Holder in hot water yet again thanks to #Petraeus affair scandal

Via Fox News:

Attorney General Eric Holder was notified in late summer that then-CIA Director David Petraeus’ name had surfaced in the FBI probe that ultimately uncovered Petraeus’ affair, raising questions about whether Holder would have — or should have — informed President Obama.

According to the administration’s version of events, the president did not find out about the situation until last Thursday. At the time that Holder was notified, months earlier, many details were still unknown. Petraeus himself was not interviewed until the fall. And according to one source, it is long-standing FBI policy for the FBI not to brief Congress or the White House in the middle of a criminal probe that does not involve a security threat.

However, several lawmakers and other officials say the mere fact that Petraeus was flagged in an investigation should have been reason enough to kick the issue up from the Justice Department to the White House.

“He was the director of the CIA, not Fish & Wildlife. The implications are massive,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, told FoxNews.com in an email. Chaffetz said the heads of the House and Senate intelligence committees should have been looped in. “Notification should have also gone to the president — immediately,” Chaffetz said.

Top congressional lawmakers, including the leaders of key committees, have raised concerns that they weren’t notified earlier.

But John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under the George W. Bush administration, said the bigger question surrounds whether the White House was notified.

“The idea that the White House didn’t learn of this potential problem until Election Day, I just find incomprehensible. Did the attorney general sit on this information for two months?” he asked. Bolton said it raises the question “of whether the information was suppressed.”

The Justice Department declined to comment for this story.

And rest assured that they’ll continue to “decline comment” and stonewall on this as it relates to Congressional inquiries long as they can, Β just like they have on the Benghazi murders. Β Of course, the issues of the Broadwell/Petraeus affair and Benghazi intersect, and many of the questions Congress should have about both are similar in nature. Who knew what and when, and why was it kept from the public?

It’s interesting that in 2008, then-Senator Obama campaigned heavily on how he would preside over the most “open and accountable” administration in US history. Β Notice how we didn’t hear much on that at all this campaign season. Β No oft-repeated promises of Β “transparency and responsibility” to the American people he has now been elected twice to lead.

And we know why most of the movers and shakers in this administration have not been very forthcoming with on-the-record answers, don’t we? Β They weren’t BEFORE the election for obvious reasons. Β But in the coming months, with the stress of an election year Β and having to “stand by their guy”, perhaps a few brave souls will have the guts to speak out and the truth will once and for all be told.

I wouldn’t hold my breath on it, though.

Demand accountability now. Β Contact your House rep and Senate repsΒ and let them know how you feel.

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