F & F and Executive Privilege

I'm sure the majority of people aren't aware of what "Operation Fast and Furious" is all about, so I'll just give a little background I've learned about it. Apparently the first operation was "Wide Receiver", a smaller scale one by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) which happened under the Bush Administration in 2006-2007. It was a plan to intentionally sell ~500 guns to people who they knew to be connected to Mexican drug cartels. The guns were set up with radio-tracking devices to be able to follow where they go. The weapons were supposed to be confiscated once they crossed the border, by Mexican law enforcement. Evidently some of the tracking devices failed, and the Mexican law enforcement was also unable to locate or track down all the weapons. The operation was shutdown at that point. No one was knowingly killed, and there were several arrests made, and everything was disclosed--not hidden.
   I don't think it sounds like a good idea to begin with, and I wish the Mexican government/military would figure out how to stop the horrific crime perpetrated by their drug gangs. So I think it was a failure from the start.
     For some reason, even after "Wide Receiver's" failure, when Obama took office, the ATF began the Fast & Furious operation, on a much larger scale, with the intention of locating the higher-ups in the mexican drug war. The main differences between the operations were obviously the size (~2000 weapons), the fact that F & F was a covert mission---meaning Mexico didn't even know (while with WR they worked together with Mexican law), and the fact that F & F operation made even less sense, as the ATF were not permitted to interrupt the smuggling after the initial purchases. Many of the ATF officers complained about the clear and present danger in allowing thousands of guns to cross the border, WITHOUT any tracking devices whatsoever, WITHOUT notifying Mexican officials, and WITHOUT stepping in once they weapons crossed the border. Sounds pretty idiotic.

    Unfortunately, it has led to horrific murders of innocent Mexican citizens, and at least one border patrol officer. It has also emboldened and empowered the Mexican drug cartels as we see with the beheaded, bullet-ridden bodies found weekly in Mexico.

    While I am willing to believe that both President's were never informed of the details on these ridiculous failed operations, the problem we have now, is that with so many murders, someone has to be held accountable. An investigation is underway, but Attorney General Eric Holder is doing all he can to undermine it by evading questions and even lying about his being aware for years (according to archived emails) about the operation. It certainly seems suspicious. When he was subpoenaed for 80,000 pages involving the operation, and only hands over 7,000, it's suspicious. When he says he and President Obama were not involved in F & F, and yet, Obama now illegitimately tries to exert his "executive privilege" to keep everything concealed from the House Oversight Committee who is investigating this mess, thou doth protest too much. Why would he want to hide it? And more importantly, if the White House was not involved at all in the operation, by law, Obama isn't allowed to invoke his "executive privilege" powers. So is he or is he not?!

   In this clip-congressman Gowdy responds to Holder complaining essentially that "Bush did it first!"

I think they were both wrong, but obviously the points I outlined 3 paragraphs ago show a stark difference in  how wrong and lethal F & F was...why can't they all just be open and honest and let the investigation find the truth? He says, "bring them all! republican and democrat! It still doesn't mitigate this case!"

In reference to the ~4:46 part of the clip, he is talking about this 2007 clip, when then Senator Obama chided the Bush administration for invoking executive privilege....check it out:

what a disaster! 

the truth shall set you free man!

Interesting site explaining the differences between the 2 operations, and the suspected reason for the F & F's reckless choices (as initially suspected by the ATF whistle-blowers): the passing of more gun control laws.