Okay, it was a long painful session to watch the House Judicial Committee get testimony on various questions and topics today from Eric Holder, the top lawyer in the land at the Department of Justice.
A couple of things were quite striking with regard to Holder’s responses. If you are so inclined to put yourself through such torture, then you can watch it here as long as C-Span keeps the video posted. However, if you choose not to watch, then I will provide some highlights for you most of which in Holder’s opening statement he said all cases that come through the DoJ are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Heh, well my first thought on that was how come more people are not in prison then, like Jon Corzine, Jamie Dimon or any of those found guilty of being co-conspirators of the Holyland Foundation Trial?
Here are some key items of which I took note.
1. Holder said that defending all statues are the job of his agency and the White House unless the DoJ determines there is no Constitutional basis for the law. (Oh, so HE decides first eh?)
2. The Attorney General and the White House has discretion on law enforcement as they are measured against values. (Remember that item in his opening statement and just exactly whose values?)
3. When it comes to the Foreign Intelligence Services Act/NSA or the FISC, all rulings and cases are based on ‘reasonable’ suspicion requests. (Who determines reasonable with this DoJ?)
4. When asked the question on whether James Clapper lied in testimony on whether the ODNI/NSA spies on common American citizens, and he replied ‘not wittingly’ then later said it is the least wrong answer he could give, admitting his testimony was false, Holder was asked if he would prosecute anyone if they lied before Congress, his reply was yes but an investigation is required and he would have to look at the materials and take appropriate action. Well, Clapper admitted the lie on so now what Holder?
5. Now, how about those banks that Holder is giving a pass to for money laundering when it comes to pot sales in Colorado and Washington State? Well, Holder replied that due to the large amounts of money in jeopardy, the rules were changed by Holder my a signed memo.
6. The NSA spying is compliant with the Fourth Amendment but does need modifications.
7. Ah, when it comes to the White House delaying the employer mandate or any other changes to obamacare, Holder was in receipt of a letter dated last year as the legal basis for this and he has yet to respond. He added that the DoJ does not disclosure legal advise to the White House, (yeah sure dude) and it was the legal team at the Treasury Department that approved the White House on the delays and alterations of obamacare. Holder did also say again that the White House has a duty to follow the law depending on the law/statute so Treasury looked at it and approved the delay and dynamic decisions.
8. Holder was asked about who trumps who, Federal law versus State law. He responded with when he is suspicious of State law he will challenge the State law. Remember there is a law from 1953, separate but equal, and he will find a Constitutional basis to challenge State law. (That is right, he has done that so the Tenth Amendment be damned.)
9. Now to the IRS, he refused to comment on any question regarding the IRS. He was asked by Congressman Issa, what departments within the DoJ are investigating the IRS, he said ‘criminal, Treasury and Civil Rights’. Well how come not Public Integrity which would be the primary department to investigate the IRS, he refused to answer.
10. There were two other interesting exchanges and they included Congressman Louis Gohmert with regard to the Holyland Foundation Trial documents which Congress has issued a subpoena in 2010 and has yet to receive, but the document were in fact provided to the lawyers of the terrorists. (wow, just wow), the exchange went further when Gohmert also made reference to Fast and Furious and that being in contempt did not matter to Holder. Well, see that part here for yourself. (Don’t miss it). The other interesting exchange included Trey Gowdy. This one rocked because Gowdy once again challenged Holder on what laws are to be followed and enforced. Here it is that you again need to see for yourself. Gowdy said that Holder did not have discretion and Holder clearly thinks otherwise.
The best moment in my opinion was Congressman Blake Farenthold was to question Holder, he refused to do it and merely said that Holder does not belong in this hearing as he is in contempt of Congress…. gotta agree with that for sure.
In the end, Holder continued with his bravado, refused to answer questions and cited lack of resources to respond and perform in a timely fashion when his agency has 120,000 plus employees. His memos trump law….and yes it seems so, as that is the very way his agency and the rest have been operating….and so it goes.
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