Politics

Gov. Brewer: Eric Holder needs to be ‘held accountable’ for Operation Fast and Furious

Matthew Boyle Investigative Reporter
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Arizona Republican Gov. Jan Brewer told The Daily Caller that Attorney General Eric Holder bears responsibility for Operation Fast and Furious, and that he needs to be “held accountable” for it.

“Well, I certainly think that somebody needs to be held accountable, and obviously, with this Fast and Furious, the buck stops with him,” Brewer told TheDC in a phone interview. “And, I would be interested to get more information and testimony from him — that’s going to take place shortly. However, someone needs to held accountable.”

Brewer wouldn’t specify what exactly “held accountable” means, but she did describe what happened in Fast and Furious as “pretty substantial in regards to not supporting American values, American laws and American policy.” At least 34 members of Congress have called for Holder to resign immediately over the scandal.

Brewer is touring to promote her new book, “Scorpions With Breakfast.” She told TheDC the book tells “our story about what is happening in Arizona and how it is affecting America.”

“The crisis is here, and we’d better wake up,” Brewer said. “This is a wake up call, in regards to an arrogant, out-of-control federal government that isn’t enforcing the rule of law.”

“We have people like Rob Krentz [an Arizona rancher] who has been murdered, Brian Terry, our Border Patrol agent who has been murdered, and in the meantime I’ve got citizens along the border and in Arizona, and probably throughout America, who have terrorized and robbed and we are not going to put up with it any longer,” Brewer added. “And I hope that my book gets in the hands of people that don’t quite understand the issue because they certainly because they certainly haven’t been able to get it from the liberal media.”

Few mainstream outlets have published in-depth coverage of Operation Fast and Furious, and most have completely missed the rising number of calls in Congress for Holder’s immediate resignation. (RELATED: Connie Mack becomes the 30th congressman to call for Holder’s resignation)

Brewer thinks that’s unacceptable; she told TheDC that’s why she goes after the “liberal media” in her book.

“It’s the liberal media that never tells the story, they’re always on the defense, they’re always the ones that do the name-calling, but they never tell the story — they always want to push it back and be the liberal-leaning media,” Brewer said. “I mean they just don’t call. All they want to do is pour gas on the flames at a time when we are facing a crisis, of course, of violence, human grief and desperation.”

Brewer thinks the media should be pushing, but aren’t, to uncover all Fast and Furious information and fighting for accountability of the officials responsible for it.

“Then we have our federal government, if you will, enabling it south of the border? Something is wrong,” Brewer added. “Something is absolutely wrong and America is not going to stand for it.”

Brewer said other officials in the Obama administration may also bear some responsibility for the results of Operation Fast and Furious. “I certainly have my suspicions, whether it be up the chain and down the chain,” Brewer said. “I think that we need to get our arms around this and whoever is at the top of that chain certainly needs to be held accountable and whoever’s below on that chain ought to be held accountable. And, I’m hoping in this great country of ours that’ll take place.”

Brewer also said California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s argument that gun control laws would have stopped Fast and Furious from happening is bogus. “You know, here we go with the left-leaning politicians — that’s their answer to everything,” Brewer told TheDC. “It’s ridiculous. I’m so tired of them using that lame excuse for everything that happened that it’s just ridiculous to even comment on it.”

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