Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Crisis of Legitimacy. Utah politicians & the search for truth and justice in the Gunwalker Scandal. Source: "The FBI owns" Orrin Hatch.


Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's got a secret. And its not that he's a federal lickspittle. Everybody who's paying attention knows that.

The current regime -- with representatives in both political parties -- and their media defenders continue to give us proof that their identity of interest in maintaining their power and influence trumps just about everything. Front and center this morning are reports that both Huffington Post and Politico are defending the crooked politicians of both parties who are enriching themselves at the public trough with insider trading which would have a Wall Street employee thrown under the jail for the rest of his life.

Readers may recall this post from ten days ago, commenting upon the bi-partisan federal lickspittles Mark Shurtleff, current Utah attorney general and a member of the GOP and Terry Goddard, former Democrat Arizona attorney general who wrote in the Salt Lake Tribune "Don’t hamstring ATF."

Rather than call for justice in the murder of Brian Terry, Goddard and Shurtleff are more concerned that the firefighters who have proven to be clandestine arsonists should be given more matches and gasoline:

We have worked closely with ATF and the Justice Department in our common fight against violent crime and appreciate that Holder has sought more resources for border law enforcement. . .

Dedicated ATF agents are soldiering on in the face of hostile fire. We should stop disparaging these men and women on the front lines during this time of stress and scrutiny. Our nation’s commitment to help Mexico in the fight against the cartels is more critical today than ever. Division, doubt and brinksmanship only discourage our Mexican allies and embolden our mutual enemies.

It would be tragic if the furor over Fast and Furious causes our country to abandon Mexico to the cartels. The cartels are our enemy, not the ATF or Department of Justice. We need to provide the men and women fighting this critical battle with the tools they need.


Today, the same piece appears in the Arizona Republic under the headline "Congress painting ATF as the enemy."

Shortly after I posted my reaction to these federal lickspittles, I received a communication from someone in Salt Lake City who described Shurtleff as "crooked as a dog's hind leg" but "protected by The Church," that is, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, aka the Mormons. My correspondent, a devout Mormon himself, despaired of this corruption of the Church hierarchy.

Certainly Shurtleff has job security. Originally elected in November 2000, he is the only Utah Attorney General elected to a third term. At present, he's had the job for over ten years. Not that it is without controversy. Wikipedia reports:

The media has reported allegations that Shurtleff allows political donations or personal relationships to affect regulatory or prosecutorial decisions. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] He has also faced allegations of taking donations from companies he knows to be in the midst of legal proceedings for which he has responsibility.[30]

. . . In September 2010, Shurtleff testified before the House Judiciary Committee in support of the Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act,[32] an act that seeks to reverse the effects of Granholm v. Heald, a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court case that ruled unconstitutional state laws that permitted in-state wineries to ship wine directly to consumers, but prohibited out-of-state wineries from doing the same. Shurtleff's remarks[32] were drafted by the general counsel of the National Beer Wholesalers Association, who also arranged for Shurtleff's trip to Washington, D.C.[33][34]


The numbers above, for those of you who are unfamiliar with Wikipedia, are the footnotes to the citation. This sort of thing -- zealous representation of "special" constituents -- doesn't get you in trouble with the LDS Church in Utah these days. About the only thing left that does, says my correspondent, is a public sex scandal, with the emphasis on "public."

"If it is out there where the Church cannot ignore it," said the source, "they'll clamp down and the guy will end up selling diet supplements or freeze dried food."

Shurtleff, say the rumors, has one or more of those sorts of peccadilloes in his closet. "If the Feds aren't blackmailing him," says my source, "they're probably the only ones in the state who aren't."

That may also be the problem with this man:


"Gunwalker? What's that?"

As I observed here after the Democrat's dog-and-pony show Senate hearing the other day:

I've taken a little time to review the hearing (we recorded it), fast forwarding through the has-been non-entities like Orrin Hatch (who asked not ONE Gunwalker question as far as I know). Why, oh why, doesn't Utah retire this thoroughly compromised and compromising perfumed prince of the Mandarin class? What a waste of oxygen. He used to be something, back before electricity in the Reagan years. Accent on "used to be."


Orrin Hatch didn't used to be so flaccid on the subject of ATF scandals. In 1982, Hatch's committee held hearings on the right to keep and bear arms and wrote a scathing report on the ATF's misdeeds. Now, with the greatest federal law enforcement scandal ever, and one not simply confined to the ATF but extending to the FBI as well, Hatch can't be bothered to ask one question?

I have been asking around about that strange silence and a long-time observer of DC scandals told me that Hatch has a sex scandal of his own in the past, one that is well-known by the FBI. "Word is that Orrin got caught at one of those parties where underage girls are offered as favors." The source said, "It's not like Bangkok where they pick 'em out on the dance floor with a flashlight" but it was the equivalent of that.

Another DC source confirmed the sex scandal rumor and asked, "Didn't you notice that during the Clinton Administration that Hatch got a lot more accommodating" to the Democrats? "The FBI owns him," the source said flatly.

Back in the 90s, J.D. Cash told me about a class of FBI snitches called "sensitive confidential informants." J.D. derisively called them "high-level snitches." These were members of the news media, the clergy, politicians and congressional staffers who the FBI had on the string. One of these, we know now, was then ABC reporter Chris Isham, who is currently the CBS Washington Bureau chief.

Yes, folks, that makes him Sharyl Attkisson's boss.

It would be interesting to know whether Mark Shurtleff and Orrin Hatch are also on the FBI's list of "sensitive confidential informants."

It would explain a lot.

9 comments:

Dakota said...

I figured something like that on Hatch .... no huge surprise there. Must be something in the water in D C that makes you stupid or a traitorous swine.

The "swamp" is not going to drain itself gentlemen.

Bob said...

Great post. In a fair world, Atkisson would get a Pulitzer for her coverage of Fast & Furious, but the MSM is too cozy with the Obama administration for that to happen.

Of course, in a fair world, you and Codrea would be up for Pulitzers, also.

Anonymous said...

J. Edgar Hoover would be proud!

Ashrak said...

I lost any respect I thought I had for Orin Hatch when he proposed changing the Constitution to allow foreigners to become President.

There is no higher subversion of this country and its Constitution than affording the allegiance of, and to, other Countries the ability to infect and infest, to occupy, the Office of President.

Anonymous said...

This is a simple Soviet style subversion operation. Provide the circumstances wherein the target grossly compromises him or her self and then you own them.

Own enough votes and you can do whatever you want.

Think "they've" got a plan?

This didn't start with the DOJ but you can bet they are part of it now because no one from within it's bowels is even investigating any of the more than abundant red flags blowing in the wind.

Remember Bill Clinton getting rid of all those federal attorney's and replacing them with "his" picks? Remember how Bush left them in place, to be a 'good guy'? Calculating Marxists on one side and dumb as*ed myopic thinkers on the other. Geee, I wonder what will happen now?

Well, here we are and guess what, they are here too and they ain't leaving because they've got your money to support them, no matter what they want to do (within reason) and they know it because that was the plan!

Anonymous said...

or you could vote for a guy that has not been compromised and speaks his mind. That would be Ron Paul.

Mark Roote said...

We need to provide the men and women fighting this critical battle with the tools they need.
That's a great statement... The US government has been providing the men and women fighting in this critical battle with the tools they need, the problem lies in that they have been providing the wrong tools to the wrong people

haralsons said...

It's been awhile since I lived in Utah, but the Salt lake area is not very conservitive anymore. I am also a life long member of the LDS church and they don't tell you who to vote for. I have never been in a meeting that talks politics. What I am saying is that the LDS church is not protecting Hatch. The people of Utah are. Besides if the church could do that wouldn't we be Reid free!?!

Anonymous said...

Does the FBI in Utah know about Adam Bomb Productions which produce XXX movies made right in Utah... Will someone shed some light and speak up. It's front and center on the Utah corruption stage.