A History of Scandals in The Obama Administration

[TemplarKormac]

This is an attempt to educate the members of this board as to the absolute corruption taking place in the Obama Administration. It is very long and in depth, and those lacking in patience with the... extensiveness of this thread need not proceed further. For the rest of you, see for yourself the scandals surrounding the Obama Administration as we speak:

Part 1: The IRS

March 1, 2010:

The IRS begins targeting conservative groups for extra scrutiny during the general election that year.

"The targeting of conservatives by the IRS started earlier and was more extensive than the IRS acknowledged last week, according to a draft IRS inspector general report obtained by ABC News. As we reported on 'Good Morning America' this morning, the IRS began targeting 'Tea Party or similar organizations' in March 2010. That was when the Cincinnati-based IRS unit responsible for overseeing the applications for tax exempt status starting using the phrases 'Tea Party,' 'patriots and '9/12' to search for applications warranting greater scrutiny."

IRS IG Report: Targeting Conservatives Began In 2010 - ABC News

March 15, 2010:

Officials from the IRS begin coordinating with others in Cincinnati to target conservative groups in the election that year.

"Around The Same Time, The Local Manager 'Said Washington, D.C., Wanted Seven' Cases, Mr. Muthert Said In The Transcript. That Month, He Said, He 'Batched Up' Seven Of The Cases For 'EO Technical,' A Unit Of The Exempt Organizations Division In Washington, Then Headed By Ms. Lerner, According To His Interview."

IRS Staff Cite Washington Link - WSJ.com

April 2010:

Revelations come to light that according to at least one employee, IRS lawyers such as Carter Hull 'Closely Oversaw Her Work And Some Of The Questions Asked Applicants'.

"Elizabeth Hofacre said her office in Cincinnati sought help from IRS officials in the Washington unit that oversees tax-exempt organizations after she started getting the tea-party cases in April 2010. Ms. Hofacre said Carter Hull, an IRS lawyer in Washington, closely oversaw her work and suggested some of the questions asked applicants."

IRS Staff Cite Washington Link - WSJ.com

June 2011:

At this point in time, the number of groups being scrutinized by the IRS has exceeded 100.

"The number of tea party groups under examination had grown to more than 100 by June 2011, when Lerner is listed in the inspector general's report as getting her official briefing."

IRS Abandoned Tea Party Probes Due To 'Concerns' Over Media Attention

March 7, 2012:

The New York Times noted how the IRS specifically went after Tea Party groups for extra scrutiny.

March 22, 2012:

The Then-Commissioner of the IRS, Douglas Shulman, denies any targeting of Tea Party groups via the IRS



June 2012:

IRS Inspector General informs Obama's Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin about the investigation of the IRS's targeting of Conservative groups.

"The Treasury Department's inspector general told senior Treasury officials in June 2012 he was investigating allegations that the Internal Revenue Service had targeted conservative groups, disclosing for the first time on Friday that Obama administration officials were aware of the matter during the presidential campaign year. At the first Congressional hearing into the I.R.S. scandal, J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, told members of the House Ways and Means Committee that he informed the Treasury's general counsel of his investigation on June 4, and Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin 'shortly thereafter.' The new information came as part of a routine briefing of the investigations that the inspector general would be conducting in the coming year, and he did not tell the officials of his conclusions that the targeting had been improper, he said."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/18/us/politics/irs-scandal-congressional-hearings.html

March 2013:

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew learns of the brewing scandal.



May 13, 2013:

President Obama first learns about the IRS targeting scandal 'from the news.'



That same day, NBC's Chuck Todd expresses outrage at the new revelations, quoted as saying "Why aren't there more Democrats jumping on this? This is outrageous no matter what political party you are.'



May 15, 2013:

Mike Allen from Politico describes the scandal as something that 'was like a bad fantasy of big government gone wild.'



May 17, 2013:

When questioned before congress, former IRS Commissioner Steven Miller says 'I don't remember' who he was told was responsible for the IRS scandal



In the same interview, he says he had notes, but couldn't find them. The notes supposedly involved the scheme to reveal the IRS scandal.



May 19, 2013:

Obama's Senior Adviser Dan Pfeiffer is quoted as saying the 'law is irrelevant' regarding the IRS scandal.



May 20, 2013:

During a White House Press Briefing, ABC's Jon Karl asks 'How is it that nobody in the Administration has some responsibility?' for the IRS targeting of conservative groups.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vdMgWECoeMQ#t=0[/ame]

May 22, 2013:

As the role of Lois Lerner becomes more clear in the scandal, the Former IRS Commissioner refuses to accept responsibility for her failings as an IRS employee.



May 22, 2013:

Having been subpoenaed by Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Darrell Issa, to testify before Congress, Lois Lerner pleads the 5th.



Later in the same hearing, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew testifies the he 'did not know' of any details regarding the IRS scandal until the IG report was released.



June 3, 2013:

Treasury Inspector General J. Russell George makes the claim that 'No one could answer' as to who ordered the IRS to target conservative groups.



March 5, 2014:

Lois Lerner is once again called to testify before the House Oversight Committee, and once again pleads the 5th.

WASHINGTON — Former IRS official Lois Lerner again declined to answer any questions Wednesday when she appeared before a House committee investigating the tax agency's extra scrutiny of applications from conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.

House Republicans had summoned Lerner to testify before Congress on Wednesday, more than nine months after she invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has argued that she waived her rights at that May 22 hearing when she made an opening statement — noting she had done nothing wrong — and answered one question about a document that had been entered into the record.

Lerner again takes the Fifth in Tea Party scandal

April 7, 2014:

Reports to top aides of Darrell Issa suggest that contrary to Democratic claims, IRS officials testified that the IRS scrutiny did not involve liberal organizations.

Committee report: No progressive groups were targeted by IRS | The Daily Caller

May 6, 2014:

The Republican held House of Representatives votes 231-187 to hold Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify on her role in the IRS targeting Scandal. Six Democrats vote in favor.

The House Just Voted on Lois Lerner?s Fate in IRS Scandal ? And It?s Not Good News for Her | TheBlaze.com

8 days ago, May 14, 2014:

News breaks that the IRS targeted conservative groups in most part due to pressure from Democratic Senator Carl Levin, who is chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs permanent subcommittee on investigations.

EMAILS: Democratic Senator Pressured IRS To Target Groups | The Daily Caller

 

[TemplarKormac]

Part 2: Benghazi

September 11-12, 2012, 10 PM - 2 AM EET (Eastern European time), Benghazi, Libya:

News breaks of an attack on a US Consulate in Benghazi that night, which claimed the lives of four men.

September 12, 2012, The Rose Garden at the White House, Washington, DC:

President Obama first addresses the media about the attack on the consulate in Benghazi.



September 14, 2012:

The mother of Sean Smith, one of the four men who died during the attack says in an interview with Fox News that Obama, Hillary Clinton and then Ambassador Susan Rice told her 'nose-to-nose' that day that the attack which killed her son was the result of a YouTube Video.



September 16, 2012:

Ambassador Susan Rice goes on 5 separate Sunday news shows and makes the contention that the attack was 'a spontaneous protest.'



September 18, 2012:

Obama goes on Letterman that night, and blames the video for the attacks in Benghazi.

September 20, 2012:

Obama persists in blaming the video for the attacks.

What the Obama administration has said about the Libya attack - CNN.com

October 5, 2012:

Lt. Col. Andy Wood, who was the head of a "Site Security Team" in Libya, says that U.S. diplomatic personnel were repeatedly denied requests for extra security by the State Department.

Congress to probe security flaws for Libya diplomats - CBS News

November 14, 2012:

President Obama lashes out at attacks on Susan Rice and defends how she handled the attack

Obama slams GOP criticism of UN Ambassador Rice over Benghazi attack as 'outrageous' - U.S. News

December 11, 2012:

It is revealed via closed door hearings that State Department officials never returned fire in self defense.

No shots fired from U.S. security during Benghazi attack - CBS News

December 18, 2012:

An Independent panel reveals that there were systemic failures in leadership which lead to severely inadequate security that night.

Panel cites "systemic" failures at State Department over Benghazi attack - CBS News

January 23, 2013:

Hillary Clinton testifies before Congress and takes responsibility for the attacks, then goes on to make one of her most infamous statements.

“We had four dead Americans ... was it because of a protest or because of guys out for a walk one night and decided to go kill some Americans? At this point what difference does it make, Senator?”

July 31, 2013:

The White House was quoted as saying it considered the controversy over the Benghazi attacks to be a "phony" scandal.



September 10, 2013:

Secretary of State John Kerry denies Congress access to the survivors of the attacks.

May 2, 2014:

News breaks with reports of internal e-mails showing the talking points pertaining to the attacks were altered by the White House itself, so as to not "reflect a broader failure of policy."

White House releases Benghazi e-mails

Speaker John Boehner announces he has created a 12 person (7 Republican, 5 Democrat) joint committee to investigate the attacks, with Rep Trey Gowdy (R-SC) as chair. Democrats threaten to boycott the committee, but reluctantly join on May 21, 2014.

 

[TemplarKormac]

Part 3: The AP

March 13, 2013

The Justice Department obtains two months worth of phone records from journalists at the Associated Press.

Gov't obtains wide AP phone records in probe

Part 4: James Rosen

May 17, 2013:

Fox News Journalist James Rosen is investigated unduly by the US Department of Justice for his reporting on North Korea's Nuclear Weapons program.

Fox News Reporter James Rosen Caught Up In Federal Probe : NPR

 

[TemplarKormac]

Part 5: Fast and Furious.

From 2009 to 2011, the ATF began selling guns and weaponry to drug traffickers across the border. The Obama administration has since then remained complicit on the matter.

2011

On January 27, 2011, Grassley wrote a letter to ATF Acting Director Kenneth E. Melson requesting information about the ATF-sanctioned sale of hundreds of firearms to straw purchasers. The letter mentioned a number of allegations that walked guns were used in the fight that killed Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.[71] A second letter from Grassley on January 31 accused the ATF of targeting whistleblowers.[72]

On February 4, after review and comment from dozens of officials in the Justice Department Criminal Division, the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix, and ATF Headquarters,[1]:332 Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich sent a response to Grassley regarding his two letters. Weich said claims "...that (the) ATF ‘sanctioned’ or otherwise knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons to a straw purchaser who then transported them to Mexico [are] false. ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation to Mexico.”[73][74] On February 28, Attorney General Eric Holder requested that the Department of Justice's Inspector General begin an investigation of Fast and Furious.[75]

On March 23, President Barack Obama appeared on Univision and spoke about the "gunwalking" controversy. He said that neither he nor Attorney General Holder authorized Fast and Furious. He also stated, "There may be a situation here in which a serious mistake was made, and if that's the case then we'll find out and we'll hold somebody accountable."[76]
On May 3, Attorney General Holder testified to the House Judiciary Committee that he did not know who approved Fast and Furious, but that it was being investigated. He also stated that he "probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks,"[77] a claim which would later be questioned[78][79][80] as explained below.

In June, ATF Agent Vince Cefalu, who helped to publicize Fast and Furious, was served with termination papers, in a move by the agency he described as politically motivated retaliation. He had been at odds with ATF management since he filed a complaint over tactics in an unrelated case in 2005. The ATF denied that the firing was retaliation, and Cefalu's termination letter noted that he leaked documents to the Internet and showed a "lack of candor" in other operations.[81]
On June 14, 2011, a preliminary joint staff report was released by Representative Issa and Senator Grassley.[11] Among the findings: agents were told to stand down rather than interdict weapons, they complained about the strategy and were ignored, and Fast and Furious led to increased violence and death in Mexico.[82] Agents were panicked, certain that "someone was going to die."[83]

Representative Issa continued to hold hearings in June and July where ATF officials based in Phoenix and Mexico, and at headquarters in Washington, testified before the committee.[84] ATF agent John Dodson stated that he and other agents were ordered to observe the activities of gun smugglers but not to intervene. He testified:[85][86]

Over the course of the next 10 months that I was involved in this operation, we monitored as they purchased hand guns, AK-47 variants, and .50 caliber rifles almost daily. Rather than conduct any enforcement actions, we took notes, we recorded observations, we tracked movements of these individuals for a short time after their purchases, but nothing more. Knowing all the while, just days after these purchases, the guns that we saw these individuals buy would begin turning up at crime scenes in the United States and Mexico, we still did nothing. ...
I cannot begin to think of how the risk of letting guns fall into the hands of known criminals could possibly advance any legitimate law enforcement interest.

A second joint staff report was released by the Republicans on July 26.[41]

In August, three important Fast and Furious supervisors were transferred to new management positions at ATF headquarters in Washington: William Newell and David Voth, field supervisors who oversaw the program from Phoenix, and William McMahon, an ATF deputy director of operations. The transfers were initially reported as promotions by the Los Angeles Times, but the ATF stated that they did not receive raises or take on greater responsibilities.[70][87] In late August, it was announced that Acting ATF Director Melson had been reassigned to the Justice Department, and U.S. Attorney Burke announced his resignation after being questioned by Congressional investigators earlier that month.[88]

In October, documents showing that Attorney General Holder's office had been sent briefings on Fast and Furious as early as July 2010, prompted questions about his May statement that he wasn't sure of the exact date, but had known about it for only a few weeks. The briefings were from the National Drug Intelligence Center and Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer. The Justice Department said that those briefings were about a different case started before Holder became Attorney General, and that while he had known about Fast and Furious, he didn't know the details of the tactics being used.[80]

On October 31, 2011, after the release of subpoenaed documents, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer stated he found out about gunwalking in Operation Wide Receiver in April 2010, and that he wished he had alerted the deputy or the attorney general at the time.[89][90] The following day, in testimony before the Senate Judicial Committee in a hearing on International Organized Crime, when asked if he had reviewed the letter before it was sent to Senator Charles Grassley on February 4, 2011 denying gunwalking, Breuer replied, "I cannot say for sure whether I saw a draft of the letter that was sent to you. What I can tell you, Senator, is that at that time I was in Mexico dealing with the very real issues that we're all so committed to."[91]
On November 8, Holder stated for the first time in Congressional testimony that "gunwalking" was used in Fast and Furious. He remarked that the tactic is unacceptable, and that the operation was "flawed in its concept and flawed in its execution." He further stated that his office had inaccurately described the program in previous letters sent to Congress, but that this was unintentional. Reiterating previous testimony, he said that he and other top officials had been unaware that the "gunwalking" tactic was being used. Holder stated that his staff had not showed him memos about the program, noting, "There is nothing in any of those memos that indicates any of those inappropriate tactics that are of concern. Those things were not brought to my attention, and my staff, I think, made the correct decision in that regard."[78][92][93]

That same month, ex-US Attorney Burke admitted to leaking sensitive documents about ATF agent and whistleblower Dodson. Senator Grassley expressed concern that the Justice Department was using Burke as a scapegoat to protect higher officials and vowed to continue his probe.[94]
On December 2, 2011, the Justice Department formally withdrew its statement from February 4, 2011 denying gunwalking due to inaccuracies.[95]
Later that month, documents showed that some ATF agents discussed using Fast and Furious to provide anecdotal cases to support controversial new rules about gun sales. The regulation, called Demand Letter 3, would require 8,500 firearms dealers in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas that "have a significant number of crime guns traced back to them from Mexico" to report multiple rifle sales.[96]

2012

Investigations by Congress and the DOJ Inspector General continued into 2012. In January, Patrick Cunningham, who was the criminal division chief at the Phoenix office of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona and has since resigned, asserted his innocence and his constitutional right against self-incrimination to avoid testifying.[97] Cunningham worked directly under Burke during Fast and Furious. He was subpoenaed because of the role he might have played in the operation, and in the letter sent from the DOJ to Senator Grassley in February 2011 that claimed the ATF did not allow weapons to be trafficked to Mexico.[98]
On January 31, 2012, Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a report titled, "Fatally Flawed: Five Years of Gunwalking in Arizona".[36] The report concluded that there was no evidence of involvement by high-ranking appointees at the Justice Department in "gunwalking." Rather, Operation Fast and Furious was just one of four such operations conducted over five years during the Bush and Obama administrations, and was only "the latest in a series of fatally flawed operations run by ATF agents in Phoenix and the Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office."[99]

In May, it was reported that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General had begun to investigate Fast and Furious, with a report expected in October. The DHS had Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents assigned to the operation after becoming involved in late 2009.[100]
On May 3, 2012, Congressman Issa released a letter to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that included a draft of a resolution to hold Attorney General Holder in contempt.[101] In the letter, Issa described the connection between Operation Fast and Furious and the OCDETF program since at least January 2009, which would involve multiple executive agencies including the ATF, DOJ, DEA, FBI, ICE, and DHS. He questioned how, why, or if oversight by high level Justice Department did not occur in such an important case. He further described the tragic death of Brian Terry, the whistleblowers and their mistreatment, and the damage the operation had to US-Mexico relations.

On June 7, 2012, under the threat of being held in contempt of Congress for not turning over additional requested documents, Attorney General Holder appeared at his seventh Congressional hearing, where he continued to deny knowledge of "gunwalking" by high-level officials. By then, the Justice Department had turned over more than 7,000 pages of documents.[102]
During the June 12, 2012, Senate hearing, Eric Holder stated, "If you want to talk about Fast and Furious, I'm the Attorney General that put an end to the misguided tactics that were used in Fast and Furious. An Attorney General who I suppose you would hold in higher regard was briefed on these kinds of tactics in an operation called Wide Receiver and did nothing to stop them -- nothing. Three hundred guns, at least, walked in that instance." Holder cited a briefing paper on "Wide Receiver"; the DOJ Office of Legislative Affairs later clarified that the briefing paper was about the Fidel Hernandez case, prepared for Holder's predecessor, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey before his meeting with Mexican Attorney General Mora on November 16, 2007.[35] The Hernandez Case had ended October 6, 2007,[103] before Mukasey entered office November 9, 2007.[104] The office further explained, "As Attorney General Holder also noted in his testimony, and as we have set forth in prior correspondence and testimony, he took measures and instituted a series of important reforms designed to ensure that the inappropriate tactics used in Fast and Furious, Wide Receiver, Hernandez, and other matters about which the Department has informed Congress are not repeated."[35] The later DOJ OIG investigation concluded "Attorney General Mukasey was not briefed about Operation Wide Receiver or gun "walking," but on a different and traditional law enforcement tactic that was employed in a different case."[1]

On June 20, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted along party lines to recommend that Holder be held in contempt. At issue were 1,300 pages of documents that had not been turned over to Congress by the DOJ. Earlier that day, President Obama had invoked executive privilege over those documents, marking the first time the privilege has been asserted during his presidency.[21][22] Mr. Issa contends that the Obama executive privilege claim is a cover-up or an obstruction to the congressional probe. Mr. Issa said the department has identified "140,000 pages of documents and communications responsive to the committee's subpoena."[105]
On Thursday, June 28, 2012, Holder became the first sitting member of the Cabinet of the United States to be held in criminal contempt of Congress by the House of Representatives for refusing to disclose internal Justice Department documents in response to a subpoena. The vote was 255-67 in favor, with 17 Democrats voting yes and a large number of Democrats walking off the floor in protest and refusing to vote. A civil contempt measure was also voted on and passed, 258-95. The civil contempt vote allows the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to go to court with a civil lawsuit to look into the US Justice Department's refusal to turn over some of the subpoenaed documents and to test Obama's assertion of executive privilege. Holder dismissed the votes as "the regrettable culmination of what became a misguided — and politically motivated — investigation during an election year," and the White House called it "political theater rather than legitimate congressional oversight."[19][20] The National Rifle Association controversially lobbied for Holder to be held in contempt.[106][107][108][109][110][111]

In June 2012, a six-month long investigation by Fortune magazine stated that the ATF never intentionally allowed guns to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels, in contrast to most other reports. Agents interviewed during the investigation repeatedly asserted that only one isolated incident of "gunwalking" ever occurred, and was performed independently by ATF Agent John Dodson (who later appeared on CBS News as a whistleblower to denounce the gunwalking scandal) as part of an unauthorized solo action outside the larger Fast and Furious operation.[47]
On July 31, the first part of a new three-part report, Fast and Furious: The Anatomy of a Failed Operation,[37] was released by Republican lawmakers. The report singled out five ATF supervisors for responsibility in Fast and Furious, all of whom had been previously reassigned. The report also said that Fast and Furious resulted from a change in strategy by the Obama Administration. The Justice Department was dismissive of the report, saying that it contained "distortions" and "debunked conspiracy theories," and that "gunwalking" tactics dated back to 2006.[112] DOJ spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler, while critical of the report, did credit it for acknowledging that the idea for "gun walking" — allowing illegal sales of weapons on the border — originated under the Republican administration before Eric Holder took office in 2009. Schmaler noted that Holder moved swiftly to replace the ATF's management and instill reforms.[113] On the same day, ATF Deputy Director William Hoover, who was one of the five blamed in the Congressional report, officially retired.[114] The report included an appendix disputing claims in the Fortune article.[53] Following its publication, Dodson's lawyer wrote the managing editor of Fortune stating the article was "demonstrably false" and that a retraction was in order.[115] After Fortune did not retract the article, Dodson sued for libel on October 12, 2012.[116][117]

On September 19,[118] the Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz publicly released a 471-page report[1] detailing the results of the Justice Department's own internal investigations. The Inspector General's report, which had access to evidence and interviews with witnesses not permitted in previous Congressional reports, recommended 14 federal officials for disciplinary action, ranging from ATF agents to federal prosecutors involved in the Fast and Furious operation.[118] It found "no evidence" that Attorney General Holder knew about Fast and Furious before early 2011.[119] It found no evidence that previous Attorneys General had been advised about gunwalking in Operation Wide Receiver.[1]

While the OIG report found no evidence that higher officials at the Justice Department in Washington had authorized or approved of the tactics used in the Fast and Furious investigations, it did fault 14 lower officials for related failures, including failures to take note of "red flags" uncovered by the investigation, as well as failures to follow up on information produced through Operation Fast and Furious and its predecessor, Operation Wide Receiver.[118][120] The report also noted ATF agents' apparent frustrations over legal obstacles from the Phoenix Attorney's Office to prosecuting suspected "straw-buyers," while also criticizing the agents' failure to quickly intervene and interdict weapons obtained by low-level suspects in the case.[118] The 14 Justice Department employees were referred for possible internal discipline. The Justice Department's Criminal Division head Lanny Breuer, an Obama administration presidential appointee, was cited for not alerting his bosses in 2010 to the flaws of Operation Wide Receiver.[121] Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstein, who was responsible for authorizing a portion of the wiretap applications in Operation Fast and Furious and faulted in the report for not identifying the gunwalking tactics, resigned on the day of the report.[122]

On December 4, 2012, the ATF Professional Review Board delivered its recommendations to high-level ATF managers, who will decide whether to accept them. The recommendations included firing William McMahon, ATF Deputy Assistant Director; Mark Chait, ATF Assistant Director for Field Operations; William Newell, Phoenix ATF Special Agent in Charge; and George Gillett, Newell's second in command. Two additional ATF employees, Phoenix supervisor David Voth and lead agent Hope McAllister, received recommendations for demotion and disciplinary transfer to another ATF post, respectively.[123][124] It was reported the next day that McMahon had been fired. It was also announced that Gary Grindler, Eric Holder's chief of staff who was faulted in the OIG report, would be leaving the Justice Department.[120] Later that month, the family of Brian Terry sued seven government officials and a gun shop involved in Operation Fast and Furious for negligence and wrongful death.[125]

2013

Agent John Dodson's book on his experiences in Operation Fast and Furious was released by Simon and Schuster on December 3, 2013.[126]

ATF gunwalking scandal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[TemplarKormac]

Part 6: The NSA

June 5-6, 2013:

News comes to light via Edward Snowden that the National Security Administration had been collecting the phone records of millions of Americans, especially from Verizon.

Six months of revelations on NSA - The Washington Post

 

[TemplarKormac]

Part 7: Obamacare

Obamacare, known as the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act, was passed in December 2009. From then on, Republicans warned that people would lose their existing insurance plans, as well as their doctors. They were ignored, as Obama went on for the next four years claiming "if you like your plan, you can keep your plan."

But beginning in the fall of 2013, the first of 6.2 million people began losing their insurance due to Obamacare taking effect. Republicans had been proven right. Obama had lied to the American people. Also during that time, the website came online. Only to suffer from glitches and malfunctions for the rest of the year.

 

[TemplarKormac]

Part 8: The VA

Early 2012: Dr. Katherine Mitchell brings awareness to Sharon Helman, the incoming director of the Pheonix VA Healthcare system, that the ER there was overwhelmed and very dangerous. She is later transferred out of the ER for making this revelation.

Late 2012: The US Dept of Veteran's Affairs implements a new wait tracking system, making patient access a top priority. The GAO later tells the VA that it's reporting of outpatient medical-appointment wait times was unreliable, and that such policies are not uniform across the country.

March 2013: The GAO's Debra Draper tells a subcommittee of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee: "Although access to timely medical appointments is critical to ensuring that veterans obtain needed medical care, long wait times and inadequate scheduling processes at VAMCs (medical centers) have been persistent problems, as we and the VA Office of Inspector General have reported."

July 2013: In an e-mail exchange among employees at the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix, an employee questions whether administrators are improperly touting their Wildly Important Goals program as a success because it shows a dramatic reduction in wait times for patient appointments.

"I think it's unfair to call any of this a success when veterans are waiting six weeks on an electronic waiting list before they're called to schedule their first PCP (primary-care provider) appointment," program analyst Damian Reese complains. "Sure, when their appointment was created, (it) can be 14 days out, but we're making them wait 6-20 weeks to create that appointment. That is unethical and a disservice to our veterans."

September 2013: Mitchell files a confidential complaint intended for the VA Office of Inspector General, channeled through Arizona Sen. John McCain's office. Her list of concerns instead goes to the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs and eventually back to the VA, which responds in February 2013. It does not address her most serious complaints. Mitchell, meanwhile, is placed on administrative leave.

October 2013: Dr. Sam Foote, a doctor of internal medicine at the Phoenix VA, files a complaint with the VA Office of Inspector General alleging purported successes in reducing wait times stem from manipulation of data, not improved service, and that vets are dying while awaiting appointments for medical care.

December 2013: Foote retires, assuming the role of whistle-blower by meeting with Arizona Republic reporter Dennis Wagner. He details allegations that patients have died while awaiting care at the Phoenix VA and that wait times have been falsified. The same month, inspector general's investigators visit Phoenix to look into whistle-blowers' complaints.

April 9, 2014: Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, says during a hearing that dozens of VA hospital patients in Phoenix may have died while awaiting medical care. He says staff investigators have evidence that the Phoenix VA Health Care System keeps two sets of records to conceal prolonged patient waits for appointments and treatment.

April 16: A Phoenix rally organized by Concerned Veterans for America and attended by Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., draws 150 veterans and their supporters calling for solutions to the controversy.

May 1: U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki places Helman and two others on administrative leave pending an outcome to the inspector general's probe.

May 2: Mitchell goes public with her allegations about mismanagement of the Phoenix VA system and her concerns about wait times, noting that she and a co-worker moved to protect some documents as evidence.

May 5: The American Legion's national leaders call for Shinseki's resignation. Shinseki says he intends to stay put.

May 8: Shinseki orders records audits of all VA health-care facilities around the U.S. a day after U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., makes the request.

May 9: McCain, R-Ariz., holds a veterans' town hall in Phoenix where he proposes a new system that would allow veterans to go outside the VA to seek private health care at government expense.

May 12: Steve Young takes over as interim director of the Phoenix VA Health Care System.

May 15: The U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs holds a four-hour hearing. Acting Veterans Affairs Inspector General Richard Griffin reveals that the team probing complaints about Phoenix VA facilities includes criminal investigators.

May 16: Dr. Robert Petzel, the under secretary for health and second in command at the Department of Veterans Affairs, departs the agency. Shinseki says Petzel resigned, though the agency had announced Petzel's planned retirement last September.

May 20: Officials disclose that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Rob Nabors will visit Phoenix for meetings with leaders of the Phoenix VA Health Care System.

May 21: President Barack Obama pledges in a televised press briefing that the administration will thoroughly investigate allegations of misconduct at VA facilities in Phoenix and across the country. He says he expects preliminary results of the review in Phoenix within a week and will punish any misconduct.

Timeline: The road to VA wait-time scandal

 

[TemplarKormac]

Well then....

 

[TemplarKormac]

Bump...

 

[jillian]

Bump...

let me know when this president lies us into a war outs a CIA agent.... or does any of the other lowlife things done by baby bush's people.

you're boring.

 

[Esmeralda]

This is an attempt to educate the members of this board as to the absolute corruption taking place in the Obama Administration. It is very long and in depth, and those lacking in patience with the... extensiveness of this thread need not proceed further. For the rest of you, see for yourself the scandals surrounding the Obama Administration as we speak:

Get a job.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

A History of Scandals in The Obama Administration

Put down the stones, you and others on the right live in glass house built on the foundation of Watergate, Iran-Contra, Iraq/Afghanistan, and Valerie Plame – just to note the more infamous.

 

[Esmeralda]

A History of Scandals in The Obama Administration

Put down the stones, you and others on the right live in glass house built on the foundation of Watergate, Iran-Contra, Iraq/Afghanistan, and Valerie Plame – just to note the more infamous.

At least Obama has worked all of his adult life. How does one who has never even had a job feel he has any kind of right to criticize how others do theirs?

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

A History of Scandals in The Obama Administration

Put down the stones, you and others on the right live in glass house built on the foundation of Watergate, Iran-Contra, Iraq/Afghanistan, and Valerie Plame – just to note the more infamous.

At least Obama has worked all of his adult life. How does one who has never even had a job feel he has any kind of right to criticize how others do theirs?

True.

Or someone so ignorant of the long, shameful history of conservative scandals and corruption that he would start such an inane thread.

 

[Stephanie]

Bump...

let me know when this president lies us into a war outs a CIA agent.... or does any of the other lowlife things done by baby bush's people.

you're boring.

wow, really
so Bush's scandals were important but for you Obama's are not
I say that's a loyal subject for a man and a party..shameful

 

[Stephanie]

LOL, Temp, you got the Obama fans all riled up

good job, And the majority of the people see them (or his approvals would be higher) so you've done a great job pointing them all out

 

[AvgGuyIA]

Bump...

let me know when this president lies us into a war outs a CIA agent.... or does any of the other lowlife things done by baby bush's people.

you're boring.

You're aware Democrat wanted to go to war too? Were they lying too? Hypocrite!

 

[rightwinger]

In terms of Presidential Hisyory, pretty mild by any account

 

[Stephanie]

Bump...

let me know when this president lies us into a war outs a CIA agent.... or does any of the other lowlife things done by baby bush's people.

you're boring.

You're aware Democrat wanted to go to war too? Were they lying too? Hypocrite!

seems to me she is saying the Democrats are stupid that they can fall for a lie and lazy to not investigate it before they voted

 

[gipper]

It's all bullshit anyway....anyone with a functioning brain KNOWS huge unlimited government ALWAYS results in ineffectiveness, fraud, stealing, lying, etc.........................Government in the USA works for GOVERNMENT...not the people...the American people WORK for GOVERNMENT.

Sadly too many Americans are tied to one of the political parties, willfully ignoring the lies and corruption perpetrated by their party. The two parties promote the CHARADE that they are different....duping many FOOLISH Americans and dividing us, while fleecing Americans of their liberty and wealth....thus gaining more power and wealth for themselves.

Wake the FUCK UP!!!