Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is opening an inquiry into Operation Fast and Furious through the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, which he chairs. The Senate Judiciary Committee already has its own investigation going. Lieberman’s probe will apparently be a much less formal follow-up with “the relevant federal agencies.”
The Daily Caller spoke with a Lieberman spokesperson, who said the new probe would focus on “the lack of interagency coordination along the border.” Personally, I’ve always felt the level of inter-agency co-ordination was one of the more disturbing aspects of Fast and Furious, as everyone from the ATF, FBI, and DEA to the IRS got involved. Maybe Senate Judiciary could investigate co-ordination, while Senate Homeland Security investigates the lack of co-ordination. That should keep everyone from stepping on each other’s toes.
On the one hand, Lieberman could end up producing some results that embarrass Attorney General Eric Holder… but that might actually work to Holder’s advantage, since his defense of possibly perjured testimony about when he learned of Operation Fast and Furious rests on the assertion that he doesn’t really know what’s going on at the Justice Department, and does not read his emails.
Also, Holder claimed during his most recent round of testimony that he has not discussed the international catastrophe of Fast and Furious with either the State Department or the Mexican government, which has occasionally (and reasonably) portrayed the ATF gun-walking operation as an act of war against it. A report confirming sub-par communications at Justice would shore up Holder’s testimony, and give him something he could promise to work on during his remaining months in office.
