Obama's media hit man linked to Fast and Furious
(Photo by Pete Souza/The White House via Getty Images)
June 18, 2012
A name that most Americans have probably never heard is Denis McDonough,
who serves as Deputy National Security Adviser for the President. But
McDonough is perhaps one of the two or three most influential advisers
on the Obama team, and he is now directly linked to the Fast and Furious scandal.
According to an exclusive report published today, McDonough's relationship with the President goes far beyond the political and professional. The two are close friends. McDonough is Obama's basketball buddy. And it is McDonough who has interjected himself as Obama's protector, a "media hit man" of sorts who will dress down reporters in a heartbeat if they veer off of the official Administration spin.
Investigative journalists have provided details on McDonough's background and work history in politics, but the information that makes McDonough relevant to the continually breaking news on the Fast and Furious scandal is his role in silencing complaints from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) about the "gunwalking" activity of the ATF and the FBI.
As early as October of 2009 the CIA and the DEA had sent complaints about the Fast and Furious operation through their respective chains of command, eventually making their way directly to the National Security Council (NSC) at the White House.
The NSC is the entity that has been previously established as the direct link between the Fast and Furious operation and the White House itself.
As members of the NSC, McDonough, Fast and Furious central figure Kevin O'Reilly, and O'Reilly's boss Dan Restrepo were all informed about the complaints lodged by the CIA and DEA.
A biographical sketch of McDonough at the time described him as Obama's most influential foreign policy adviser and a "tough guy."
Thus, when news reached the NSC concerning complaints about Fast and Furious from the CIA and the DEA, the word that was sent back to the agencies was a vehement "butt out," according to the report issued today.
Given that the President meets on a regular basis with the NSC, sometimes on a daily or weekly basis depending on current events, it would be a stretch to conclude that Obama knew nothing of the Fast and Furious operation from the start. And given that his most influential adviser on the NSC, McDonough, was a close friend and basketball buddy, the suggestion that the President was kept uninformed about the operation is virtually ludicrous.
Further, when it became clear that NSC member Kevin O'Reilly was being transferred to the State Department, where he was then assigned to Iraq to prevent the Darrell Issa committee in the House from questioning him about Fast and Furious, it was McDonough who became the NSC point man concerning the Gunwalker operation.
O'Reilly had begun to exchange emails in March of 2009 about the Fast and Furious operation with Phoenix ATF Field Division Special Agent in Charge William Newell. When the Issa committee began investigating the Fast and Furious scandal in 2011, O'Reilly was identified as a key witness that Issa wished to question.
But by that time O'Reilly had already been transferred to the State Department and shipped out of the country to Iraq, where he remained out of reach. The State Department has also been implicated in the Fast and Furious scandal.
Hillary Clinton is O'Reilly's boss at the State Department.
McDonough, however, filled the role previously held by O'Reilly on the NSC. McDonough's boss, Dan Restrepo, had also been fully briefed on all communication between O'Reilly and Newell.
Thus, the NSC was fully in on the scandal from the beginning, including Obama's close friend and top adviser Denis McDonough.
The vast significance of this revelation lies in the fact that it places the scandal ever closer to Barack Obama himself.
BRAND NEW! IMPORTANT!!
A new entry in my regular series Musings After Midnight is now posted at my blog, The Liberty Sphere. It's titled "A Dire Warning From the Ground." Don't miss it!
Visit my ministry site at Martin Christian Ministries.
Subscribe by clicking the links at the top of the page, or below, and you will receive free notifications of new articles plus a free newsletter.
According to an exclusive report published today, McDonough's relationship with the President goes far beyond the political and professional. The two are close friends. McDonough is Obama's basketball buddy. And it is McDonough who has interjected himself as Obama's protector, a "media hit man" of sorts who will dress down reporters in a heartbeat if they veer off of the official Administration spin.
Investigative journalists have provided details on McDonough's background and work history in politics, but the information that makes McDonough relevant to the continually breaking news on the Fast and Furious scandal is his role in silencing complaints from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) about the "gunwalking" activity of the ATF and the FBI.
As early as October of 2009 the CIA and the DEA had sent complaints about the Fast and Furious operation through their respective chains of command, eventually making their way directly to the National Security Council (NSC) at the White House.
The NSC is the entity that has been previously established as the direct link between the Fast and Furious operation and the White House itself.
As members of the NSC, McDonough, Fast and Furious central figure Kevin O'Reilly, and O'Reilly's boss Dan Restrepo were all informed about the complaints lodged by the CIA and DEA.
A biographical sketch of McDonough at the time described him as Obama's most influential foreign policy adviser and a "tough guy."
Thus, when news reached the NSC concerning complaints about Fast and Furious from the CIA and the DEA, the word that was sent back to the agencies was a vehement "butt out," according to the report issued today.
Given that the President meets on a regular basis with the NSC, sometimes on a daily or weekly basis depending on current events, it would be a stretch to conclude that Obama knew nothing of the Fast and Furious operation from the start. And given that his most influential adviser on the NSC, McDonough, was a close friend and basketball buddy, the suggestion that the President was kept uninformed about the operation is virtually ludicrous.
Further, when it became clear that NSC member Kevin O'Reilly was being transferred to the State Department, where he was then assigned to Iraq to prevent the Darrell Issa committee in the House from questioning him about Fast and Furious, it was McDonough who became the NSC point man concerning the Gunwalker operation.
O'Reilly had begun to exchange emails in March of 2009 about the Fast and Furious operation with Phoenix ATF Field Division Special Agent in Charge William Newell. When the Issa committee began investigating the Fast and Furious scandal in 2011, O'Reilly was identified as a key witness that Issa wished to question.
But by that time O'Reilly had already been transferred to the State Department and shipped out of the country to Iraq, where he remained out of reach. The State Department has also been implicated in the Fast and Furious scandal.
Hillary Clinton is O'Reilly's boss at the State Department.
McDonough, however, filled the role previously held by O'Reilly on the NSC. McDonough's boss, Dan Restrepo, had also been fully briefed on all communication between O'Reilly and Newell.
Thus, the NSC was fully in on the scandal from the beginning, including Obama's close friend and top adviser Denis McDonough.
The vast significance of this revelation lies in the fact that it places the scandal ever closer to Barack Obama himself.
BRAND NEW! IMPORTANT!!
A new entry in my regular series Musings After Midnight is now posted at my blog, The Liberty Sphere. It's titled "A Dire Warning From the Ground." Don't miss it!
Visit my ministry site at Martin Christian Ministries.
Subscribe by clicking the links at the top of the page, or below, and you will receive free notifications of new articles plus a free newsletter.
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