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Jay Carney pretty much flubs everything about Operation Fast & Furious.

This is going to be a very visual post, and, as usual, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney provides little if any actual semantic content, so I will simply summarize each video. First off, we have the standard obfuscation:

Carney: blah blah blah Operation Wide Receiver* blah blah blah
Tapper: That was the previous operation; I’m asking about the current one.
Carney: blah blah blah Operation Wide Receiver blah blah blah
Tapper: THAT WAS THE PREVIOUS OPERATION; I’M ASKING ABOUT THE CURRENT ONE.
Carney: We gave documents all the documents that we needed to give.
Tapper: Given that the Department of Justice is already on the hook for ‘giving false information’ – out there in the real world, they’re going to be saying ‘lying’ instead – to Congress, don’t you think that it’s reasonable that Congress might be inclined to just get the raw data and figure it all out for themselves?
Carney: …We gave documents?

But that’s just regular Washington Beltway obfuscation. What really grates? Jay Carney visibly not remembering the name of US Border Agent Brian Terry. Who, to remind everyone, had Operation Fast & Furious guns show up at the site of his murder:

Jake Tapper had to feed Carney the name. That pretty much tells you everything that you need to know about how seriously Carney is taking this case, how much preparation Carney did before going out to answer questions about the case – and pretty much how seriously you can take Carney’s canned observations about the case, too. Hint: the answer is more or less identical, in all three cases.

I’d call for Carney’s firing, except that he won’t be there next January anyway.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

*Operation Wide Receiver is the administration’s desperate excuse/distraction from their gunrunning activities; it was a Bush-era program that was supposedly identical to Operation Fast & Furious… except that attempts were made to keep track of the guns being sold (Operation Fast & Furious did not), OWR was conducted with the awareness and cooperation of the Mexican government (OF&F was not), and – contra the earnest attempts of the Obama administration – the program ended two years before Bush left office. So, in other words, it wasn’t particularly identical to Operation Fast & Furious at all.

By the way: my source for the first two points of difference? The sworn testimony of Attorney General Eric Holder, back when Sen. John Cornyn was raking him over the coals in 2011. In the clip below, you can see Holder admitting the differences, and explicitly denying that the two operations were the same.

Unless he was, you know, lying there.

Again.

COMMENTS

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    In my life’s experience there is trully nothing as fortunate as having stupid enemies.

  • http://MichaelHarrington.org Michael Harrington

    The Republicans did not win in 2010, there are no Republicans here!

    The Democrat Party can make any laws we want and they are all good!

    Obama can make Executive Orders nonstop on anything and then they are law!

    No such thing as voter fraud, just voter disenfranchisement!

    We have no plan, but our plan is vastly superior to their plan!

    The Koch brothers are the only enemy, they brainwash others!

    Unions will save America!

    Just do a good voiceover and have some laughs ;)

  • ctredstater

    makes me realize how truly gifted Mike McCurry was. He always seemed so much more credible while lying through his teeth than Carney does when he tries to tell the “Obama Version” of the truth.

    I am so glad that our heroic Attorney General has put a stop to this very ill-conceived and damaging Bush Administration program.

  • evilbloggerlady
  • http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com ColdWarrior

    try to interview the Ogden fellow? Especially in light of the fact that this

    doesn’t seem to square with this

    Hint: Google will help you locate Mr. Ogden with three words: bio David Ogden.

    In his own words on his law firm bio he was the second-ranking official at Justice while he was there in 2009 and 2010 and also its chief operating officer.

    Thank you.

    CW

    P.S. I bet you’d be able to get a hold of him before Norah O’donnell, Chuck Todd, Mike Allen, etc.

  • westcoastpatriette

    just what would be the underlying reasons he is going out on a limb for Holder like this? Anybody got any theories on that?

  • acat

    since Obama claimed the docs were privileged.

    He threw away the option of blaming Holder and driving on, there’s *no way* to un-say “privilege” and blame Holder now.

    Why do this? Is he really *that* bad a poker player?

    Mew

  • westcoastpatriette

    and wondering what Holder may “have” on Obama that would keep him so loyal?

  • willopine

    if this would play out different if Agent Terry had been wearing a hoody when he was shoot?

  • cactusjack

    really did get mad at the Clinton WH – they lied to him during the Lewinsky scandal so he kept going out aggerssively defending President Clinton– until it all fell apart & truth came out. He left not long afterwards.

  • cactusjack

    Hollywood will let us know how we are supposed to think, when it’s necessary.

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    to surface before the election because they are afraid of the politics. Can you imagine how “running guns for Mexican Drug Cartels” that were used to murder 45,000 Mexicans in the last 5 years is going to play with the demographic they just bent over for? The Obama administration can not release documents showing Eric Holder and Barack Obama knew and approved a program to provide guns to drug cartels that were used to wipe out 45,000 Mexicans and destabilized the country, POLITICALLY. They will fight this to November 7th. Holder knows Obama will have his back with a pardon.

  • checkmate2012

    topped the cake of insanity. Pelosi said it’s part of the Reps. plan to suppress the vote.

    Today on MSNBC, Sharpton went off the charts saying Holder is fighting against the GOPs far right projects of blocking voter suppression laws, challanging anti-immigration laws, and refusing to defend DOMA. Then played a clip of Rush talking about F&F as a tactic to squash 2nd Amendment rights.

    But it gets worse. Sharpton said that his conspiracy is that Bush started Operation Wide Receiver in 2006, came back to prosecute a case in ’07 and one in ’08, so they could set the Pres. Obama up who they knew they would replace them and knew O would beat McCain! (Sharpton’s grammer, not mine)

    Whoa, we have left the planet earth! I guess GW had ESP too! Unbelievable and I can’t believe this guy has a TV show.

  • http://www4.webng.com/rickbull/lostlucky/ rickbull

    definitely make for a winning combination. This affair has already been a blood bath (quite literally), and both of these secretaries need to be sent back to the secretarial pool (and one of them needs to go to prison).

  • checkmate2012

    unlike Gibbs who was part of the Chi-town inner circle and even a bit entertaining with his sparring. Carney is an idiot and they want him to be clueless, which he is.

    When Carney said we have given every document and all docs to the operation itself, and every page to Congress…umm, it’s a lie. Making absolute statements is a red flag everytime.

  • http://www4.webng.com/rickbull/lostlucky/ rickbull

    Lying to the press doesn’t constitute perjury–lying to Congress, however, does. Eric Holder should be prosecuted for perjury AND negligent homicide, both here and south of the border. I wonder how many years he could get in a Mexican jail for 50,000 counts of negligent homicide.

    Carney should simply be sentenced to work for a hack public relations firm for the rest of his career.

  • checkmate2012

    can put him in the cell she alluded to with Carl Rove. Holder is going down and now Obama is the Titanic.

  • rabun1016

    Thank God there is one reporter who is not throwing “soft”balls.

    The doublespeak of poor Mr. Carney is just want Obama wants in his peons. And this guy used to be on McLaughlin, news magazines, etc!
    Talk about bought and paid for.

  • http://Blackberrybear.etsy.com knitwit

    My dog doesn’t bite…..that’s not my dog!

    The ‘Spokeskid” might as well be doing bad stand up comedy, it’s so embarrassing…..

  • ctredstater

    Which Democrat Senator will play the role of Howard Baker?

    Any nominations?

    Hmmmm. I hear the sounds of crickets chirping.

    Well – surely the media will pick up the charge. Right??

    Which reporters will be the Woodward and Bernstein of this scandal?

  • jakee308

    I pick; he’s lying then AND now. (Not about the OWR)

    When someone who is nominally in charge of a department says that he doesn’t know who was responsible for an operation of the size, scope and length of time of OFnF; then he’s lying or incompetent.

    Either way he’s not fit for the responsibility.

  • reaganator

  • funwithknives

    He’s not going to the Holy Convention to venerate The One.
    Obviously, he does not want to ‘get any on him’.

    His credibility among independents would only get larger. Likewise , his constituents.

    But wishing is so ….fanciful.
    I envision myself as ‘King of the House’, but being married, it just ain’t so.

  • tngal

    surely to heck they can find someone, somewhere who can do the job a bit better.

    I understand carrying the water for your side, but this is embarrassing. Man up Carney. Try to have a little self respect.

  • blooch

    Issa needs to drag Kevin O”Reilly out of the bunker first.

  • rightlane1111

    What bothers me more than this is the fact that on one of the on-line stories there is a piece about Boehner and Obama never wanting it to go this far. I will tell you this…if Boehner does not bring this up for a floor vote…I wonder what our party really stands for. It is time for Boehner to get serious about how bad we, the American people, are being screwed over. The story goes on to say…I think this was Politico that we…the Republicans…should focus on the economy instead of this.

    WHAT IS WRONG WITH DOING THE NEXT RIGHT THING? Do we just throw everything to the wind and say…No. No…Eric…you be a good boy from now on…we realize you let a terrorist group be pardoned under Clinton…we realize that there was voter intimidation by the Black Panthers at a voting place…we realize that you lied to Congress…but we are not going to punish you…we will focus on the economy.

    Some spokesperson from the Republican Party needs to speak up and say that we Republicans and walk and chew gum at the same time.

    People…look at the infractions (which is an understatement) to our Constitution so far. When is it going to stop and when are ALL representatives going to uphold their oath of office…which…. now, I guess is just a formality without any meaning.

    Here’s the piece…it was on Politico: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77722.html

    Oh…did you all know that when people lie…they blink too much.

    it’s true. If you watch the first clip of Holder being interviewed by Cornyn you will see what I mean. But I digress…it was just an observation.

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    Boehner actually wanted the Obama Reign to turn over the documents Issa wanted. He worked with the Reign to get the documents without a political firestorm and was honestly surprised when they didn’t turn them over. It was when he was convinced that it wouldn’t happen, he gave Issa the go ahead. From the end of the story: “But Gowdy, a former prosecutor, said he suspects the Obama administration misjudged the prospects for a deal.

    ?I?m not into dealing,? Gowdy said. ?If you?re right, why would you compromise??

    ?I honestly think they believed ? I have no proof of this ? leadership would not let Chairman Issa go forward,? Gowdy added. ?And leadership did.?

    This article actually shows Boehner was the adult in the run;it was Obama who acted like a 10 year old, grabbing his ball and going home.

    This is even in a Politico story. Eric Erickson is on the record with calling Politico: “MSNBC’s partner in crime and a newsrag for the Obama Administration”. Man, I can’t believe I am defending Eric Boehner.

  • ihateliberals

    There is no use to fire Carney like Moe said he won’t be there in January plus they wil just get another flunky to take his play that might be worse. Carney is doing exactly what they want: “Running Interference”.

  • rightlane1111

    “For Boehner, an unprecedented floor vote to hold an attorney general in contempt threatens to undermine the GOP?s promise to keep a laserlike focus on the economy and Republicans? determined effort to hammer away at what they view as Obama?s inability to fix the country?s economic ills. Headlines about the investigations could remind some voters of the 1990s, when a flurry of probes the Republicans launched of the Clinton administration boomeranged on congressional inquisitors.”

    Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77722.html#ixzz1yXNdYuwl

    My question…what about doing the next right thing. If you break the law…you pay. Now if you are the Chief Law Enforcement Officer and you break the law…YOU PAY BIG TIME.

    I am not trying to say the economy is not important…although apparently the Congress has not caught on to that unique concept by not holding down the rate of spending…but this episode shows that this President and his cabinet have engaged in activity (unlike the Bush Administration) that caused the DEATH of people.

    I don’t want the Republicans to “wimp” out on this because some polls or some MSM push makes them back down.

    TN friend…do you know what that says to America? Break the law…no consequences…if the Prez and AG can do it…so can I. We are a nation of laws…and unfortunately most of them are being broken.

    If anyone deserves an award here…it is Issa who had the patience and composure to let Holder hang himself. Holder was not even smart enough to have someone in his department testify on his behalf…leaving himself to hold the bag. Further…when Obama put forth his Executive Privilege…he linked himself to Holder at the hip.

    See…we have a section of our population that does not understand the economy and it falls on deaf ears…but…gives them some big juicy gun running story…and oh, baby…they understand Obama now…they understand Holder and they will follow this one.

    Wall Street and those interested in their financial well being “KNOW” Obama is not their answer. How do you think the Mexican feel about Obama allowing guns to come into their native country to kill their relatives? Just a thought. And..I don’t think you will see the Mexican President applauding Obama at the Congress anytime soon.

  • rightlane1111

    n/t

  • rightlane1111

    http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/activists-take-out-frustration-ronald-reagan_647733.html

    I’m not homophobic…but can we stop with the parties in the midst of our recession? Oh…and what they did to Reagan..well…it seems that everything that Obama attaches himself show he has no integrity.

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    Boehner comes off like an adult here. He didn’t want a floor fight where Obama and Holder would have a legitimate claim to victimhood or open himself up to the “they are only in it for political reasons” argument. He simply asked the administration to produce the documents the committee needed when they so obviously tried to suppress everything to the point that everyone but Big Eddie had to admit it was strange, he allowed a floor vote. What he didn’t come off as is a partisan walking around with his hair on fire.

    How do you know he won the politics? The best that Obama’s hit squad over at Politico could come up with is “Boehner didn’t want this vote to distract from the economy”.

    Not Boehner is playing political games with this vote and has unjustly accused poor Eric Holder, a public servant honorably doing his duty to get at the President. Oh and Boehner is a closet racist to boot.

    Remembering that Politico has been called by Eric Erickson a rag for the Obama administration and MSNBC’s internet partner in crime. Boehner played this correctly even the members of the committee say as much.

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    That is not what Politico said as an example of what you normally get out of Politico….I certainly do not believe Boehner is playing political games and that Fast and Furious is anything but a really slimy desire of the Obama administration to assault 2nd Amendment rights.

  • barleycorn

    Well he is the guy who threatened the Republicans by saying “Don’t call my bluff”!

    So yes I think he is that bad and that he’s a donkey in more ways than one.

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    If Boehner cancels the contempt vote without getting the documents – those are the home run.

  • marks190

    Anyone who believes that Fast and Furious was anything more than a tragically botched ATF operation conducted by a regional office is a partisan hack. Issa is only requesting documents from after the death of the border patrol agent. In fact, he told DOJ that if they fired certain people, they would not have to turn over the documents. This as stupid as as the spooky New Black Panther Party crap. Trust me, old white people will vote in November regardless of the pretend scandals the GOP cooks up.

  • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

    Trust me, we’re aware of that strange delusion running through your side. Not to mention, repulsed by it.

    Blam.

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    but may I retort. First, have you no common decency. Brian Terry died enforcing the laws of this country. His family is owed an investigation by this government as to why and how he died and more importantly why guns provided by the US government showed up at the scene of his death. I believe if this was your son or brother – you’d expect that Issa would do the same with the same amount of vigor. Second, 50,000 Mexican have died in the Drug Cartel wars. Our government provided guns to aid in the atrocity. Would you expect an investigation if Alberto Gonzalez had provided guns to the Sudanese government in Darfur. I suspect you would. Here is the kicker, I’d agree with you. The fact that you wish to make a victim out of Barack Obama and Eric Holder and not out of Brian Terry and the 50,000 Mexican dead says more of your character than Congressman Issa’s.

    The only person playing politics here is King Obama because the King is afraid of how this little ditty would play in the Latino community…

    Barack Obama’s solution to securing the borders: “Provide guns to Mexican Drug Cartels so they can kill off the potential illegal immigrant pool”

    oh and a pleasant side affect is we can blame the easy access of guns in the US for the Mexican Drug Cartel atrocities.

    You really should get out a little more, watch something other than Big Eddie and read something other than Markos’ lie of the day. You might grow up to be something other than a despicable human being.

  • earlgrey

    Given that, Obama and Holder should be releasing the documents in question any time now, don’t you think? Why wouldn’t they release it and make issa look like the partisan hack you accuse him of being?

  • acat

    It works better like this:

    “Juan, you know your family back home? The ones you send money to every time you get paid? The ones you call at night when rates are lower? Yeah. Barak Obama’s F&F program made them less safe. Think about that.”

    Mew

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    “Alberto, your kids you want to bring to America because it’s safer are being shot at with Barack Obama’s guns”….

    The Obama administration is blocking and obfuscating because they don’t want the Latino community to have to face that Holder knew and approved of running guns for Mexican Drug Cartels (and I bet there is evidence floating around that certain people (i.e. Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton) saw this as an excellent opportunity to push their anti-2nd amendment agenda if not at the beginning somewhere along the way.

  • snappy101

    Not a fan of Team Obama nor do I drink but if I had the White House Press Secretary job I’d be an alcoholic. I think it’s the hardest job in the executive branch and whatever they are paid, it’s not enough. Every single day you have to make excuses for your boss’ speech and actions and every single day you never know what people are going to ask you. Everybody is prepared except you for exactly what will go down that day and you’re supposed to be The Answer Man.

  • funwithknives

    want to leave or sumthin’. Well stick around for 5 or 10,
    marky-me-lad..

    Do you actually read what you write? Even if what you scribble is anywhere-near correct, where are the friggen’ documents Issa wants for even ‘that’ infraction? Where’s the internal prosecutions*?
    Why do we see none of those*?

    Holder sent a pack of lies, in letter form, to Congress in 2/11, and spent ten months doing {what ?} before fessing up. That is most definitely above and way beyond what you so erroneously {Stupidly? Moronically?} claim.
    He then had the temerity to send a ‘Never-Mind’ letter {A-la ‘Emily Littela’/SNL} and actually expected no blowback.

    As The CLEO of America he knows better. …and now he’s gonna learn a whole lot more…… Call it On-The-Job -Training.

    Ya’ll come back now,Ya’hear? We’ll keep a light on fer ‘ya.

  • https://twitter.com/#!/BillWilliams84 billwilliams

    Don’t underestimate the enemy, being perceived as dumb only helps them sneak around.

  • acat

    country the individual considers “home”, eh?

    The ideal argument should work equally well for someone here to build a new life as for someone here temporarily, just to pay for his family back home….

    (yes, the latter group shouldn’t vote, but they are opinion-movers, eh?)

    Mew

  • aesthete
  • funwithknives

    it would be Tony Snow.

    One of his first media jobs was as political writer for the Detroit News. Always admirable, rarely disdainful and never forgotten by me.

    They say if you can think of the deceased and can smile, they’re not really gone. That you have their essence, inside you.

    Thinking of Tony, it’s easy to do………..

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    You’re right…how about “Jose, the bullet your wife dodges every day on the way to the grocery store was fired from Barack Obama’s guns.”

  • gekster

    One of the greats, if not the greatest presser ever.

    His greatest gift, common sense, as displayed here.

    I truely miss him.

  • Jack_Savage

    Hopefully.

  • Common_Cents

    I can’t believe he hasn’t quit already to spend “quality” time with his xbox or something.

  • Common_Cents

    I cannot believe why Bush ever kept McClellan around longer than a week. Snow knew how to man handle the press with skill.

    Scotty could make Bush look bad if Bush had single handedly cured cancer.

  • oldpete

    Back in the early golden days of the big O’s administration, the new Sec of State, Speaker Pelosi, Senator Boxer and some others were making new and louder noises about US gun dealers being suppliers to the Mexaco drug gangs. Now I don’t think Ms’s Clinton, Pelosi or Boxer were stupid enough to hatch this gun running plan but it’s potential as gun control support was just too big for the staff of these gun control advocates not to know about. Clinton learned under White Water to stay isolated so I don’t think she was involved. Pleased I’m sure if it would help in her quest for the gun control she has never stopped working on. If not for the death of US border agents this could have made the passage of her UN small arms treaty a slam dunk in the Senate. Boxer stays out of the mix so she also has no direct involvment.
    As house Speaker Pelosi was in a position to help this thing progress along. It’s clear from how Obamacare got passed that she is hell on wheels as back room deal maker. I just can’t see her not jumpiing into this as soon as she knew about it. It’s her kind of a brawl. If one of her people will crack, that will open this thing up.

  • mike2013

    Why does Obama not put a cat trying to cough up a hairball up there? Both Carney and the cat would sound the same.

    Carney is the true face of the Obama Administration and Barack Obama himself.

  • mike2013

    It is obvious this Administration does not take the media serious. That is why they trot out this loser every time. Obama has the Washington Press corp in their back pockets. This is all just a show that the Washington Press Corp and Jay Carney are putting on. I am waiting for Jay Carney to throw out snacks to the press corp and see if they roll over and want their bellies scratched or better yet play a game of fetch.

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    I am jealous; I didn’t put this way….

    “I don’t think that Presidents four months before election day assert executive privilege to preserve their Constitutional prerogative, they do it to preserve their skin”

  • 6eorge Jetson

  • benson1

    Flubs you say. Pleeeeease.

    When you know the real answer but need to have a second to tell a lie instead it is not a bungle or flub. Spin, misdirection, selective memory, yes, but Flubs, I don’t think so. Serial lying can cause confusion on the part of the liar, there’s all this stuff flying around in your mind, what to pick. It’s a hard job but someone needs to do it besides Obama.

  • benson1

    as usual. I’m not saying it was wrong to say this. If it’s a bunch of phony baloney to try to keep Obama, Democrats and the media off the GOP’s back until they vote on contempt against Holder fine. If he’s throwing in the towel I want to see him thrown out of the leadership role. I’m sick of Republicans running around afraid of their shadow and jumping every time someone threatens to say boo. Holder is in contempt of Congress and we want him and Obama held accountable if not for this…than what?

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