What Did The White House Know?

…and when did it know it?

It’s the first time anyone has publicly stated that a White House official had any familiarity with ATF’s operation Fast and Furious, which allowed thousands of weapons to fall into the hands of suspected traffickers for Mexican drug cartels in an attempt to gain intelligence. It’s unknown as to whether O’Reilly shared information with anybody else at the White House.

As I’ve said before, if it were a Republican White House, there would have already been calls in the press for impeachment. At least they’re starting to cover it.

[Update early evening]

William Newell circles the wagons for the administration. Expect much of the media to hitch their wagons as well.

15 thoughts on “What Did The White House Know?”

  1. Ya know, Sarbox holds CEOs to the standard of “anything bad that happens is your fault – if you didn’t know then you should have.”

    Why is the president of the United States held to a lesser standard?

  2. Hold government officials to the same standards as everyone else? Why, that’s just crazy talk! Next, you’ll be expecting the government to comply with the same accounting standards they make corporations use or demand that Social Security be held to the same laws that apply to life insurance companies and investment firms. How silly is that?

  3. So what’s not to talk about, Joe, other than a transparent effort on your part to hijack the thread? In this case, the White house has very little to to with matters since the decision to kill Constellation; the idiocy has all been coming from the Senate. The NASA PAO statement is, for once, fairly honest and true:

    “The Space Launch System is the most important — and expensive — decision NASA will make for the next decade, and we want to get it right so we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past or get pushed into making a premature decision about our nation’s deep space exploration plans.”

    Of course, in my humble opinion, the correct decision on SLS is to bury it at the crossroads with a stake through its heart. Just sayin’

  4. Doug Jones Says: July 28th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
    “So what’s not to talk about, Joe”

    Like I said a subject “I am sure you would rather not talk about”.

  5. Joe, if NASA would keep their administrator in orbit on the ISS, it would force the Senate to build a new and seperate launch system so they could send a process server up there to slap the NASA director with the subpoena. That would also allow the Senate to sidestep NASA’s monopoly on orbital travel and establish a seperate political space program, one serving the needs of the judicial and legislative branches. That would help restore the seperation of powers, sadly neglected since our rush to the moon, and give America a space program that’s a better reflection of Washington DC.

  6. George Turner Says: July 28th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
    “Joe, if NASA would keep their administrator in orbit on the ISS, it would force the Senate to build a new and seperate launch system so they could send a process server up there to slap the NASA director with the subpoena. That would also allow the Senate to sidestep NASA’s monopoly on orbital travel and establish a seperate political space program, one serving the needs of the judicial and legislative branches. That would help restore the seperation of powers, sadly neglected since our rush to the moon, and give America a space program that’s a better reflection of Washington DC.”

    Sorry George, but since that entire post makes no sense to me at all; I have no idea how to respond to it.

  7. That’s okay Joe. Little that results from inter-government battles makes any sense.

    At one time the Army, Navy, and Air Force each had their own space programs. The Army could have moon rockets and helicopters, but no airplanes. The Air Force could have a space station, but no boats to fish its capsule out of the ocean. The Navy got locked out of space, but was tasked to use aircraft carriers loaded with fighter planes to fish space capsules the size of a VW out of the water.

    Now the legislature wants to get in the rocket design business, too, so we’ll probably have some bizarre turf war where guidance and navigation software has to be written by a legislative branch (because they write things), but the code has to be executed by the executive branch (because they execute things). All that’s left is for the courts to step in and require flight readouts in braille and wheel-chair accessible space capsule hatches.

  8. George Turner Says: July 28th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
    “That’s okay Joe. Little that results from inter-government battles makes any sense.

    At one time the Army, Navy, and Air Force each had their own space programs. The Army could have moon rockets and helicopters, but no airplanes. The Air Force could have a space station, but no boats to fish its capsule out of the ocean. The Navy got locked out of space, but was tasked to use aircraft carriers loaded with fighter planes to fish space capsules the size of a VW out of the water.

    Now the legislature wants to get in the rocket design business, too, so we’ll probably have some bizarre turf war where guidance and navigation software has to be written by a legislative branch (because they write things), but the code has to be executed by the executive branch (because they execute things). All that’s left is for the courts to step in and require flight readouts in braille and wheel-chair accessible space capsule hatches.”

    Ok George, I am sure all that makes sense to you in the current context.

    Have a nice day.

  9. And the thread is saved! ^_^

    If someone in the White House knew about the program to walk guns to narco-terrorists, then it’s a pretty safe bet (considering the massive political ramifications) that the knowledge went all the way to the top.

  10. Very smooth, G. I am impressed.

    I think the press is covering it because it can go beneath the fold, while the space above the fold is occupied with Those Damn Intransigent Tea Party Republicans in the House Who Somehow Got Elected But Don’t Represent Anyone Important.

    It’s an old media/Democratic machine tactic. Whenever Page 1 is occupied by some big dramatic story, they slip out anything embarassing on Page 2. It’s unlikely to get the attention it might in a quiet period and immunizes them to the charge of blatant bias. See? We covered this! I mean, sure, no one remembers it because we covered during the middle of the alien invasion and zombie attack….terrible bad luck, that timing, I guess….

  11. Joe, George’s second reply made complete sense in the context of YOUR effort to hijack the thread. However, your sneakers didn’t blow up.

    Fast and Furious is increasingly appearing to have been conceived, created, and controlled from the White House. Just as the Watergate break-in ultimately was laid at the feet of the President, so too should this crime (which actually killed people) should be laid at the feet of the Present, er, President.

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