Fast and Furious wiretap information obtained by Congress

Updated June 6, 11:54 a.m. ET

(CBS News) The lead House Republican investigating Operation Fast and Furious, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), today said senior Justice Department officials had specific information that their federal agents were using controversial "gunwalking" tactics.

Justice Department officials have consistently denied that was the case. But today in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, Issa revealed that he has reviewed sealed wiretap applications in the case, which were signed off on the authority of Holder's Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer. Issa wrote Holder "having seen the wiretap applications, we now know that the information coming from the (Justice) Department has been misleading. That must stop."

Issa and others familiar with the wiretap applications say they contain a "remarkable level of detail about these objectionable tactics." That appears contrary to Holder's testimony to Congress on Nov. 8, 2011 when Holder stated, "I'd be surprised if the tactics themselves about gunwalking were actually contained in those, in those [wiretap] applications. I have not seen them, but I would be surprised [if] that were the case." Holder later made a similar statement to Congress on Feb. 2, 2012.

"The wiretap applications obtained by the [House Oversight] Committee show such statements made by senior [Justice] Department officials... to be false and misleading," said Issa's letter. He added the applications "detail specific actions taken by agents in Fast and Furious. This includes conscious decisions not to interdict weapons that agents knew were illegally purchased by smugglers taking weapons to Mexico," also called "gunwalking."

Late yesterday, the Justice Department sent a letter to Issa and House Republican leaders that says "we disagree with [Issa's] assertions." Justice officials also said "we are legally prohibited from commenting on the content of sealed court documents."

Issa said he provided Democrats on the House Oversight Committee copies of the wiretap applications for their review.

In response, the lead Democrat on the Committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings wrote Issa to say that his allegations "mischaracterize the contents and significance" of the wiretap applications. Further, Cummings said testimony to date indicates senior Justice Department officials never saw the actual wiretap applications, but instead were presented with summaries.

Six wiretap applications used in ATF's Operation Fast and Furious were intended to allow agents to listen in on phone calls as part of their investigation. They have been sealed by a federal judge but copies were obtained by Congress. Since the documents are technically under seal, Issa said they will be not provided for public review. In the past, Holder has threatened anyone who passed along information in, or divulged contents of, the wiretaps with prosecution, since they are under seal.

[rmirod]

It is obvious here that the attention to detail from some posters is not correct. Google the reports from the New York Times about the sting operation the ATF was running to create the ruse that illegal guns were being sold from gun dealers in Arizona and they were being used by the drug cartels to kill both Mexican and U.S. citizens. The political purpose of the sting operation was to give the DOJ under Holder, in conjunction with Obama's left wing anti-gun lobby the justification to amend the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution for the purpose of making all weapons owned by anyone other then police and military illegal in this country. You all need to wake up. The people who are members of the Obama administration are not Americans, though they may be U.S. Citizens, but hold their allegiance to the Communist Internationale Movement headed by George Soros. It is time to both vote these people out and then vote to outlaw Socialism and Communism in this country. Both isms are completely anti-American political philosophies because they both are designed to "rule" through Statism. There can be no freedon nor liberty in a Socialist system because your property and your money rights belong to the state. Everywhere these systems have been implemented people are under totalitarian rule. It is time to get rid of the cockroaches who don't believe in our Capitalist system, they don't belong here. Send them all to Cuba where they belong.

[RollotheNorman]

http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2012/06/27/fast-and-furious-truth/

All the RepubliCON Senators are liars. Exposed liars.

[Saltporkdoc]

Of course Holder would threaten anyone divulging info from the wiretaps!
It's HIS butt in the sling! talk about hypocritical and self serving!

[rleigh1234]

HEY CBS, why no news article on the Senate Hearing about this today? (6/7)

[lh2010]

It's now time to get rid of Issa and get someone in charge who will actually prosecute Holder. If you or I lied to congress we would be in jail. 2 full years later and Issa is still saying this has to stop while Holder continues to lie to congress. If Issa can't do his job get someone who can!!!!

[KathleenMillar]

Hard evidence?

"Issa Tells Holder to Turn Over Wiretap Apps"
foreignpolicyblogs.com/2012/02/17/54560/

See link inside article to photocopy of wiretap app signed by Lanny Breuer March 2010

[thecrabbieone]

just shows you how the socialist government of "yo-momma" works.
this is just a glimpse of what America will be like if you morons re-elect this despot.

[JBar595]

Cummings is nothing more than a Obama/Holder buttmonkey so consider the source.

[payasyougo]

Amazing how the folks at the DOJ can skate on all the deaths they've caused attempting to stage a run on second amendment rights while a sports figure taking illegal steriods gets more attention. When are mexican families of those murdered going to start suing the U.S. as the intentional supplier of the weapon?

[nygurl1]

Maybe they are smarter than you are.

[ReneCasanova]

Forget ideology for a minute. If anyone here doesn't think Holder and his regime knew about Fast and Furious needs their head examined. Of course he knew, and he blew it. It came from his boss to do this. Now an agent is dead and the DOJ has been trying to cover it up for over a year and a half. They've been stonewalling, and plain lying to the oversight committee. This is serious stuff. If a Republican was in charge every democrat would be demanding a special prosecutor, but since Obama is the boss that will never happen until we get rid of him and Romney appoints one. They have blood on their hands, and are lying to Issa and his committee, plain and simple.

[nygurl1]

And you think Issa isn't lying why?

[marychgo]

Another Issa tempest in a teapot! ATF lost track of 1,400 of the 2,000 guns it was trying to track. During the same period, 68,000 American guns found their way into the hands of the Mexican drug cartels. So the F&F guns represent 2 or 3 percent of the guns the cartels are using to kill both Mexicans and Americans. "Fast and Furious" was dumb, but Issa's scandal-mongering about it is even dumber!

[robert1129]

I just read the letter from Rep. Cummings to Issa. The detailed (though reacted in parts) makes it clear that Issa's motives in holding these hearings are just political in nature. For example, he will not allow Bush administration figures to testify even though Fast and Furious started before 2008. These hearings amount to pure "Horse Apples".

[marychgo]

Thanks, Robert1129; I hadn't read the Elijah Cummings letter (linked to in Sharyl Atkisson's article), but it really IS useful, despite one major redaction. Anyone on this thread who REALLY cares about "Fast and Furious" ought to read it, too!