SECRET WIRETAPS ROCK DOJ..what say you now??

Contrary to testimony before Congress, high-ranking Department of Justice officials knew of the "gun-walking" tactics in "Operation Fast and Furious," Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) charged Tuesday, pointing to DOJ wiretap approvals as evidence.

Issa, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, called on DOJ to hold several high-ranking agency officials accountable in light of the new evidence.

The committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), however, said Issa was mischaracterizing the nature of the wiretap authorizations, and DOJ responded by questioning how Issa obtained materials that were under seal by a federal court.

Issa said he recently reviewed six wiretap applications approved by top DOJ officials indicating that they knew about, and should be held responsible for, not stopping the most controversial aspect of the botched gun-tracking operation.

In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday, Issa stated that a “remarkable” and “immense” amount of detail was contained within the applications about the tactics of “gun-walking” — letting guns go into the hands of known or suspected criminals — that were used in Fast and Furious.

In the controversial program, agents from the Bureau of the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is under DOJ, sold firearms to known and suspected straw purchasers for Mexican drug cartels, but lost track of many of the weapons. Some of those guns might have contributed to the December 2010 shooting death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.