Video: Big Sis On The Hot Seat For Fast and Furious

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was on Capitol Hill Wednesday to discuss her department’s border security and immigration enforcement records at the House Judiciary Committee. Chairman of the Committee on House Oversight and Reform,  Darrell Issa, stopped in to ask some questions:

Issa: “You have two dead agents that worked for you, one North of the border – one South of the border – particularly in the case of Brian Terry – he was gunned down with two weapons from Fast and Furious… it has been months and you tell me that you weren’t doing it (her own investigation) because of an IG investigation. Let’s go through a few questions….”

Napolitano: (raising her voice) “Wait just a minute, wait a minute…..That insinuation is not accurate.”

Issa offered to have the transcript read back to her.

Napolitano: “No, it’s the insinuation, I’m objecting to…

Issa: For three months, you had a dead Border Patrol agent and there was no IG investigation. What did you do between December and February to find out about Fast and Furious? … People on the ground knew those were Fast and Furious weapons found at the scene within hours. It wasn’t something that wasn’t known. It was known at the time.”

Napolitano:”I think your insinuation. …”

Issa: “Ma’am please answer the question. Please don’t talk in terms of insinuation.”

His main questions were, “what did you do in between December and February of 2011,  to discover further the conditions around his death? And aren’t you here today, furious that the Justice Dept not ATF – the Justice Dept – kept from you the knowledge of  Fast and Furious for this entire period of time, when you had an agent –  dead?”

She answered that her number one concern was making sure that those responsible for Agent Terry’s death were brought to justice.

Oversight Watchdog Trey Gowdy (R-SC) also pressed  Napolitano on her agency’s involvement – and her role in – Operation Fast and Furious.

Oversight Watchdog Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) blasted Napolitano for her agency’s lack of interest in Operation Fast and Furious, even after two border agents were slain.

Shockingly enough, she still maintains that the border is more secure now than it’s ever been.

RELATED:

Tina Korbe at Hot Air: Rep. Joe Walsh to Eric Holder: You better resign immediately, buddy

… the most memorable portion of the letter came, not at the beginning, when Walsh lambasted Holder’s understanding of his job, nor at the end, when he called for Holder’s resignation. It came in the middle, when Walsh delved into the seemingly-obvious-but-not-yet-confirmed motivation for the program.

I can still remember the howls of outrage when Bush’s Atty General Alberto Gonzales fired a few attorneys. If I remember right, there was no body count associated with that “scandal”.

Hat tip: Sipsey Street Irregulars

Linked by Michelle Malkin and Doug Ross, and Noisy Room, thanks!