[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 188 (Thursday, December 8, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H8265]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               GONE ROGUE

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, the Justice Department appears to 
have gone rogue. Instead of enforcing the law, they seem to be 
recklessly encouraging violations of law.
  The Justice Department, with the aid of the ATF, apparently 
facilitated the smuggling of over 2,000 weapons to the drug cartels 
south of the border--the national enemy of Mexico. Those weapons were 
used to kill at least 200 Mexican nationals and two U.S. law 
enforcement agents.
  Who is responsible for this conduct? The Attorney General says he was 
unaware of Fast and Furious. He claims he either didn't get the memo or 
he didn't read it. That's a lame excuse. The Attorney General is the 
chief lawyer and law enforcement officer in the country. If people 
under him violated U.S. or international law, they need to be held 
accountable, even if it means somebody goes to jail.
  We need an independent special counsel to investigate the Justice 
Department and the ATF. The Department of Justice cannot be trusted to 
investigate themselves because the agency has lost credibility. Even 
Washington insiders responsible for Fast and Furious cannot hide from 
the long arm of American justice because justice is what we do in this 
country.
  And that's just the way it is.

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