Issa Releases Documents Showing Intimate Involvement of ATF Director in Controversial Gunwalking Operation
by Hugh Holub on Jun. 15, 2011, under atf, politicsPress Release from US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform….June 15, 2011:
Issa Releases Documents Showing Intimate Involvement of ATF Director in Controversial Gunwalking Operation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Moments ago in his opening statement at today’s hearing, Operation Fast and Furious: Reckless Decisions, Tragic Outcomes, Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) released three e-mails detailing the intimate involvement of ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson and Acting Deputy Director Bill Hoover in Operation Fast and Furious:
• The first e-mail from March 10, 2010, to Operation Fast and Furious Group VII Leader David Voth indicates that the two most senior leaders in ATF, Acting Director Kenneth Melson, and Deputy Director Billy Hoover, were “being briefed weekly on” Operation Fast and Furious. The document shows that both Melson and Hoover were “keenly interested in case updates.”
• A second e-mail from March 12, 2010, shows that Deputy Assistant Director for Field Operations William McMahon was so excited about Fast and Furious that he received a special briefing on the program in Phoenix – scheduled for a mere 45 minutes after his plane landed.
• A third – and perhaps the most disturbing – e-mail from April 12, 2010, indicates that Acting Director Melson was very much in the weeds with Operation Fast and Furious. After a detailed briefing of the program by the ATF Phoenix Field Division, Acting Director Melson had a plethora of follow-up questions that required additional research to answer. As the document indicates, Mr. Melson was interested in the IP Address for hidden cameras located inside cooperating gun shops. With this information, Acting Director Melson was able to sit at his desk in Washington and – himself – watch a live feed of the straw buyers entering the gun stores to purchase dozens of AK-47 variants.
Schedule of hearing June 15
| Chairman Darrell Issa Hearing Preview Statement
June 15, 2011 Wednesday’s hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, entitled “Operation Fast and Furious: Reckless Decisions, Tragic Outcomes,” will focus on an irresponsible program that allowed guns to be trafficked into the hands of known criminals along our border with Mexico. The Committee is engaged in an ongoing investigation to determine who ultimately authorized the program, who knew about it, and why it took the murder of a 40-year old border patrol agent and a congressional inquiry before administration officials cancelled it. When Senator Chuck Grassley and I first learned of this program earlier this year, it stretched the limits of credulity to think that a federal law enforcement agency charged with rooting out criminals involved in smuggling would actually facilitate the transfer of guns to armed cartels that would kill innocent civilians and at least one federal agent. The American people have a right to know what really happened. We have learned that ATF field agents strongly objected to the program, but that their opposition was dismissed. The deadly effect of Operation Fast and Furious could have been prevented. At Wednesday’s hearing, the Committee will hear firsthand testimony of how this program has devastated the family of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. When Brian Terry was murdered in December, two assault rifles linked to Operation Fast and Furious were found at the scene of the crime. Additionally, Members will have an opportunity to hear from ATF agents who saw the risk, opposed the program, and have come forward to tell Americans about what happened and how they struggled with it. ###
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Witnesses
Panel I
Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. Senate
Panel II
Mother of Late Border Agent Brian Terry
Sister of Late Border Agent Brian Terry
Cousin of Late Border Agent Brian Terry
Special Agent, Phoenix Field Division
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Special Agent, Phoenix Field Division
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Group Supervisor, Phoenix Field Division
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Panel III
Assistant Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
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June 15th, 2011 on 9:26 am
[...] Press Release from US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform….June 15, 2011: Issa Releases Documents Showing Intimate Involvement of ATF Director in Controversial Gunwalking Operation WASHINGTON, D.C. – Moments ago in his opening statement at today’s hearing, Operation Fast… Tucson Citizen [...]