Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, blasted President Obama and his political appointees for impeding congressional investigations and thus breaking Obama’s promise to run a transparent administration.
“In 2008, I was glad to hear the president-elect talk about the most transparent government ever that he was going to institute,” Grassley said during an event hosted by Judicial Watch yesterday. “Unfortunately, up to this point, this administration has been far from transparent. If any of us thought it was bad before, it’s worse now.”
Grassley demonstrated his point by reference Obama’s immigration policies and the Department of Justice gun-walking scandal, in a speech entitled “The Rule of Law Under Attack – – From Stealth Amnesty to the Fast and Furious Scandal.” He criticized Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano for granting “34,448 paroles and deferred actions” without telling Congress how Homeland Security officials made these decisions. “In other words, we do not know whether or not the law has been followed,” he said.
Turning to Operation Fast and Furious, Grassley noted that Attorney General Eric Holder denied more than recent knowledge of the operation before Congress in May, even though “I personally handed him two letters about the issue” on January 31st, 2011, Grassley said. Holder also received memos about the operation in 2010.
“In the two topics that I’ve been asked to talk about this morning, it’s clear that, for the current administration, the rule of law is more about perception than reality,” Grassley summarized dourly. “They’ve circled the wagons, made denials, and generally been non-responsive to a member of Congress’ legitimate inquiries – and constitutionally proper inquiries.”
