Daily Border Bulletin: Holder takes the stand on Fast and Furious probe

Holder says, "Never again,"  on Fast and Furious tactics: Attorney General Eric Holder took the stand today at an oversight hearing for the Senate Judiciary Committee, while there he took the time to correct some of the misperceptions surrounding the program: “I would like to correct some of the inaccurate — and frankly some of the irresponsible — accusations surrounding Fast and Furious,” Holder said. “Some of the overheated rhetoric might lead you to believe that this local, Arizona-based operation was somehow the cause of the epidemic of gun violence in Mexico. In fact, Fast and Furious was a flawed response to, not the cause of, the flow of illegal guns from the United States into Mexico.”

He also took the time to note that the use of "gun walking" tactics would not be tolerated in his Justice Department:  "This operation was flawed in concept, as well as in execution," Mr. Holder told the committee. "Unfortunately, we will feel its effects for years to come as guns that were lost during this operation continue to show up at crime scenes both here and in Mexico. This should never have happened. And it must never happen again."

He later put a finer point on the subject by saying: "I want to be clear: Any instance of so-called 'gun walking' is unacceptable," Holder said of weapons smuggling, later adding: "This operation was flawed in its concept, and flawed in its execution."

He concluded his testimony by vowing to work with Republicans to stop the flow of guns from the U.S. into Mexican Cartel members hands: "I am determined to ensure that our shared concerns about Operation Fast and Furious lead to more than headline-grabbing Washington 'gotcha' games and cynical political point scoring,"