House Republicans Demand Holder's Resignation

By Andrea Salazar

Nearly a dozen Republican House members joined together Tuesday to call for Eric Holder to resign from his position as Attorney General, holding him responsible for “Operation Fast and Furious” and the death of a Border Patrol Agent.

Under “Fast and Furious,” the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) allegedly allowed guns across the border and into the hands of Mexican cartels. Two of those guns were found last December where Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered.

“‘Fast and Furious’ endangered the lives of every citizen in this country, especially those of us in the Southwest,” Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) said at a news conference. “Further, this program…severely compromised the safety of our law enforcement folks in every Main Street, every town, county and state by arming criminals and foreign nationals.”

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) called for President Obama to join in asking Holder to resign, saying “if the president does not agree with that stance, then perhaps the president of the United States of America is also complicit in this horrible, tragic event.”

“Leaders take responsibility,” West said. “They very rarely take credit. It’s time for Attorney General Holder to take responsibility for the failures that are coming out of the Department of Justice.”

Reps. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho), Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas), Diane Black (R-Tenn.), Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) and Anne Marie Buerkle (R-N.Y.) echoed their colleagues demand.

Holder Denies Guilt Over "Fast And Furious"

By Adrianna McGinley

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today condemned federal officials for authorizing controversial “gun-walking” tactics under Operation Fast and Furious, but told lawmakers he is committed to investigating and holding accountable those responsible.

“I think that I acted in a responsible way by ordering the Inspector General investigation,” Holder said to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “On the basis of that report and any other information that is brought to my attention, those people who did make mistakes will be held accountable.”

Holder called the Operation “flawed in its concept and flawed in its execution.” He said that its impacts will be felt for years to come since many guns that ATF agents allowed to be purchased and carried across the U.S. border into Mexico are still unaccounted for and some continue to appear at cartel crime scenes.

“This should never have happened, and it must never happen again,” Holder said.

While admitting that there were grave mistakes made during Fast and Furious, Holder said it was in fact “a flawed response to, not the cause of” illegal gun flow into Mexico and the violence that results.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) asked Holder if he has or would like to apologize to the family of deceased Border Patrol Agent Brian Terr, who was murdered last December. Weapons discovered at the crime scene were traced back to Fast and Furious.

“I certainly regret what happened,” Holder replied. “It is not fair, however, to assume that the mistakes that happened in Fast and Furious directly led to the death of Agent Terry.”

Holder pledged that the Department of Justice is committed to punishing Mexican drug cartel members who have murdered American citizens. He also said that his agency is working with the Mexican government to curtail the violence caused by the cartels. To that point, Holder expressed concern that Republicans in Congress have proposed cutting DOJ’s budget for the coming fiscal year.

“Those proposed cuts are simply unacceptable and place this nation at risk…We are enjoying historically low crime rates…[DOJ cuts] put at risk the possibility that these historically low rates will not remain there forever.”

Holder suggested Congress take into consideration testimony from whistleblower agents who have called on Congress to support the fight against illegal weapons being trafficked into Mexico.

Amnesty International Wants Cheney Investigated For War Crimes

Eight activists representing Amnesty International donned orange jumpsuits Tuesday and held a protest in front of the Department of Justice in hopes of convincing the Obama administration to investigate former Vice President Dick Cheney for alleged war crimes.

“[Cheney] was one of the principal architects of a policy that instituted the torture of US detainees,” Tom Parker, the Policy Director for Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights at Amnesty International USA told TRNS. “That torture included threatening people with power drills, discharging weapons right near their heads, threatening to lock them in a box of insects, throwing them against the wall, heat exhaustion, sleep depravation, withholding food and water and of course, the most infamous of all, waterboarding.”

Although the Bush administration’s use of enhanced interrogation techniques have been controversial for years, they have returned to the spotlight with the release of Dick Cheney’s memoir “In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir,” in which Cheney describes different interrogation techniques used on detainees. 

“We’re here today to mark the publication of Dick Cheney’s memoirs and to present a copy of those memoirs to the Justice Department as exhibit A in a case to prosecute him for committing war crimes in the context of the global war on terror,” Parker said.

Cheney’s memoir was officially released Tuesday by Simon & Schuster

Click here to view a photo from today’s protest.

Obama Administration Seeks To Halt Effects Of DADT Ruling

The Justice Department is attempting to block a federal judge in California from issuing an injunction against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the policy that bans openly gay men and women from serving in the military.

Citing concern over the effects an injunction would have on military readiness and operations abroad, the Department filed the objection Thursday with California’s Central District Court.

“A court should not compel the Executive to implement an immediate cessation of the 17-year-old policy without regard for any effect such an abrupt change might have on the military’s operations,” the objection reads. It goes on to say that if an injunction is levied, it should only apply to members of the organization Log Cabin Republicans, who brought the challenge against the policy to court.

Earlier this month, District Judge Virginia Phillips ruled that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell violates the Constitution’s first and fifth amendments. Phillips has said that she will file a nationwide injunction. 

The White House issued a statement Thursday defending the Department’s challenge and also reiterating the President’s opposition to the controversial policy.

“This filing in no way diminishes the President’s firm commitment to achieve a legislative repeal of DADT,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gates said.

Gates added that the White House will continue to pursue the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell through legislative means.

The text of the Justice Department’s 14 page objection can be read here.

Obama: Koran Burning Is ‘Contrary To Our Values’

President Barack Obama weighed in Thursday on a Florida pastor’s proposal to burn copies of the Koran this Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

“If he’s listening, I hope [Pastor Terry Jones] understands that what he’s proposing to do is completely contrary to our values as Americans,” Obama said during an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that aired this morning. “I just want him to understand that this stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women who are in uniform,” the president added.

Obama certainly is not the first major political leader to comment on the controversy, yet he may have had good reason to show up late to this particular party. His remarks during an Iftar dinner at the White House last month supporting the rights of a group seeking to build a mosque just blocks from Ground Zero sparked a national debate on the issue that has still not ended.

This time around, however, Obama had plenty of precedent. Earlier this week his top general in Afghanistan, David Petraeus, a man who doesn’t normally interject himself into political matters, rebuked the church’s proposal, saying it would endanger the lives of U.S. troops fighting abroad. The president echoed Petraeus’ sentiment during this morning’s interview, saying, “this is a recruitment bonanza for Al Qaida. You could have serious violence in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

Jones, who heads up the 50-member Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, has drawn worldwide scorn since he announced his proposed stunt back in July. Despite that, the Christian pastor has defended his church’s idea to burn hundreds of copies of the Muslim holy book by arguing that it is constitutional as well as an appropriate response to the 9/11 attacks, in which Islamic terrorists hijacked and crashed four U.S. airplanes, killing 3,000 Americans.

The death threats Jones alleges he has received are disputable, but the global ire he has drawn is not. Several top U.S. leaders have openly condemned the church, from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who called the plan “regrettable,” to Attorney General Eric Holder, who called the idea “idiotic.” An editorial that ran recently in Dublin’s Irish Times equated the proposal to Nazi book burning.

A Facebook page created by the church to promote the event currently has over 13,000 ‘fans,’ yet it is unclear how many of them actually support the the idea. Locally, the church has been confronted over its plan by government and businesses alike. The fire department in Gainesville, a small college town in the north central part of the state, refused to grant the church a burning permit, stating the open burning of books is a fire hazard and is not allowed. Meanwhile, the bank where Dove has a mortgage loan has demanded that the church immediately repay its balance.