perjury and if Mueller withheld information from McCain, he could be in the same boat.



Here is a somewhat related video from Rep. Darrell Issa's appearance on Fox News with Bret Baier. Here, Issa makes it clear that Fast and Furious goes all the way to the White House but admits to not know just how far inside the White House it goes. Very interesting.



h/t Sipsey Street

Fast and Furious Coverup now Involves Hiding Gun Found at Brian Terry Murder Scene

As the scandal known as Operation Fast and Furious continues to inch closer and closer to Barack Obama and Eric Holder, it's being learned just how ugly the creature behind the stonewalls really is. It was more than bad enough when it was learned that two of the guns found at the murder scene of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry were guns the ATF allowed to 'walk' into Mexico but now it's been learned that a third gun was at the scene and the FBI appears to have made it 'disappear' because it would have implicated one of its informants. An informant, by the way, who allegedly provided the money to buy the guns used to murder Terry.

Via Fox News:

A third gun linked to "Operation Fast and Furious" was found at the murder scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, new documents obtained exclusively by Fox News suggest, contradicting earlier assertions by federal agencies that police found only two weapons tied to the federal government's now infamous gun interdiction scandal.

Sources say emails support their contention that the FBI concealed evidence to protect a confidential informant. Sources close to the Terry case say the FBI informant works inside a major Mexican cartel and provided the money to obtain the weapons used to kill Terry.

Unlike the two AK-style assault weapons found at the scene, the third weapon could more easily be linked to the informant. To prevent that from happening, sources say, the third gun "disappeared."

In addition to the emails obtained by Fox News, an audio recording from a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent investigating the Terry case seems to confirm the existence of a third weapon. In that conversation, the agent refers to an "SKS assault rifle out of Texas" found at the Terry murder scene south of Tucson.

The FBI refused to answer a detailed set of questions submitted to officials by Fox News. Instead, agency spokesman Paul Bresson said, "The Brian Terry investigation is still ongoing so I cannot comment." Bresson referred Fox News to court records that only identify the two possible murder weapons.

However, in the hours after Terry was killed on Dec. 14, 2010, several emails written to top ATF officials suggest otherwise.

In one, an intelligence analyst writes that by 7:45 p.m. -- about 21 hours after the shooting -- she had successfully traced two weapons at the scene, and is now "researching the trace status of firearms recovered earlier today by the FBI."

Again, this is not a scandal limited to the ATF as was alleged early on. This revelation implicates the FBI. We already knew that the US Attorneys office in Phoenix was involved.

Additionally, Oversight Committee chairman Darrell Issa and Senate Judiciary ranking member Charles Grassley have decided to press forward with leads that implicate the White House in this scandal.

HERE is a letter sent to Thomas Donilon, Asst to the President and National Security Advisor.

Of all the scandals that could have damaged Obama to this point, this one would, by far, do so to the greatest degree if he's involved. Beyond that, Issa has already held multiple rounds of hearings and has been investigating this case for six months so far. Any scandal that takes down an administration would take a long, long time. Watergate took well over a year to get to Nixon. As this continues to build, voters should consider a dynamic that could rear its head in the run-up to November. All signs point to Fast and Furious getting exponentially worse for Obama between now and then. As it does, incumbent Democrats will have to reassess their allegiance to Obama.

Here is the Fox News report on that the third weapon at Terry's murder scene:

Fast and Furious Update: Did FBI Give Guns to Convicted Felons?

One of the arguments from Eric Holder about why his Justice Department wasn't complying with Congressional subpoenas over Fast and Furious was that DOJ was conducting investigations relative to the arrests of straw purchasers. Now it's been learned that of the 20 straw purchasers under indictment, two of them were convicted felons and the FBI appears to have knowingly allowed those to men to purchase hundreds of guns. The stakes in the Fast and Furious scandal just got a whole lot higher on the eve of the next round of hearings, which will take place tomorrow. If the FBI is implicated in this scandal as having coordinated these purchases with the ATF, it would seem that even further suggests DOJ leadership involvement.

Via Fox News:

In the latest chapter of the gunrunning scandal known as Operation Fast and Furious, federal officials won't say how two suspects obtained more than 360 weapons despite criminal records that should have prevented them from buying even one gun.

Under current federal law, people with felony convictions are not permitted to buy weapons, and those with felony arrests are typically flagged while the FBI conducts a thorough background check.

However, according to court records reviewed by Fox News, two of the 20 defendants indicted in the Fast and Furious investigation have felony convictions and criminal backgrounds that experts say, at the very least, should have delayed them buying a single firearm. Instead, the duo bought dozens of guns on multiple occasions while federal officials watched on closed-circuit cameras.

Congressional and law-enforcement sources say the situation suggests the FBI, which operates the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, knowingly allowed the purchases to go forward after consulting with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which initiated Operation Fast and Furious.

Here is video of the report: