Federal official in Arizona to plead fifth and not answer questions on Furious

Pleading the Fifth is the answer for Arizona's second highest ranking US Attorney, Patrick J. Cunningham.

After agreeing to Issa's request to appear he then refused, forcing Issa to subpoena him.

Cunningham is represented by Tobin Romero of Williams and Connolly who is a specialist in white collar crime. In the letter, he suggests witnesses from the Department of Justice in Washington, who have spoken in support of Attorney General Eric Holder, are wrong or lying.

“Department of Justice officials have reported to the Committee that my client relayed inaccurate information to the Department upon which it relied in preparing its initial response to Congress. If, as you claim, Department officials have blamed my client, they have blamed him unfairly,” the letter to Issa says.

Romero claims Cunningham did nothing wrong and acted in good faith, but the Department of Justice in Washington is making him the fall guy, claiming he failed to accurately provide the Oversight Committee with information on the execution of Fast and Furious. Read more: www.foxnews.com...

Cunningham is afraid he's being set up as the fall guy between two government agencies.

But let's continue to talk about Newt's longtime ex-wife and Mitt's time at Bain Capital. The media refuses to glance in the general direction of their guys in the whitehouse at the same time they till the soil of the oppositions past and point at every single worm...

As a supporter of the Constitution, I support his right to invoke the 5th, a right of every citizen.

The evidence of a crime is blatantly obvious, and the Prosecutor already has enough testimony to levy Criminal Charges.

The problem is the lack of moral fortitude to charge the guilty, Eric Holder, the boss.

Fall guy ? Absolutely !

This is getting aqll too transparent in my opine.
The citizens must see through the facade of legality which the guys in power use to rule the country like their private fiefdom!
Theres always a Fall Guy, always a patsy....the real guilty party only has to suffer if they are below a certain social level......
No ruling elite get serious punishment for the crimes they have committed....

Originally posted by brokedown
As a supporter of the Constitution, I support his right to invoke the 5th, a right of every citizen.

The evidence of a crime is blatantly obvious, and the Prosecutor already has enough testimony to levy Criminal Charges.

The problem is the lack of moral fortitude to charge the guilty, Eric Holder, the boss.

Fall guy ? Absolutely !

So jumping ahead, who would file charges against the Attorney General?

A special prosecutor? Does the congress need to demand a special prosecutor today?!

Arrest him under NDAA

HERE is a link to excerpts of the subpoena...

This is from Issa to Cunningham:

During the course of our investigation, the Committee has learned of the outsized role played by the Arizona U.S. Attorney’s Office – and you specifically – in approving the unacceptable tactics used in Fast and Furious. Senior Justice Department officials have recently told the Committee that you relayed inaccurate and misleading information to the Department in preparation for its initial response to Congress.

and...

These officials told us that even after Congress began investigating Fast and Furious, you continued to insist that no unacceptable tactics were used. In fact, documents obtained confidentially just last week appear to confirm that you remained steadfast in your belief that no unacceptable tactics were used, even after the Department’s initial response to the congressional inquiry. Given that the Attorney General has labeled these tactics as unacceptable and Fast and Furious as “fundamentally flawed,” this position is startling.

To me there should be no "passing the buck" here. No patsy, no fall-guy. Look at the buck and hang everybody that's been anywhere near it. Disband the letter agencies in charge of protecting the constitution that instead protect their own destruction of it. Bury all the people from on high to the street level that had sniffed this rank deal and did nothing.

reply to post by TreadUpon


The sad part of this is that we already know what happened. We just need to prove it
in a court of law.

The strategy was to smear the gun dealers and attack the 2nd amendment.

It all went wrong. Now Holder and Obama have blood on their hands and they are
running away from Fast & Furious as fast as they can.

reply to post by Eurisko2012


Special prosecutor through the US Congress is one method, but usually the Special Prosecutor is just distraction and theater. “Smoke & Mirrors”, just a way for the “cover-up” to be controlled.

What has occurred is a Murder in the State of Arizona.

The Arizona Justice System is the responsible agency, it should be handled just like any other Murder investigation.

Anyone who was / is / has any involvement what-so-ever has committed a felony under State law.

It does not matter if you were an accessory before or after the fact (of Murder), it does not matter if it was your intention that this Agent was murdered, just being involved makes one guilty of involuntary manslaughter, it does not matter if the person who actually pulled the trigger is apprehended or not, the State has the duty to prosecute any and all persons that had any involvement.

So, armed with law and duty the State of Arizona starts prosecuting everyone that had the slightest involvement, and through “Plea bargains” for testimony, you work your way from bottom to top and once you state arresting the Chief of the ATF, a deputy Director of FBI, they will certainly “sing” to save their own hide.

This is how any investigation goes, why should “Fast & Furious” be handled any differently… It shouldn’t.

BUT, it is being handled differently….. Why?

Because everyone knows how high it does go, and in the US the people above a certain pay grade are NEVER brought to justice.

The US has the best Judicial System that money can buy…on the Planet.

From Sipsey Street Irregulars, Sarcastic Comdey ...

There is also a picture of Mr Cunningham in case you recognize him and have the opportunity to glower at him really hard...

reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL


I agree they were so happy to pass this law. Now use it on those who deserve it. When they cry for a lawyer tell them to shut up. Isn't that what they said. They are right. All you criminal pseudo government officials. When you get sent to Gitmo. SHUT UP!

Here is an update. Now the state of Arizona has begun investigating whether federal officials have broken any state laws.

Meanwhile, back in Arizona, lawmakers are beginning their own probe into Operation Fast and Furious. A special committee was formed to find out if state gun dealers were coerced by federal officials into selling guns to buyers they knew were criminals.

"I know one thing, some of them will testify they were forced to do it under the threat of losing their license to sell firearms in this state. That's wrong and we're gonna investigate it," said Republic state Rep. David Burnell Smith. Read more: www.foxnews.com...

State laws broken by federal officials could include misconduct involving weapons, conspiracy or aiding and abetting those involved in a crime. "We have waited long enough," said Arizona House Speaker Andy Tobin. " This thing is over a year old. It is time to move forward and see where we are going to be, to see what really happened." Read more: www.foxnews.com...

Issa told Holder that the US Attorney pleading the 5th add to the culpability of the feds...and Holder will be grilled again on Thursday.

Committee Chairman Darrell Issa called the decision a "startling development" and in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder wrote that the refusal to testify implies that "Mr. Cunningham may have engaged in criminal conduct with respect to Fast and Furious is a major escalation of the department's culpability." Read more: www.foxnews.com...