11-07-2011, 07:42 AM
Investigations Into BATFE Accelerate
Friday, March 25, 2011
As the BATFE faces an increasing array of questions about its activities in the "Fast and Furious" and "Project Gunrunner" programs, the scandal has taken its first political casualty and President Obama has finally commented directly on these problems.
On March 20, the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Carlos Pascual, resigned amid increasing criticisms from Mexican government officials. It was reported that the "Gun Runner" scandal was the last straw for President Felipe Calderon, who has said publicly that he does not trust Pascual.
When questioned by the media during his recent tour of South and Central America, President Obama claimed that neither he nor Attorney General Eric Holder had approved the investigations that led to hundreds and possibly thousands of firearms ending up in the hands of Mexican criminal cartels. Obama said, "There may be a situation here which [sic] a serious mistake was made" and went on to promise to find out and to hold those responsible accountable.
Congress is not waiting on the President, however, and there are now plans for investigations and hearings by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho), along with other members of the committee, urged Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) to conduct hearings, which Issa agreed to do. Chairman Issa has contacted BATFE Deputy Director Kenneth Melson and demanded his agency provide details about both "Fast and Furious" and "Project Gunrunner." Please click here to read that letter.
In addition, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who has been a leading critic of these BATFE investigations, has again called for more answers, saying his requests for more information have been "stonewalled" by the Obama Administration. Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is now expanding his inquiries to include requests for information from Customs and Border Protection regarding gun trafficking in New Mexico. "No longer can this administration stand idly by and answer every question by saying that the Justice Department Inspector General is investigating," Grassley wrote. "There is too much at stake." Please click here to read Sen. Grassley's release dated March 24th and to find links to his letters to administration officials.
As the BATFE continues to petition for the authority to collect more data on sales of firearms, the growing scandal that has resulted from these two investigative programs raises serious questions about BATFE's procedures and its ability to effectively carry out its duties. The NRA fully supports the actions of Chairman Issa, Rep. Labrador and members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to fully uncover the extent of the mistakes and the damage caused by BATFE's mismanagement of these investigations.
On March 9, NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox sent letters to key leaders in Congress calling for hearings to examine the firearms trafficking investigations tactics employed by the BATFE.
Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted an amendment to H.R. 1 offered by Reps. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) and Dan Boren (D-OK) that prohibits the use of federal funds for a new and unauthorized multiple sales reporting scheme proposed by the BATFE. The measure passed the chamber (277-149) with broad bipartisan support.
This week, the NRA-ILA sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner asking Congress to preserve the Boren-Rehberg amendment in the Continuing Resolution relating to federal government funding. Please click here to read the letter.
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federa...px?id=6493
****
Obama Administration Under Mounting Pressure for Botched Gun Trafficking Investigation
By William La Jeunesse
Published March 28, 2011
| FoxNews.com
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/...z1Rm7qxQYq
***
Project Gunrunner update: Issa subpoenas the stonewallers
By Michelle Malkin April 1, 2011 10:36 AM
Our GOP watchdogs are on the job. Project Gunrunner is not just going be swept under the rug by Obama's corruptocrats.
Just in…
April 1, 2011 Contact: Frederick Hill (202-225-0037)
Chairman Issa Subpoenas ATF for 'Project Gunrunner' Documents
Subpoena comes after ATF fails to meet earlier deadline
WASHINGTON. D.C. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today announced the issuance of a subpoena to the Department of Justices' Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) for documents related to the highly controversial "Project Gunrunner."
"The unwillingness of this Administration most specifically the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to answer questions about this deadly serious matter is deeply troubling," said Chairman Issa. "Allegations surrounding this program are serious and the ability of the Justice Department to conduct an impartial investigation is in question. Congressional oversight is necessary to get the truth about what is really happening."
On March 16, 2011, Chairman Issa wrote a letter to Acting Director Kenneth Melson of the ATF requesting specific documents related to Project Gunrunner, its "Fast and Furious" component, and records related to the death of Border Agent Brian Terry. ATF failed to meet the March 30th deadline for producing these documents and furthermore refused to voluntarily commit to any date for producing them.
Media reports have raised questions about the handling of operations involving gun trafficking into Mexico specifically the allegation that ATF has had a policy of permitting and even encouraging the movement of guns into Mexico by straw purchasers. This practice may have contributed to the deaths of hundreds on both sides of the border, including federal law enforcement agents. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), who has also been pursuing the matter, recently stated, "I'm still asking questions and we're still getting the runaround from the Justice Department, [t]hey're stonewalling."
President Obama recently stated that neither he nor Attorney General Holder authorized this operation. His statement did not specify whether Attorney General Holder was aware of this policy or who did authorize it. The Committee's investigation seeks answers to these questions and the true nature of Project Gunrunner.
Documents subpoenaed and due to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform by April 13, 2011, include:
1. Documents and communications relating to the genesis of Project Gunrunner and Operation Fast and Furious, and any memoranda or reports involving any changes to either program at or near the time of the release of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General report about Project Gunrunner in November 2010.
2. Documents and communications relating to individuals responsible for authorizing the decision to "walk" guns to Mexico in order to follow them and capture a "bigger fish."
3. Documents and communications relating to any investigations conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) or any other DOJ component following the fatal shooting of Agent Brian Terry, including information pertaining to two guns found at the crime scene that may have been connected to Project Gunrunner.
4. Documents and communications relating to any weapons recovered at the crime scene or during the investigation into the death of Agent Brian Terry.
5. Documents and communications between ATF and the Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) who sold weapons to Jaime Avila, including any Report of Investigation (ROI) or other records relating to a December 17, 2009 meeting "to discuss his role as an FFL during this investigation."
6. A copy of the presentation, approximately 200 pages long, that the Group 7 Supervisor made to officials at ATF headquarters in the spring of 2010.
7. Documents and communications relating to Operation Fast and Furious between and among ATF headquarters and Special Agent in Charge William D. Newell, Assistant Special Agents in Charge Jim Needles and George Gillette, Group Supervisor David Voth, or any Case Agent from November 1, 2009 to the present. The response to this component of the subpoena shall include a memorandum, approximately 30 pages long, from SAC Newell to ATF headquarters following the arrest of Jaime Avila and the death of Agent Brian Terry.
8. Documents and communications relating to complaints or objections by ATF agents about: (1) encouraging, sanctioning, or otherwise allowing FFLs to sell firearms to known or suspected straw buyers, (2) failure to maintain surveillance on known or suspected straw buyers, (3) failure to maintain operational control over weapons purchased by known or suspected straw buyers, or (4) letting known or suspected straw buyers with American guns enter Mexico.
http://michellemalkin.com/2011/04/01/pro...newallers/
***
Hearings Scheduled, Subpoenas To Be Issued In "Project Gunrunner" Investigation
Friday, June 10, 2011
The ongoing and escalating investigation into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' "Project Gunrunner" program has ratcheted up another notch this week as it was reported that subpoenas will soon be issued to federal officials associated with this controversial program.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, will issue the subpoenas in yet another attempt to find out if "Project Gunrunner" contributed to the killing of a Border Patrol agent. Rep. Issa's committee has also announced that two hearings on this disastrous operation will be held next week (Monday from 1:00 -- 3:00 p.m., and Wednesday from 9:30 -- 11:30 a.m.).
"Fast and Furious" was a part of the five-year-old "Project Gunrunner" program that encouraged border-state dealers to sell thousands of guns to suspicious buyers, even after suspecting these buyers were working for Mexican drug cartels.
A June 6 article in TheHill reports that two of the guns from the operation were found at the scene of an Arizona gun battle in December between U.S. law enforcement and members of a drug gang. That exchange resulted in the tragic death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, but officials have not revealed whether the bullet that struck him came from the guns the BATFE was supposed to be tracking. The article also reports that guns from the "Fast and Furious" operation might have been used in an attack on a Mexican government helicopter that was grounded after being fired upon by suspected members of a drug cartel.
Issa has been critical of the Department of Justice, which oversees BATFE, for refusing to provide all of the documents he's requested and for not making available all of the officials he's attempted to interview.
According to the article, Rep. Issa said in a recent interview with Fox News, "We have a slew of subpoenas we expect to be issuing for people here in Washington. What we haven't gotten one bit of is -- here in Washington, far away from the actual investigation and prosecutions that they seem to be using as a façade to protect them -- here in Washington, they're not making one agent available, one hierarchy available, and we will be issuing subpoenas because we have to," Issa said.
Stay tuned to future Grassroots Alerts for new developments.
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federa...px?id=6908
***
Report describes federal agents' state of panic' over gun sales
McClatchy Newspapers | Posted: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 9:00 pm
SEATTLE - Federal gun agents in Arizona - convinced that "someone was going to die" when their agency allowed weapons sales to suspected Mexican drug traffickers - made anguished pleas to be permitted to make arrests but were rebuffed, according to a new congressional report on the controversial law enforcement probe.
Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told congressional investigators that there was "a state of panic" that the guns used in the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson in January and two U.S. agents in Mexico a month later might have been sold under the U.S. surveillance operation.
"I used the word anxiety. The term I used amongst my peers is pucker factor," Larry Alt, special agent with ATF's Phoenix field division, told investigators preparing a joint staff report for U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and U.S. Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The report will be released Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
Neither of those shootings was ultimately linked to the "Fast and Furious" probe, though two weapons sold to a suspect under surveillance were found at the scene of the fatal shooting of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry near Nogales in December.
Terry's family will be among the key witnesses at an oversight committee hearing Wednesday on the ATF operation, under which the bureau allowed purchases of high-powered weapons in an attempt to track their progress into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. According to the report, and numerous interviews with the Los Angeles Times, several ATF agents regarded the operation as dangerous and misguided.
At least 195 of the weapons have been traced to Mexico, found mainly at crime scenes, but ATF agents quoted in the report said more than 1,700 firearms were trafficked "to known criminals or cartel elements south of the border and elsewhere" under the operation.
"I cannot see anyone who has one iota of concern for human life being OK with this," Agent John Dodson told committee interviewers.
In one case, Agent Pete Forcelli told the interviewers, an agent was making insistent calls over the radio, saying that gun traffickers had recognized him and begging for permission to stop the suspects. "But he was told to not stop the car with the guns in it," he said.
Dodson said the target was followed picking up money, buying guns and dropping them off somewhere else but recognized he was being followed and made obvious attempts to evade the surveillance. "I mean, there is a verbal screaming match over the radio about how - what are you talking about? There is no better time or reason to pull this guy over than right now," Dodson related.
Issa and Grassley have been butting heads with ATF supervisors and senior officials at the Justice Department who signed off on the Project Gunrunner operation, which was intended to begin catching the powerful drug cartel traffickers in Mexico and the U.S. who were receiving weapons from the relatively low-level "straw purchasers" who were paid to buy them from U.S. gun dealers.
The two agencies, the Republican congressmen say, have refused to provide documents about the origin, direction and supervision of the operation.
The Justice Department has provided some information, but officials say disclosing their files now could compromise the trial of the traffickers accused of purchasing the weapons found at the scene of Terry's killing, and also that of one of the suspected border bandits, Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, 34, who was arrested at the scene of the Terry shootout and faces charges of second-degree murder.
http://azstarnet.com/news/state-and-regi...03286.html
June 15th:
Feds watched as US guns were shipped to cartels
"Three federal firearms investigators told Congress on Wednesday that they were repeatedly ordered to step aside while gun buyers in Arizona walked away with AK-47s and other high-powered weaponry headed for Mexican drug cartels in a risky U.S. law enforcement operation that went out of control."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43413017/ns/...-americas/
***
Obama's the Target of Mexico Gunrunning Probe
by Roger Hedgecock
06/17/2011
Did the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), an agency of President Obama's Justice Department, operate a program that deliberately allowed some 3,500 guns bought in the U.S. to be "walked" across the Mexican border and into the waiting hands of the murderous Mexican drug cartels? At first, PresidentObama and Attorney General Eric Holder denied such a program existed.
Four ATF agents who worked in the program, called Operation Fast and Furious, however, answered yes this week in testimony before the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa (R.-Calif.).
Special Agent John Dodson testified that he was assigned to the Phoenix office of ATF and specifically to Group VII, the designation of the Fast and Furious team. There Dodson found that ATF agents had been following 40 individuals who were known "straw purchasers" of guns for the cartels from federal government-licensed gun shops in the U.S. Gun shop owners who called the ATF with concerns, to report suspicious buyers, were told to complete the sales.
In 2009, Obama, Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Dianne Feinstein had all charged that the increasing violence in Mexico was caused by guns purchased too easily in the U.S. They called on Congress to act to tighten gun control laws.
Obama specifically claimed 90% of the weapons in the cartels' hands were purchased in the U.S.sheer nonsense. Of the 100,000 or so guns recovered by the Mexicans at crime scenes at the time, 18,000 were found to be manufactured, sold or imported from the U.S. Of those, 7,900 came from federally licensed gun shops. Of those, up to 3,500 came from Operation Fast and Furious.
Was Operation Fast and Furious an Obama program to create a self-fulfilling prophecy and accomplish a gun control objective? Again the agents' testimony was clear.
Over 10 months in 2009 and 2010, Dodson testified that on an almost daily basis, he was ordered to take notes, record conversations, videotape gun purchases, make reports and track the movements of these straw buyers but nothing more.
With everyone knowing the guns were headed for Mexico and the drug cartels, Dodson and his fellow agents were ordered to not stop or arrest the suspects or impede the flow of weapons.
When the straw buyers handed the guns off to third parties, ATF agents were told to follow the straw buyers, not the third parties who headed for the border with the guns. When the agents objected, they were told to "get with the program" and that "higher-ups" including "senior ATF officials" had sanctioned the operation.
In a Jan. 25, 2011, Phoenix press conference, Special Agent in Charge William Newell was asked whether ATF agents were ever ordered to allow guns to "walk" into Mexico. He answered, "Hell no!"
Leaked e-mail traffic from spring 2010 documents show that ATF management from Acting Director Kenneth Melson on down were personally briefed in Phoenix on Operation Fast and Furious by Newell.
One of these e-mails describes Melson's intense interest in the program, including getting the IP address for the hidden cameras located in a gun shop in Arizona so he could watch the straw buyer buy guns on a screen in his Washington, D.C., office.
Melson later said Fast and Furious was really a sting operation "gone wrong." The agents had been ordered not to stop the little fish (the straw buyers) so that the guns could be traced to the big fish (the cartel bosses).
This lame explanation ignored the fact that ATF agents were ordered to not follow the guns and that ATF had no jurisdiction to take down anyone in Mexico. In fact, no "sting" ever occurred, no arrests of cartel bosses ever happened. ATF made no effort to trace the guns after they crossed the border.
ATF agents feared that one day one of these guns would show up at a crime scene. That day came one night last December when Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, armed with a bean bag gun, was killed by an AK-47 armed cartel bandito in the Arizona desert. The serial numbers on two AK-47s found at the site of the shooting identified them as coming from one of the straw purchases that the ATF agents had been tracking but were ordered not to stop.
The Mexican government has linked 150 of its police or military casualties to Fast and Furious guns. As Issa pointed out, referring to a State Department report, in the last year 111 Americans were killed in Mexicovictims of the drug war.
After bloggers started talking about what they called Project Gunwalker, CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson began a series of reports that blew the story wide open. On-air interviews with the ATF agents made Gunwalker a big story on both sides of the border.
At this point, Obama said neither he nor Holder had authorized the program, but admitted "mistakes had been made" and vowed to "hold the responsible parties accountable." Holder ordered an internal investigation.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R.-Iowa) repeatedly sent letters to Holder demanding information. In a February 4, 2011, response letter to Grassley, Justice Department Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Ron Weich described as "false" Grassley's assertion that ATF had knowingly allowed guns to be purchased and walked into Mexico.
Weich, a former aide to Sen. Harry Reid, told Grassley that "ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally, and prevent their transportation to Mexico." Challenged on the truth of this statement, the Justice Department says that because the straw buyers themselves did not cross the border but handed the weapons off to third parties, the statement was true. Huh?
In 2009-'10, the ATF agents were ordered to not arrest the "little fish." Following revelations of the Gunwalker program, the Justice Department indicted 20 of the straw buyers who were known to ATF before Fast and Furious began. Then Justice stonewalled answering any more letters seeking information on the program from Issa or from Grassley and refused to respond to Issa's committee subpoenas on the grounds that there was an ongoing criminal prosecution!
Rahm Emanuel, when he was Obama's chief of staff, famously said that no crisis should ever go to waste if it could advance the agenda. Did Obama go Rahm one better, advancing the gun-control agenda by manufacturing a crisis caused by gunrunning into Mexico, where one of the gunrunners was the U.S. government?
Members of the Mexican Congress think the answer is yes and have opened their own investigation. From the Mexican standpoint, Operation Fast and Furious was an act of war on Mexico.
For Americans of a certain age, the next question is, "What did the President know, and when did he know it?"
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=44246
****
Hearing On "Fast And Furious" Uncovers Serious Failure At BATFE
Friday, June 17, 2011
The congressional hearings held this week by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform revealed that the gun smuggling investigation known as "Fast and Furious" that was implemented out of the Phoenix Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) office was conducted in a reckless manner that led to the illegal sale of thousands of firearms. Many of those firearms ended up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels and other criminals, and may have contributed to the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.
Some of the most important findings of the hearing and the investigative report compiled by the Committee staff include:
BATFE knowingly allowed as many as 2,500 firearms to be sold illegally to known or suspected straw purchasers. One of those purchasers accounted for over 700 illegal guns.
BATFE ordered its agents working the program not to arrest illegal gun buyers or to interdict thousands of guns that were allowed to "walk" into criminal hands.
Senior BATFE officials in Washington were regularly briefed on the operation and approved of the tactics employed.
BATFE agents who opposed the operation and who raised objections were told to "get with the program" and threatened with job retaliation if they continued their opposition.
A number of BATFE agents who were assigned to "Fast and Furious" testified about the operation.
Special Agent John Dodson, in his prepared testimony, stated: "Simply put, during this operation known as Fast and Furious, we, ATF, failed to fulfill one of our most fundamental obligations, to caretake the public trust; in part, to keep guns out of the hands of criminals."
Dodson, along with Special Agents Olindo James Casa and Peter Forcelli each voiced strong opposition to the tactics employed that allowed so many firearms to be sold illegally. In each case, their objections were repeatedly dismissed by BATFE superiors.
In fact, Special Agent Casa testified that BATFE officials sent out an e-mail rebuking those who opposed the plan with thinly veiled threats of professional retaliation. "Based on my eighteen years of experience with ATF," testified Casa, "I did not think the e-mail was an empty threat and took it very serious. It has become common practice for ATF Supervisors to retaliate against employees that do not blindly toe the company line, no matter what the consequences."
Agent Casa stated that agents were ordered not to take action against illegal gun buyers or to seize the firearms. Instead, surveillance was regularly terminated without further action.
Agent Casa went on to describe the operation as recklessly planned and implemented with the purpose of allowing firearms to be illegally trafficked.
Other testimony contradicted the long held position of anti-gun politicians that U.S. gun stores are part of criminal gun trafficking. In truth, gun dealers regularly cooperate with law enforcement and are a crucial ally in fighting gun traffickers.
As Agent Forcelli put it: "The gun dealers were our friends. They helped us make a lot of these cases. … But the problem is then, by getting them mixed up in this thing and encouraging to sell -- encouraging them to sell guns when they decided to stop did not help our reputation with the gun industry."
In total, the witness statements and the findings of the staff report paint a shocking picture of an operation that intentionally allowed thousands of guns to end up in the hands of some of the most violent criminals in North America. It also showed that senior officials of the BATFE, and not just regional or field supervisors, approved of the operation and received regular reports on its progress.
The failure of the BATFE to conduct its law enforcement duties in a responsible manner and the failure of senior leadership to heed the warnings and objections of field agents directly increased the level of violence in the southwest border region and increased the threat by ruthless drug cartels to law enforcement officers and private citizens, both in the U.S. and in Mexico.
The hearings and report also show two additional serious problems.
First, since the story of this reckless operation became known, the Department of Justice has refused to fully respond to congressional inquiries. Both Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee have repeatedly requested full disclosure and been rebuffed. After nearly six months, DOJ continues to stonewall. Chairman Issa pointed out that even the information that was provided to the committee was heavily redacted, with most of the key information blacked out.
This exchange between Rep. Issa and Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich clearly shows the ongoing refusal of the DOJ to cooperate:
Chairman Issa: "Who authorized this program that got people killed? Who here in Washington authorized it?
Weich: "We don't know."
"We don't know" is also the answer Attorney General Eric Holder provided to that same question when asked a few weeks ago. But after six months of scandal and scrutiny, it seems hard to believe the Attorney General still cannot answer this simple question. Or is it that he will not?
The hearings also revealed just how far the anti-gun apologists for the Obama administration will go to change the subject and try to use any crisis to advance their anti-gun agenda.
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, attempted to turn the hearings into a discussion of our gun laws. He announced that the Democrats on the committee will hold their own hearings to bring in witnesses that will argue for more gun laws.
Even in the face of overwhelming evidence of the reckless misuse of law enforcement authority by the BATFE and the agency's intentional failure to stop the illegal sale of firearms to criminals, Rep. Cummings and other anti-gun politicians still believe that more gun laws are needed. In fact, the investigation of this scandal proves that federal and state law enforcement, including BATFE, have all the tools they need, except the leadership needed to conduct criminal investigations in a responsible manner. Clearly, in the case of operation "Fast and Furious" that leadership failed spectacularly.
For more information on the hearing, please see the following materials:
Joint Congressional Staff Report
Hearing On "Fast And Furious" Uncovers Serious Failure At BATFE
Friday, June 17, 2011
The congressional hearings held this week by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform revealed that the gun smuggling investigation known as "Fast and Furious" that was implemented out of the Phoenix Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) office was conducted in a reckless manner that led to the illegal sale of thousands of firearms. Many of those firearms ended up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels and other criminals, and may have contributed to the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.
Some of the most important findings of the hearing and the investigative report compiled by the Committee staff include:
BATFE knowingly allowed as many as 2,500 firearms to be sold illegally to known or suspected straw purchasers. One of those purchasers accounted for over 700 illegal guns.
BATFE ordered its agents working the program not to arrest illegal gun buyers or to interdict thousands of guns that were allowed to "walk" into criminal hands.
Senior BATFE officials in Washington were regularly briefed on the operation and approved of the tactics employed.
BATFE agents who opposed the operation and who raised objections were told to "get with the program" and threatened with job retaliation if they continued their opposition.
A number of BATFE agents who were assigned to "Fast and Furious" testified about the operation.
Special Agent John Dodson, in his prepared testimony, stated: "Simply put, during this operation known as Fast and Furious, we, ATF, failed to fulfill one of our most fundamental obligations, to caretake the public trust; in part, to keep guns out of the hands of criminals."
Dodson, along with Special Agents Olindo James Casa and Peter Forcelli each voiced strong opposition to the tactics employed that allowed so many firearms to be sold illegally. In each case, their objections were repeatedly dismissed by BATFE superiors.
In fact, Special Agent Casa testified that BATFE officials sent out an e-mail rebuking those who opposed the plan with thinly veiled threats of professional retaliation. "Based on my eighteen years of experience with ATF," testified Casa, "I did not think the e-mail was an empty threat and took it very serious. It has become common practice for ATF Supervisors to retaliate against employees that do not blindly toe the company line, no matter what the consequences."
Agent Casa stated that agents were ordered not to take action against illegal gun buyers or to seize the firearms. Instead, surveillance was regularly terminated without further action.
Agent Casa went on to describe the operation as recklessly planned and implemented with the purpose of allowing firearms to be illegally trafficked.
Other testimony contradicted the long held position of anti-gun politicians that U.S. gun stores are part of criminal gun trafficking. In truth, gun dealers regularly cooperate with law enforcement and are a crucial ally in fighting gun traffickers.
As Agent Forcelli put it: "The gun dealers were our friends. They helped us make a lot of these cases. … But the problem is then, by getting them mixed up in this thing and encouraging to sell -- encouraging them to sell guns when they decided to stop did not help our reputation with the gun industry."
In total, the witness statements and the findings of the staff report paint a shocking picture of an operation that intentionally allowed thousands of guns to end up in the hands of some of the most violent criminals in North America. It also showed that senior officials of the BATFE, and not just regional or field supervisors, approved of the operation and received regular reports on its progress.
The failure of the BATFE to conduct its law enforcement duties in a responsible manner and the failure of senior leadership to heed the warnings and objections of field agents directly increased the level of violence in the southwest border region and increased the threat by ruthless drug cartels to law enforcement officers and private citizens, both in the U.S. and in Mexico.
The hearings and report also show two additional serious problems.
First, since the story of this reckless operation became known, the Department of Justice has refused to fully respond to congressional inquiries. Both Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee have repeatedly requested full disclosure and been rebuffed. After nearly six months, DOJ continues to stonewall. Chairman Issa pointed out that even the information that was provided to the committee was heavily redacted, with most of the key information blacked out.
This exchange between Rep. Issa and Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich clearly shows the ongoing refusal of the DOJ to cooperate:
Chairman Issa: "Who authorized this program that got people killed? Who here in Washington authorized it?"
Weich: "We don't know."
"We don't know" is also the answer Attorney General Eric Holder provided to that same question when asked a few weeks ago. But after six months of scandal and scrutiny, it seems hard to believe the Attorney General still cannot answer this simple question. Or is it that he will not?
The hearings also revealed just how far the anti-gun apologists for the Obama administration will go to change the subject and try to use any crisis to advance their anti-gun agenda.
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, attempted to turn the hearings into a discussion of our gun laws. He announced that the Democrats on the committee will hold their own hearings to bring in witnesses that will argue for more gun laws.
Even in the face of overwhelming evidence of the reckless misuse of law enforcement authority by the BATFE and the agency's intentional failure to stop the illegal sale of firearms to criminals, Rep. Cummings and other anti-gun politicians still believe that more gun laws are needed. In fact, the investigation of this scandal proves that federal and state law enforcement, including BATFE, have all the tools they need, except the leadership needed to conduct criminal investigations in a responsible manner. Clearly, in the case of operation "Fast and Furious" that leadership failed spectacularly.
For more information on the hearing, please see the following materials:
Joint Congressional Staff Report
Hearing Transcript
Written Testimony of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
Written Testimony of Special Agent Olindo James Casa
Written Testimony of Special Agent John Dodson
Written Testimony of Special Agent Peter Forcelli
Written Testimony of Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich
News links:
Issa: DoJ should be 'ashamed'
The Hill, June 16, 2011
House Panel Slams 'Fast and Furious' Gun Operation Tied to Border Agent's Death
Fox News , June 15, 2011
Family of Slain Agent Seeks Answers at Gun Hearing
The Wall Street Journal, June 15, 2011
Democrats try to channel scandal into gun control push
Daily Caller, June 15, 2011
Deadly U.S. gun operation called 'felony stupid'
CNN Wire, June 15, 2011
Joint Congressional Staff Repoort
http://www.nraila.org/pdfs/jointstffreport.pdf
Hearing Transcript
http://www.nraila.org/pdfs/hearingtranscript.pdf
Written Testimony of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
http://www.nraila.org/pdfs/CGrassley.pdf
Written Testimony of Special Agent Olindo James Casa
http://www.nraila.org/pdfs/SACasa.pdf
Written Testimony of Special Agent John Dodson
http://www.nraila.org/pdfs/SADodson.pdf
Written Testimony of Special Agent Peter Forcelli
http://www.nraila.org/pdfs/SAForcelli.pdf
Written Testimony of Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich
http://www.nraila.org/pdfs/AAGWeich.pdf
News stories:
Issa: DoJ should be 'ashamed'
The Hill, June 16, 2011
House Panel Slams 'Fast and Furious' Gun Operation Tied to Border Agent's Death
Fox News , June 15, 2011
Family of Slain Agent Seeks Answers at Gun Hearing
The Wall Street Journal, June 15, 2011
Democrats try to channel scandal into gun control push
Daily Caller, June 15, 2011
Deadly U.S. gun operation called 'felony stupid'
CNN Wire, June 15, 2011
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JUNE 18, 2011
Obama tossing Melson under the bus?
http://hotair.com/archives/2011/06/18/ob...r-the-bus/
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As 'Fast and Furious' Fiasco Unfolds, Obama ATF Nominee Prepares Return to Washington
With the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives facing its worst scandal in decades, the man nominated by President Obama to take over as its next chief is headed to Washington this week to meet with top Justice Department officials.
Andrew Traver was nominated in November by President Obama to become the permanent ATF director, but his nomination has been held by objections from groups that say Traver is hostile to the rights of gun owners.
Nonetheless, Traver's return to Washington Tuesday for a meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Attorney General James Cole could be the first step toward ousting acting director, Kenneth Melson.
Melson has led the agency since April 2009 supplanting a Bush administration acting director who was also unable to get Senate confirmation over the objections of gun rights groups.
But it was during Melson's tenure that the ATF Phoenix office began "Operation Fast and Furious" in the fall of 2009. Fast and Furious was described as an effort to trace and stop the trafficking of illegal guns but instead allowed thousands of guns to get into the hands of Mexican cartel members.
Officials at the Justice Department and the White House say it's "speculative" to conclude that Traver's arrival in Washington is a sign that the Obama administration is looking to oust Melson in the wake of the politically damaging operation.
But The Wall Street Journal, which was first to report Traver's return, said sources indicated that the administration is weighing whether to name him as acting director or choose another interim chief while awaiting Senate action on his nomination.
Fast and Furious has been the center of an investigation by Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, as well as Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.
The two say they learned about the program after Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed in December 2010. At the crime scene were two guns linked to the Fast and Furious operation.
At an Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing last week, three federal firearms investigators testified that they wanted to "intervene and interdict" loads of guns, but were repeatedly ordered to step aside to allow suspected smugglers to carry the weapons over the border.
Grassley said that he wants to know from how high those orders came.
"The president said he didn't authorize it, and that the attorney general didn't authorize it. They have both admitted that quote unquote a serious mistake may have been made," Grassley testified. "There are a lot of questions and a lot of investigating to do, but one thing has become clear already -- this was no mistake."
Click here to read more from The Wall Street Journal.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/06/...z1Pl3NlZ00
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From the publisher's foreword to "The Last Circle":
The Last Circle is a tale of our time: an era of "high crimes and misdemeanors." These acts are not more heinous, but are simply committed by personages in "lofty" positions, for preeminence bestows deeper responsibilities, stricter standards, and demands honest transparency, especially while dedicating our common weal..... Finding Antony Sutton's books in the late '80s finally gave me some perspective on what my former-OSS/G2/CIA father had originally told me some twenty years earlier about a hidden world behind the curtain: of intelligence agencies, secret societies, war, propaganda, the drug trade, unlimited budgets and the attending undercurrents of corruption. Hubris plumped for a fall....TrineDay has brought many stories of contemporary corruption to press, only to see the system deftly sidestep astounding revelations with disdain, malice and fluffery.
Thomas Jefferson declared, "The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty."
Venturing on the Internet you find the long-suffering aren't remaining quiet, yet the hubbub is kept at bay through spin, lies, and a compliant media, leaving us wandering through a foggy soporific fraud."
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A 'Fast and Furious' border fiasco
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/ope...z1PpeUpGwQ
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REPORT: ATF chief resisting pressure to step down...
'Eager' to testify about botched gun operation...
The acting director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is strongly resisting pressure to step down because of growing controversy over the agency's surveillance program that allowed U.S. guns to flow unchecked into Mexico, according to several federal sources in Washington.
Kenneth E. Melson, who has run the bureau for two years, is reportedly eager to testify to Congress about the extent of his and other officials' involvement in the operation, code-named Fast and Furious.
Melson does not want to be "the fall guy" for the program, under which ATF agents allowed straw purchasers to acquire more than 1,700 AK-47s and other high-powered rifles from Arizona gun dealers, the sources said.
The idea was to track the guns to drug cartel leaders. But that goal proved elusive, and the guns turned up at shootings in Mexico, as well as at the slaying in Arizona of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in December.
"He is saying he won't go," said one source close to the situation, who asked for anonymity because high-level discussions with Melson remained fluid. "He has told them, 'I'm not going to be the fall guy on this.' "
Added a second source, who also requested anonymity: "He's resisting. He does not want to go."
Melson has an open invitation to appear on Capitol Hill. So far, he has not been given Justice Department approval to appear before Congress.
This week, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said he hoped that Melson would give a full accounting of how the gun operation was conceived and carried out.
He also said Melson should resign, and that other senior leaders at ATF and the Justice Department should be held accountable as well.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also is awaiting answers from Melson, and cautioned this week that even if the acting director stepped down, it "would be, by no means, the end of our inquiry."
The Justice Department said it was cooperating with congressional leaders.
"We've been working with the [Issa] committee on interviews, including Melson, and will continue to do that," said Tracy Schmaler, a Justice Department spokesperson.
At ATF headquarters in Washington, officials said Melson "continues to be focused" on leading the agency. His chief spokesman, Scott Thomasson, added, "We are not going to comment on any speculations" about Melson's status as head of the agency.
At a House hearing last week, testimony from ATF agents portrayed Melson as closely involved in overseeing the venture. At one point, according to documents released by Congress, he asked for and received log-in information and a link to an Internet feed in order to watch some of the illegal straw purchases.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/...3758.story
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Friday, March 25, 2011
As the BATFE faces an increasing array of questions about its activities in the "Fast and Furious" and "Project Gunrunner" programs, the scandal has taken its first political casualty and President Obama has finally commented directly on these problems.
On March 20, the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Carlos Pascual, resigned amid increasing criticisms from Mexican government officials. It was reported that the "Gun Runner" scandal was the last straw for President Felipe Calderon, who has said publicly that he does not trust Pascual.
When questioned by the media during his recent tour of South and Central America, President Obama claimed that neither he nor Attorney General Eric Holder had approved the investigations that led to hundreds and possibly thousands of firearms ending up in the hands of Mexican criminal cartels. Obama said, "There may be a situation here which [sic] a serious mistake was made" and went on to promise to find out and to hold those responsible accountable.
Congress is not waiting on the President, however, and there are now plans for investigations and hearings by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho), along with other members of the committee, urged Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) to conduct hearings, which Issa agreed to do. Chairman Issa has contacted BATFE Deputy Director Kenneth Melson and demanded his agency provide details about both "Fast and Furious" and "Project Gunrunner." Please click here to read that letter.
In addition, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who has been a leading critic of these BATFE investigations, has again called for more answers, saying his requests for more information have been "stonewalled" by the Obama Administration. Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is now expanding his inquiries to include requests for information from Customs and Border Protection regarding gun trafficking in New Mexico. "No longer can this administration stand idly by and answer every question by saying that the Justice Department Inspector General is investigating," Grassley wrote. "There is too much at stake." Please click here to read Sen. Grassley's release dated March 24th and to find links to his letters to administration officials.
As the BATFE continues to petition for the authority to collect more data on sales of firearms, the growing scandal that has resulted from these two investigative programs raises serious questions about BATFE's procedures and its ability to effectively carry out its duties. The NRA fully supports the actions of Chairman Issa, Rep. Labrador and members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to fully uncover the extent of the mistakes and the damage caused by BATFE's mismanagement of these investigations.
On March 9, NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox sent letters to key leaders in Congress calling for hearings to examine the firearms trafficking investigations tactics employed by the BATFE.
Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted an amendment to H.R. 1 offered by Reps. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) and Dan Boren (D-OK) that prohibits the use of federal funds for a new and unauthorized multiple sales reporting scheme proposed by the BATFE. The measure passed the chamber (277-149) with broad bipartisan support.
This week, the NRA-ILA sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner asking Congress to preserve the Boren-Rehberg amendment in the Continuing Resolution relating to federal government funding. Please click here to read the letter.
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federa...px?id=6493
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Obama Administration Under Mounting Pressure for Botched Gun Trafficking Investigation
By William La Jeunesse
Published March 28, 2011
| FoxNews.com
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/...z1Rm7qxQYq
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Project Gunrunner update: Issa subpoenas the stonewallers
By Michelle Malkin April 1, 2011 10:36 AM
Our GOP watchdogs are on the job. Project Gunrunner is not just going be swept under the rug by Obama's corruptocrats.
Just in…
April 1, 2011 Contact: Frederick Hill (202-225-0037)
Chairman Issa Subpoenas ATF for 'Project Gunrunner' Documents
Subpoena comes after ATF fails to meet earlier deadline
WASHINGTON. D.C. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today announced the issuance of a subpoena to the Department of Justices' Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) for documents related to the highly controversial "Project Gunrunner."
"The unwillingness of this Administration most specifically the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to answer questions about this deadly serious matter is deeply troubling," said Chairman Issa. "Allegations surrounding this program are serious and the ability of the Justice Department to conduct an impartial investigation is in question. Congressional oversight is necessary to get the truth about what is really happening."
On March 16, 2011, Chairman Issa wrote a letter to Acting Director Kenneth Melson of the ATF requesting specific documents related to Project Gunrunner, its "Fast and Furious" component, and records related to the death of Border Agent Brian Terry. ATF failed to meet the March 30th deadline for producing these documents and furthermore refused to voluntarily commit to any date for producing them.
Media reports have raised questions about the handling of operations involving gun trafficking into Mexico specifically the allegation that ATF has had a policy of permitting and even encouraging the movement of guns into Mexico by straw purchasers. This practice may have contributed to the deaths of hundreds on both sides of the border, including federal law enforcement agents. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), who has also been pursuing the matter, recently stated, "I'm still asking questions and we're still getting the runaround from the Justice Department, [t]hey're stonewalling."
President Obama recently stated that neither he nor Attorney General Holder authorized this operation. His statement did not specify whether Attorney General Holder was aware of this policy or who did authorize it. The Committee's investigation seeks answers to these questions and the true nature of Project Gunrunner.
Documents subpoenaed and due to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform by April 13, 2011, include:
1. Documents and communications relating to the genesis of Project Gunrunner and Operation Fast and Furious, and any memoranda or reports involving any changes to either program at or near the time of the release of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General report about Project Gunrunner in November 2010.
2. Documents and communications relating to individuals responsible for authorizing the decision to "walk" guns to Mexico in order to follow them and capture a "bigger fish."
3. Documents and communications relating to any investigations conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) or any other DOJ component following the fatal shooting of Agent Brian Terry, including information pertaining to two guns found at the crime scene that may have been connected to Project Gunrunner.
4. Documents and communications relating to any weapons recovered at the crime scene or during the investigation into the death of Agent Brian Terry.
5. Documents and communications between ATF and the Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) who sold weapons to Jaime Avila, including any Report of Investigation (ROI) or other records relating to a December 17, 2009 meeting "to discuss his role as an FFL during this investigation."
6. A copy of the presentation, approximately 200 pages long, that the Group 7 Supervisor made to officials at ATF headquarters in the spring of 2010.
7. Documents and communications relating to Operation Fast and Furious between and among ATF headquarters and Special Agent in Charge William D. Newell, Assistant Special Agents in Charge Jim Needles and George Gillette, Group Supervisor David Voth, or any Case Agent from November 1, 2009 to the present. The response to this component of the subpoena shall include a memorandum, approximately 30 pages long, from SAC Newell to ATF headquarters following the arrest of Jaime Avila and the death of Agent Brian Terry.
8. Documents and communications relating to complaints or objections by ATF agents about: (1) encouraging, sanctioning, or otherwise allowing FFLs to sell firearms to known or suspected straw buyers, (2) failure to maintain surveillance on known or suspected straw buyers, (3) failure to maintain operational control over weapons purchased by known or suspected straw buyers, or (4) letting known or suspected straw buyers with American guns enter Mexico.
http://michellemalkin.com/2011/04/01/pro...newallers/
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Hearings Scheduled, Subpoenas To Be Issued In "Project Gunrunner" Investigation
Friday, June 10, 2011
The ongoing and escalating investigation into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' "Project Gunrunner" program has ratcheted up another notch this week as it was reported that subpoenas will soon be issued to federal officials associated with this controversial program.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, will issue the subpoenas in yet another attempt to find out if "Project Gunrunner" contributed to the killing of a Border Patrol agent. Rep. Issa's committee has also announced that two hearings on this disastrous operation will be held next week (Monday from 1:00 -- 3:00 p.m., and Wednesday from 9:30 -- 11:30 a.m.).
"Fast and Furious" was a part of the five-year-old "Project Gunrunner" program that encouraged border-state dealers to sell thousands of guns to suspicious buyers, even after suspecting these buyers were working for Mexican drug cartels.
A June 6 article in TheHill reports that two of the guns from the operation were found at the scene of an Arizona gun battle in December between U.S. law enforcement and members of a drug gang. That exchange resulted in the tragic death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, but officials have not revealed whether the bullet that struck him came from the guns the BATFE was supposed to be tracking. The article also reports that guns from the "Fast and Furious" operation might have been used in an attack on a Mexican government helicopter that was grounded after being fired upon by suspected members of a drug cartel.
Issa has been critical of the Department of Justice, which oversees BATFE, for refusing to provide all of the documents he's requested and for not making available all of the officials he's attempted to interview.
According to the article, Rep. Issa said in a recent interview with Fox News, "We have a slew of subpoenas we expect to be issuing for people here in Washington. What we haven't gotten one bit of is -- here in Washington, far away from the actual investigation and prosecutions that they seem to be using as a façade to protect them -- here in Washington, they're not making one agent available, one hierarchy available, and we will be issuing subpoenas because we have to," Issa said.
Stay tuned to future Grassroots Alerts for new developments.
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federa...px?id=6908
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Report describes federal agents' state of panic' over gun sales
McClatchy Newspapers | Posted: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 9:00 pm
SEATTLE - Federal gun agents in Arizona - convinced that "someone was going to die" when their agency allowed weapons sales to suspected Mexican drug traffickers - made anguished pleas to be permitted to make arrests but were rebuffed, according to a new congressional report on the controversial law enforcement probe.
Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told congressional investigators that there was "a state of panic" that the guns used in the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson in January and two U.S. agents in Mexico a month later might have been sold under the U.S. surveillance operation.
"I used the word anxiety. The term I used amongst my peers is pucker factor," Larry Alt, special agent with ATF's Phoenix field division, told investigators preparing a joint staff report for U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and U.S. Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The report will be released Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
Neither of those shootings was ultimately linked to the "Fast and Furious" probe, though two weapons sold to a suspect under surveillance were found at the scene of the fatal shooting of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry near Nogales in December.
Terry's family will be among the key witnesses at an oversight committee hearing Wednesday on the ATF operation, under which the bureau allowed purchases of high-powered weapons in an attempt to track their progress into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. According to the report, and numerous interviews with the Los Angeles Times, several ATF agents regarded the operation as dangerous and misguided.
At least 195 of the weapons have been traced to Mexico, found mainly at crime scenes, but ATF agents quoted in the report said more than 1,700 firearms were trafficked "to known criminals or cartel elements south of the border and elsewhere" under the operation.
"I cannot see anyone who has one iota of concern for human life being OK with this," Agent John Dodson told committee interviewers.
In one case, Agent Pete Forcelli told the interviewers, an agent was making insistent calls over the radio, saying that gun traffickers had recognized him and begging for permission to stop the suspects. "But he was told to not stop the car with the guns in it," he said.
Dodson said the target was followed picking up money, buying guns and dropping them off somewhere else but recognized he was being followed and made obvious attempts to evade the surveillance. "I mean, there is a verbal screaming match over the radio about how - what are you talking about? There is no better time or reason to pull this guy over than right now," Dodson related.
Issa and Grassley have been butting heads with ATF supervisors and senior officials at the Justice Department who signed off on the Project Gunrunner operation, which was intended to begin catching the powerful drug cartel traffickers in Mexico and the U.S. who were receiving weapons from the relatively low-level "straw purchasers" who were paid to buy them from U.S. gun dealers.
The two agencies, the Republican congressmen say, have refused to provide documents about the origin, direction and supervision of the operation.
The Justice Department has provided some information, but officials say disclosing their files now could compromise the trial of the traffickers accused of purchasing the weapons found at the scene of Terry's killing, and also that of one of the suspected border bandits, Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, 34, who was arrested at the scene of the Terry shootout and faces charges of second-degree murder.
http://azstarnet.com/news/state-and-regi...03286.html
June 15th:
Feds watched as US guns were shipped to cartels
"Three federal firearms investigators told Congress on Wednesday that they were repeatedly ordered to step aside while gun buyers in Arizona walked away with AK-47s and other high-powered weaponry headed for Mexican drug cartels in a risky U.S. law enforcement operation that went out of control."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43413017/ns/...-americas/
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Obama's the Target of Mexico Gunrunning Probe
by Roger Hedgecock
06/17/2011
Did the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), an agency of President Obama's Justice Department, operate a program that deliberately allowed some 3,500 guns bought in the U.S. to be "walked" across the Mexican border and into the waiting hands of the murderous Mexican drug cartels? At first, PresidentObama and Attorney General Eric Holder denied such a program existed.
Four ATF agents who worked in the program, called Operation Fast and Furious, however, answered yes this week in testimony before the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa (R.-Calif.).
Special Agent John Dodson testified that he was assigned to the Phoenix office of ATF and specifically to Group VII, the designation of the Fast and Furious team. There Dodson found that ATF agents had been following 40 individuals who were known "straw purchasers" of guns for the cartels from federal government-licensed gun shops in the U.S. Gun shop owners who called the ATF with concerns, to report suspicious buyers, were told to complete the sales.
In 2009, Obama, Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Dianne Feinstein had all charged that the increasing violence in Mexico was caused by guns purchased too easily in the U.S. They called on Congress to act to tighten gun control laws.
Obama specifically claimed 90% of the weapons in the cartels' hands were purchased in the U.S.sheer nonsense. Of the 100,000 or so guns recovered by the Mexicans at crime scenes at the time, 18,000 were found to be manufactured, sold or imported from the U.S. Of those, 7,900 came from federally licensed gun shops. Of those, up to 3,500 came from Operation Fast and Furious.
Was Operation Fast and Furious an Obama program to create a self-fulfilling prophecy and accomplish a gun control objective? Again the agents' testimony was clear.
Over 10 months in 2009 and 2010, Dodson testified that on an almost daily basis, he was ordered to take notes, record conversations, videotape gun purchases, make reports and track the movements of these straw buyers but nothing more.
With everyone knowing the guns were headed for Mexico and the drug cartels, Dodson and his fellow agents were ordered to not stop or arrest the suspects or impede the flow of weapons.
When the straw buyers handed the guns off to third parties, ATF agents were told to follow the straw buyers, not the third parties who headed for the border with the guns. When the agents objected, they were told to "get with the program" and that "higher-ups" including "senior ATF officials" had sanctioned the operation.
In a Jan. 25, 2011, Phoenix press conference, Special Agent in Charge William Newell was asked whether ATF agents were ever ordered to allow guns to "walk" into Mexico. He answered, "Hell no!"
Leaked e-mail traffic from spring 2010 documents show that ATF management from Acting Director Kenneth Melson on down were personally briefed in Phoenix on Operation Fast and Furious by Newell.
One of these e-mails describes Melson's intense interest in the program, including getting the IP address for the hidden cameras located in a gun shop in Arizona so he could watch the straw buyer buy guns on a screen in his Washington, D.C., office.
Melson later said Fast and Furious was really a sting operation "gone wrong." The agents had been ordered not to stop the little fish (the straw buyers) so that the guns could be traced to the big fish (the cartel bosses).
This lame explanation ignored the fact that ATF agents were ordered to not follow the guns and that ATF had no jurisdiction to take down anyone in Mexico. In fact, no "sting" ever occurred, no arrests of cartel bosses ever happened. ATF made no effort to trace the guns after they crossed the border.
ATF agents feared that one day one of these guns would show up at a crime scene. That day came one night last December when Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, armed with a bean bag gun, was killed by an AK-47 armed cartel bandito in the Arizona desert. The serial numbers on two AK-47s found at the site of the shooting identified them as coming from one of the straw purchases that the ATF agents had been tracking but were ordered not to stop.
The Mexican government has linked 150 of its police or military casualties to Fast and Furious guns. As Issa pointed out, referring to a State Department report, in the last year 111 Americans were killed in Mexicovictims of the drug war.
After bloggers started talking about what they called Project Gunwalker, CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson began a series of reports that blew the story wide open. On-air interviews with the ATF agents made Gunwalker a big story on both sides of the border.
At this point, Obama said neither he nor Holder had authorized the program, but admitted "mistakes had been made" and vowed to "hold the responsible parties accountable." Holder ordered an internal investigation.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R.-Iowa) repeatedly sent letters to Holder demanding information. In a February 4, 2011, response letter to Grassley, Justice Department Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Ron Weich described as "false" Grassley's assertion that ATF had knowingly allowed guns to be purchased and walked into Mexico.
Weich, a former aide to Sen. Harry Reid, told Grassley that "ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally, and prevent their transportation to Mexico." Challenged on the truth of this statement, the Justice Department says that because the straw buyers themselves did not cross the border but handed the weapons off to third parties, the statement was true. Huh?
In 2009-'10, the ATF agents were ordered to not arrest the "little fish." Following revelations of the Gunwalker program, the Justice Department indicted 20 of the straw buyers who were known to ATF before Fast and Furious began. Then Justice stonewalled answering any more letters seeking information on the program from Issa or from Grassley and refused to respond to Issa's committee subpoenas on the grounds that there was an ongoing criminal prosecution!
Rahm Emanuel, when he was Obama's chief of staff, famously said that no crisis should ever go to waste if it could advance the agenda. Did Obama go Rahm one better, advancing the gun-control agenda by manufacturing a crisis caused by gunrunning into Mexico, where one of the gunrunners was the U.S. government?
Members of the Mexican Congress think the answer is yes and have opened their own investigation. From the Mexican standpoint, Operation Fast and Furious was an act of war on Mexico.
For Americans of a certain age, the next question is, "What did the President know, and when did he know it?"
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=44246
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Hearing On "Fast And Furious" Uncovers Serious Failure At BATFE
Friday, June 17, 2011
The congressional hearings held this week by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform revealed that the gun smuggling investigation known as "Fast and Furious" that was implemented out of the Phoenix Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) office was conducted in a reckless manner that led to the illegal sale of thousands of firearms. Many of those firearms ended up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels and other criminals, and may have contributed to the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.
Some of the most important findings of the hearing and the investigative report compiled by the Committee staff include:
BATFE knowingly allowed as many as 2,500 firearms to be sold illegally to known or suspected straw purchasers. One of those purchasers accounted for over 700 illegal guns.
BATFE ordered its agents working the program not to arrest illegal gun buyers or to interdict thousands of guns that were allowed to "walk" into criminal hands.
Senior BATFE officials in Washington were regularly briefed on the operation and approved of the tactics employed.
BATFE agents who opposed the operation and who raised objections were told to "get with the program" and threatened with job retaliation if they continued their opposition.
A number of BATFE agents who were assigned to "Fast and Furious" testified about the operation.
Special Agent John Dodson, in his prepared testimony, stated: "Simply put, during this operation known as Fast and Furious, we, ATF, failed to fulfill one of our most fundamental obligations, to caretake the public trust; in part, to keep guns out of the hands of criminals."
Dodson, along with Special Agents Olindo James Casa and Peter Forcelli each voiced strong opposition to the tactics employed that allowed so many firearms to be sold illegally. In each case, their objections were repeatedly dismissed by BATFE superiors.
In fact, Special Agent Casa testified that BATFE officials sent out an e-mail rebuking those who opposed the plan with thinly veiled threats of professional retaliation. "Based on my eighteen years of experience with ATF," testified Casa, "I did not think the e-mail was an empty threat and took it very serious. It has become common practice for ATF Supervisors to retaliate against employees that do not blindly toe the company line, no matter what the consequences."
Agent Casa stated that agents were ordered not to take action against illegal gun buyers or to seize the firearms. Instead, surveillance was regularly terminated without further action.
Agent Casa went on to describe the operation as recklessly planned and implemented with the purpose of allowing firearms to be illegally trafficked.
Other testimony contradicted the long held position of anti-gun politicians that U.S. gun stores are part of criminal gun trafficking. In truth, gun dealers regularly cooperate with law enforcement and are a crucial ally in fighting gun traffickers.
As Agent Forcelli put it: "The gun dealers were our friends. They helped us make a lot of these cases. … But the problem is then, by getting them mixed up in this thing and encouraging to sell -- encouraging them to sell guns when they decided to stop did not help our reputation with the gun industry."
In total, the witness statements and the findings of the staff report paint a shocking picture of an operation that intentionally allowed thousands of guns to end up in the hands of some of the most violent criminals in North America. It also showed that senior officials of the BATFE, and not just regional or field supervisors, approved of the operation and received regular reports on its progress.
The failure of the BATFE to conduct its law enforcement duties in a responsible manner and the failure of senior leadership to heed the warnings and objections of field agents directly increased the level of violence in the southwest border region and increased the threat by ruthless drug cartels to law enforcement officers and private citizens, both in the U.S. and in Mexico.
The hearings and report also show two additional serious problems.
First, since the story of this reckless operation became known, the Department of Justice has refused to fully respond to congressional inquiries. Both Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee have repeatedly requested full disclosure and been rebuffed. After nearly six months, DOJ continues to stonewall. Chairman Issa pointed out that even the information that was provided to the committee was heavily redacted, with most of the key information blacked out.
This exchange between Rep. Issa and Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich clearly shows the ongoing refusal of the DOJ to cooperate:
Chairman Issa: "Who authorized this program that got people killed? Who here in Washington authorized it?
Weich: "We don't know."
"We don't know" is also the answer Attorney General Eric Holder provided to that same question when asked a few weeks ago. But after six months of scandal and scrutiny, it seems hard to believe the Attorney General still cannot answer this simple question. Or is it that he will not?
The hearings also revealed just how far the anti-gun apologists for the Obama administration will go to change the subject and try to use any crisis to advance their anti-gun agenda.
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, attempted to turn the hearings into a discussion of our gun laws. He announced that the Democrats on the committee will hold their own hearings to bring in witnesses that will argue for more gun laws.
Even in the face of overwhelming evidence of the reckless misuse of law enforcement authority by the BATFE and the agency's intentional failure to stop the illegal sale of firearms to criminals, Rep. Cummings and other anti-gun politicians still believe that more gun laws are needed. In fact, the investigation of this scandal proves that federal and state law enforcement, including BATFE, have all the tools they need, except the leadership needed to conduct criminal investigations in a responsible manner. Clearly, in the case of operation "Fast and Furious" that leadership failed spectacularly.
For more information on the hearing, please see the following materials:
Joint Congressional Staff Report
Hearing On "Fast And Furious" Uncovers Serious Failure At BATFE
Friday, June 17, 2011
The congressional hearings held this week by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform revealed that the gun smuggling investigation known as "Fast and Furious" that was implemented out of the Phoenix Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) office was conducted in a reckless manner that led to the illegal sale of thousands of firearms. Many of those firearms ended up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels and other criminals, and may have contributed to the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.
Some of the most important findings of the hearing and the investigative report compiled by the Committee staff include:
BATFE knowingly allowed as many as 2,500 firearms to be sold illegally to known or suspected straw purchasers. One of those purchasers accounted for over 700 illegal guns.
BATFE ordered its agents working the program not to arrest illegal gun buyers or to interdict thousands of guns that were allowed to "walk" into criminal hands.
Senior BATFE officials in Washington were regularly briefed on the operation and approved of the tactics employed.
BATFE agents who opposed the operation and who raised objections were told to "get with the program" and threatened with job retaliation if they continued their opposition.
A number of BATFE agents who were assigned to "Fast and Furious" testified about the operation.
Special Agent John Dodson, in his prepared testimony, stated: "Simply put, during this operation known as Fast and Furious, we, ATF, failed to fulfill one of our most fundamental obligations, to caretake the public trust; in part, to keep guns out of the hands of criminals."
Dodson, along with Special Agents Olindo James Casa and Peter Forcelli each voiced strong opposition to the tactics employed that allowed so many firearms to be sold illegally. In each case, their objections were repeatedly dismissed by BATFE superiors.
In fact, Special Agent Casa testified that BATFE officials sent out an e-mail rebuking those who opposed the plan with thinly veiled threats of professional retaliation. "Based on my eighteen years of experience with ATF," testified Casa, "I did not think the e-mail was an empty threat and took it very serious. It has become common practice for ATF Supervisors to retaliate against employees that do not blindly toe the company line, no matter what the consequences."
Agent Casa stated that agents were ordered not to take action against illegal gun buyers or to seize the firearms. Instead, surveillance was regularly terminated without further action.
Agent Casa went on to describe the operation as recklessly planned and implemented with the purpose of allowing firearms to be illegally trafficked.
Other testimony contradicted the long held position of anti-gun politicians that U.S. gun stores are part of criminal gun trafficking. In truth, gun dealers regularly cooperate with law enforcement and are a crucial ally in fighting gun traffickers.
As Agent Forcelli put it: "The gun dealers were our friends. They helped us make a lot of these cases. … But the problem is then, by getting them mixed up in this thing and encouraging to sell -- encouraging them to sell guns when they decided to stop did not help our reputation with the gun industry."
In total, the witness statements and the findings of the staff report paint a shocking picture of an operation that intentionally allowed thousands of guns to end up in the hands of some of the most violent criminals in North America. It also showed that senior officials of the BATFE, and not just regional or field supervisors, approved of the operation and received regular reports on its progress.
The failure of the BATFE to conduct its law enforcement duties in a responsible manner and the failure of senior leadership to heed the warnings and objections of field agents directly increased the level of violence in the southwest border region and increased the threat by ruthless drug cartels to law enforcement officers and private citizens, both in the U.S. and in Mexico.
The hearings and report also show two additional serious problems.
First, since the story of this reckless operation became known, the Department of Justice has refused to fully respond to congressional inquiries. Both Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee have repeatedly requested full disclosure and been rebuffed. After nearly six months, DOJ continues to stonewall. Chairman Issa pointed out that even the information that was provided to the committee was heavily redacted, with most of the key information blacked out.
This exchange between Rep. Issa and Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich clearly shows the ongoing refusal of the DOJ to cooperate:
Chairman Issa: "Who authorized this program that got people killed? Who here in Washington authorized it?"
Weich: "We don't know."
"We don't know" is also the answer Attorney General Eric Holder provided to that same question when asked a few weeks ago. But after six months of scandal and scrutiny, it seems hard to believe the Attorney General still cannot answer this simple question. Or is it that he will not?
The hearings also revealed just how far the anti-gun apologists for the Obama administration will go to change the subject and try to use any crisis to advance their anti-gun agenda.
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, attempted to turn the hearings into a discussion of our gun laws. He announced that the Democrats on the committee will hold their own hearings to bring in witnesses that will argue for more gun laws.
Even in the face of overwhelming evidence of the reckless misuse of law enforcement authority by the BATFE and the agency's intentional failure to stop the illegal sale of firearms to criminals, Rep. Cummings and other anti-gun politicians still believe that more gun laws are needed. In fact, the investigation of this scandal proves that federal and state law enforcement, including BATFE, have all the tools they need, except the leadership needed to conduct criminal investigations in a responsible manner. Clearly, in the case of operation "Fast and Furious" that leadership failed spectacularly.
For more information on the hearing, please see the following materials:
Joint Congressional Staff Report
Hearing Transcript
Written Testimony of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
Written Testimony of Special Agent Olindo James Casa
Written Testimony of Special Agent John Dodson
Written Testimony of Special Agent Peter Forcelli
Written Testimony of Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich
News links:
Issa: DoJ should be 'ashamed'
The Hill, June 16, 2011
House Panel Slams 'Fast and Furious' Gun Operation Tied to Border Agent's Death
Fox News , June 15, 2011
Family of Slain Agent Seeks Answers at Gun Hearing
The Wall Street Journal, June 15, 2011
Democrats try to channel scandal into gun control push
Daily Caller, June 15, 2011
Deadly U.S. gun operation called 'felony stupid'
CNN Wire, June 15, 2011
Joint Congressional Staff Repoort
http://www.nraila.org/pdfs/jointstffreport.pdf
Hearing Transcript
http://www.nraila.org/pdfs/hearingtranscript.pdf
Written Testimony of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
http://www.nraila.org/pdfs/CGrassley.pdf
Written Testimony of Special Agent Olindo James Casa
http://www.nraila.org/pdfs/SACasa.pdf
Written Testimony of Special Agent John Dodson
http://www.nraila.org/pdfs/SADodson.pdf
Written Testimony of Special Agent Peter Forcelli
http://www.nraila.org/pdfs/SAForcelli.pdf
Written Testimony of Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich
http://www.nraila.org/pdfs/AAGWeich.pdf
News stories:
Issa: DoJ should be 'ashamed'
The Hill, June 16, 2011
House Panel Slams 'Fast and Furious' Gun Operation Tied to Border Agent's Death
Fox News , June 15, 2011
Family of Slain Agent Seeks Answers at Gun Hearing
The Wall Street Journal, June 15, 2011
Democrats try to channel scandal into gun control push
Daily Caller, June 15, 2011
Deadly U.S. gun operation called 'felony stupid'
CNN Wire, June 15, 2011
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JUNE 18, 2011
Obama tossing Melson under the bus?
http://hotair.com/archives/2011/06/18/ob...r-the-bus/
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As 'Fast and Furious' Fiasco Unfolds, Obama ATF Nominee Prepares Return to Washington
With the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives facing its worst scandal in decades, the man nominated by President Obama to take over as its next chief is headed to Washington this week to meet with top Justice Department officials.
Andrew Traver was nominated in November by President Obama to become the permanent ATF director, but his nomination has been held by objections from groups that say Traver is hostile to the rights of gun owners.
Nonetheless, Traver's return to Washington Tuesday for a meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Attorney General James Cole could be the first step toward ousting acting director, Kenneth Melson.
Melson has led the agency since April 2009 supplanting a Bush administration acting director who was also unable to get Senate confirmation over the objections of gun rights groups.
But it was during Melson's tenure that the ATF Phoenix office began "Operation Fast and Furious" in the fall of 2009. Fast and Furious was described as an effort to trace and stop the trafficking of illegal guns but instead allowed thousands of guns to get into the hands of Mexican cartel members.
Officials at the Justice Department and the White House say it's "speculative" to conclude that Traver's arrival in Washington is a sign that the Obama administration is looking to oust Melson in the wake of the politically damaging operation.
But The Wall Street Journal, which was first to report Traver's return, said sources indicated that the administration is weighing whether to name him as acting director or choose another interim chief while awaiting Senate action on his nomination.
Fast and Furious has been the center of an investigation by Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, as well as Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.
The two say they learned about the program after Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed in December 2010. At the crime scene were two guns linked to the Fast and Furious operation.
At an Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing last week, three federal firearms investigators testified that they wanted to "intervene and interdict" loads of guns, but were repeatedly ordered to step aside to allow suspected smugglers to carry the weapons over the border.
Grassley said that he wants to know from how high those orders came.
"The president said he didn't authorize it, and that the attorney general didn't authorize it. They have both admitted that quote unquote a serious mistake may have been made," Grassley testified. "There are a lot of questions and a lot of investigating to do, but one thing has become clear already -- this was no mistake."
Click here to read more from The Wall Street Journal.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/06/...z1Pl3NlZ00
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From the publisher's foreword to "The Last Circle":
The Last Circle is a tale of our time: an era of "high crimes and misdemeanors." These acts are not more heinous, but are simply committed by personages in "lofty" positions, for preeminence bestows deeper responsibilities, stricter standards, and demands honest transparency, especially while dedicating our common weal..... Finding Antony Sutton's books in the late '80s finally gave me some perspective on what my former-OSS/G2/CIA father had originally told me some twenty years earlier about a hidden world behind the curtain: of intelligence agencies, secret societies, war, propaganda, the drug trade, unlimited budgets and the attending undercurrents of corruption. Hubris plumped for a fall....TrineDay has brought many stories of contemporary corruption to press, only to see the system deftly sidestep astounding revelations with disdain, malice and fluffery.
Thomas Jefferson declared, "The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty."
Venturing on the Internet you find the long-suffering aren't remaining quiet, yet the hubbub is kept at bay through spin, lies, and a compliant media, leaving us wandering through a foggy soporific fraud."
****
A 'Fast and Furious' border fiasco
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/ope...z1PpeUpGwQ
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REPORT: ATF chief resisting pressure to step down...
'Eager' to testify about botched gun operation...
The acting director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is strongly resisting pressure to step down because of growing controversy over the agency's surveillance program that allowed U.S. guns to flow unchecked into Mexico, according to several federal sources in Washington.
Kenneth E. Melson, who has run the bureau for two years, is reportedly eager to testify to Congress about the extent of his and other officials' involvement in the operation, code-named Fast and Furious.
Melson does not want to be "the fall guy" for the program, under which ATF agents allowed straw purchasers to acquire more than 1,700 AK-47s and other high-powered rifles from Arizona gun dealers, the sources said.
The idea was to track the guns to drug cartel leaders. But that goal proved elusive, and the guns turned up at shootings in Mexico, as well as at the slaying in Arizona of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in December.
"He is saying he won't go," said one source close to the situation, who asked for anonymity because high-level discussions with Melson remained fluid. "He has told them, 'I'm not going to be the fall guy on this.' "
Added a second source, who also requested anonymity: "He's resisting. He does not want to go."
Melson has an open invitation to appear on Capitol Hill. So far, he has not been given Justice Department approval to appear before Congress.
This week, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said he hoped that Melson would give a full accounting of how the gun operation was conceived and carried out.
He also said Melson should resign, and that other senior leaders at ATF and the Justice Department should be held accountable as well.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also is awaiting answers from Melson, and cautioned this week that even if the acting director stepped down, it "would be, by no means, the end of our inquiry."
The Justice Department said it was cooperating with congressional leaders.
"We've been working with the [Issa] committee on interviews, including Melson, and will continue to do that," said Tracy Schmaler, a Justice Department spokesperson.
At ATF headquarters in Washington, officials said Melson "continues to be focused" on leading the agency. His chief spokesman, Scott Thomasson, added, "We are not going to comment on any speculations" about Melson's status as head of the agency.
At a House hearing last week, testimony from ATF agents portrayed Melson as closely involved in overseeing the venture. At one point, according to documents released by Congress, he asked for and received log-in information and a link to an Internet feed in order to watch some of the illegal straw purchases.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/...3758.story
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