Issa Will Call For Special Prosecutor.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa will call for a special prosecutor when his committee's ends its investigation. Issa hopes to have it concluded by year's end but that ambition is dependant upon the cooperation of the various governmental agencies endemic to the investigation and as yet that cooperation has not been forthcoming. The committee must complete its investigation before a special prosecutor is appointed because it must then cease its own investigation. Brit Hume of FoxNews once remarked that Fast and Furious "had the smell of Watergate all over it." As the secret audio tapes began appearing this week it did bring to mind the drip, drip, of damaging information that eventually sealed Nixon's doom.

The release of the tapes have upset Issa. In a letter released on Wednesday to Acting Justice Department Inspector General Cynthia Schnedar, he expressed deep concern over her decision to turn over to U.S. prosecutors in Arizona audio recordings obtained during her investigation. He criticized the move as potentially obstructing the congressional probe into the operation because potential witnesses may have colluded about what to tell investigators. Schneider then released the tapes to CBS and they have been posted on this blog. The recordings were made by Arizona gun dealer Andre Howard who ran the Lone Wolf Trading Company and he was speaking with Hope MacAllister, the ATF operation's case agent. The ATF had recruited Howard to aid in the cover up and one must assume he was trying to insure himself against a double cross.

The LA Times is reporting that the Attorney General of Mexico Marisela Morales first learned of operation Fast and Furious when she read it in the newspaper. With some putting the death toll as high as 200 the Mexican government is understandably outraged with the Obama administration. The ATF defends not telling Mexican officials about Fast and Furious as necessary because the Mexican government is so corrupt the cartels might learn of the operation. Below is the latest audio from CBS News.



Earlier audio's are available.

ATF whistle-blower called 'toxic' on secret tapes

ATF Fast and Furious secret audio recordings

Secret recordings raise new questions in ATF 'Gunwalker' operation