Steven Colbert: Unraveling the "Fast & Furious" Scandal

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The "Fast and Furious" gun-tracking program was an unconscionable waste of money to promote senseless acts of violence, just like the movies for which it was named. (02:59).

A Contempt of Congress citation is toothless and little is likely to happen to Attorney General Eric Holder.

Obama should return the favor to the "do nothing " 112th Congress and refuse to cooperate using Executive Privilege.

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TheHill.com: Attorney General tells senators 'We need not cower in the face of this enemy'

By Susan Crabtree - 11/18/09 11:13 AM ET

Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday vigorously defended his decision to try five terrorist suspects in federal criminal courts, arguing New York City is the venue “most likely to obtain justice for the American people.”

Holder vowed that the U.S. would not surrender to fear or politics in seeking justice in federal court for the alleged Sept. 11 plotters.

“We need not cower in the face of this enemy,” Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee at a packed hearing. “Our institutions are strong, our infrastructure is sturdy, our resolve is firm and our people are ready.”

Holder’s testimony marks the first time senators have had a chance to question him publicly since the Department of Justice last week announced it would try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks, and four other suspects now held at Guantánamo Bay. Holder testified that he expected the Guantánamo Bay facility to be closed sometime next year.

Republicans on the panel grilled Holder over the decision, which they said could allow a detainee to be released on a technicality within the U.S.

Several Republicans have also argued the trials will hand terrorism suspects the high-profile public attention they crave and make Manhattan a target.

“We are making bad history here,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a military lawyer and primary author of legislation creating military commissions to try detainees.

Graham said Holder was jeopardizing national security by determining that wartime combatants, potentially even Osama bin Laden, could be given constitutional legal protections usually provided only to U.S. citizens and foreigners convicted of regular crimes, not acts of war.

“The big problem I have is that you’re criminalizing the war … I think you’ve made a fundamental mistake here,” Graham said.

Holder delivered a point-by-point rebuttal to his critics. The defendants could be tried in either military or civilian court, he said, because the Sept. 11 attacks were both an act of war and a violation of federal criminal law.

He defended the record of civilian courts in handling international and domestic terrorists, and argued Mohammed would have no more of a platform to “spew his hateful ideology” in a civilian court in Manhattan than he has already done in a pre-trial hearings in the military courts.

“I’m not scared of what Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has to say at trial, and no one else needs to be afraid either,” Holder said, adding that he was certain that judges would maintain courtroom decorum.

source: http://thehill.com//homenews/administration/68345-holder-we-need-not-cower-in-the-face-of-this-enemy


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Congressman Robert Wexler on torture

We are on the cusp of perhaps the most significant development in our multi-year quest for accountability:

Multiple sources are reporting that Attorney General Eric Holder is likely to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate possible crimes committed by and under the authority of the Bush Administration – particularly as they relate to the use of torture.

Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind: such an appointment is critical to the integrity of our system of government. As you know, I have been pushing for such accountability for quite some time.

All of the evidence publicly available raises significant questions as to whether the Bush Administration or interrogators violated the law regarding the authorization and use of interrogation techniques. Such techniques such as excessive waterboarding and extreme physical brutality likely violated existing American law and international treaties against torture and led to the death of prisoners held in US custody.

The Attorney General testified in the Judiciary Committee recently: “If somebody was tortured to death, clearly a crime would have occurred.”

Please click here to support my emails and message.

There are those who fear that an investigation will distract and divide us at a time when we need to focus on very pressing issues such as health care, the economy, and foreign policy. The truth is that we can and must do both. Just as we must repair our health care and economic system, we must also repair of system of justice.

The appointment of a Special Prosecutor has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with the seriousness of the allegations and the evidence that supports them.

In fact, by appointing a Special Prosecutor – the Department of Justice separates itself from the investigation, allowing the evidence to be considered totally independent of political or institutional influences.

I refuse to believe that many Americans, regardless of their political leanings, would want any President, Vice President, or Cabinet official to exist above the law. That is not democracy.

Should we fail to investigate alleged abuses of power – even at this late date – we concede our rights and set dangerous precedents for the future.

Enforcement of our laws preserves the balance of power – not simply between branches of government – but between citizens and their elected leaders.

Sincerely,

Congressman Robert Wexler

Paid for by "Wexler for Congress"

PO Box 810669

Boca Raton, FL 33481

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Senate needs to pass expanded hate crime legislation immediately

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Noting three recent fatal fatal hate crimes Attorney General Eric Holder wants bigger efforts to enforce civil rights protections, and he renewed his call for expanding the hate-crimes law.

"Over the last several weeks, we have witnessed brazen acts of violence, committed in places that many would have considered unthinkable: a sacred memorial in the nation's capital, a recruiting station for the nation's armed forces and a church in the nation's heartland," emphasized Holder.

"The violence in Washington, Little Rock and Wichita reminds us of the potential threat posed by violent extremists and the tragedy that ensues when reasoned discourse is replaced by armed confrontation," the attorney general said.

Holder spoke to the Washington Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights, a pillar of the traditional civil rights movement.

Holder will also concentrate on "new challenges and insurgent threats."

Holder stated the killing of Kansas doctor George Tiller was not justified. Nor was the death of the security guard at the Holocaust museum. He also commented on the shooting of the two Army NCOs at a recruiting station.

"We will not tolerate murder or the threat of violence masquerading as political activism," emphasized Holder "And we will do all that we can to deter violence against reproductive health care providers and to prosecute those who commit such violence to the fullest extent of the law."

Holder asked for stronger hate crimes legislation, which also protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"I testified in support of stronger federal hate crimes legislation when I was deputy attorney general almost 10 years ago. My friends, that is far too long to wait. Too long to wait for the authority to prosecute offenses motivated by a person's gender, disability or sexual orientation. Too long to wait for the tools necessary to staunch the rising tide of bias-motivated violence directed at the Latino community. Put simply, too long to wait for justice," said Holder as he concluded his speech.

Legislation that would expand hate crimes protections has passed the House and is awaiting Senate action.

www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/16/holder.civil.rights/index.html

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