Saturday, October 29, 2011
Statement From ATF Special Agent Vincent A. Cefalu On ATF Upper Management Involved In Fast N Furious
Since this matter has resurfaced in an attempt by the ATF Spin Doctor Scot Thomasson, its probably appropriate to address it.First Scot, the American people, Congress and more importantly our Agents, Inspectors and Clerical Staff are NOT stupid. Remember? We live here to and know EXACTLY what smoke and mirrors and word splitting you are capable of. If you think for one minute that people are enraged or or outraged about a minor misstatement by an uneducated media that these guys were promoted, once again you are dead wrong. They are mad they they (the taxpayers) had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to relocate these guys out of the public eye to protect their SES and management positions even before the OIG report has been submitted. Now all this money has been paid, and what happens when a competent authority prosecutes and convicts them for one of the many laws they've broken? Are they going to pay that money back? Of course not. Now lets break down your statements for the public who does not necessarily understand the nuances of ATFs corrupt smoke and mirrors. FELL FREE to respond. You are welcomed and invited to do so.
ATF gunwalker update: Eric Holder to testify on Fast and Furious
By Sharyl Attkisson
CBS News has learned Attorney General Eric Holder has agreed to appear before the House Judiciary Committee regarding "Fast and Furious." The hearing will take place Dec. 8th.
Judiciary Committee member and head of the House Oversight Committee Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) had requested that Holder appear, in part to dig deeper into when-he-knew-what about ATF's so-called "gunwalking" operation Fast and Furious.
In May, Holder testified that he only first heard about Fast and Furious a few weeks before. However, as CBS News reported, documents and memos indicate he had been sent multiple briefings mentioning Fast and Furious in 2010.
Holder later explained in a letter to Congress that he didn't read those memos, and that in any event, nobody at the Justice Department who knew of Fast and Furious was aware of the specific "gunwalking" tactics used.
More Fast and Furious coverage
Memos contradict Holder on Fast and Furious
Agent: I was ordered to let guns "walk" into Mexico
Gunwalking scandal uncovered at ATF
Also today, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) requested a public hearing with the former Director of ATF: Kenneth Melson.
"A hearing with Mr. Melson would help the Committee and the American people better understand what mistakes were made in Operation Fast and Furious, how these tactics originated, who did and did not authorize them, and what steps are being taken to ensure that they are not used again," wrote Cummings in a letter today to Rep. Issa.
Rep. Cummings says Melson's attorney has indicated Melson would be "pleased to cooperate."
Below is a copy of the Cummings letter.
October 28, 2011
The Honorable Darrell E. Issa
Chairman
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
As I have stated repeatedly, I believe Operation Fast and Furious was a terrible mistake with tragic consequences. As I have also stated, I support a fair and responsible investigation that follows the facts where they lead, rather than drawing conclusions before evidence is gathered or ignoring information that does not fit into a preconceived narrative.
On several occasions over the past month, you have called on Attorney General Eric Holder to appear before the House Judiciary Committee to answer questions about when he first became aware of the controversial tactics used in Operation Fast and Furious. The Attorney General has now agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on December 8, 2011, when you will have another opportunity to question him directly.
With respect to our own Committee's investigation, I do not believe it will be viewed as legitimate or credible-and I do not believe the public record will be complete-without public testimony from Kenneth Melson, who served as the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
A hearing with Mr. Melson would help the Committee and the American people better understand what mistakes were made in Operation Fast and Furious, how these tactics originated, who did and did not authorize them, and what steps are being taken to ensure that they are not used again.
Our staffs have already conducted transcribed interviews with Mr. Melson and the former Deputy Director of ATF, William Hoover. During those interviews, these officials expressed serious concerns about the controversial tactics employed by the Phoenix Field Division of ATF as part of this operation. They also raised concerns about the manner in which the Department of Justice responded to congressional inquiries. Both officials also stated that they had not been aware of the controversial tactics being used in Operation Fast and Furious, had not authorized those tactics, and had not informed anyone at the Department of Justice headquarters about them. They stated that Operation Fast and Furious originated within the Phoenix Field Division, and that ATF headquarters failed to properly supervise it.
Since the Attorney General has now agreed to appear before Congress in December, I believe Members also deserve an opportunity to question Mr. Melson directly, especially since he headed the agency responsible for
Operation Fast and Furious. My staff has been in touch with Mr. Melson's attorney, who reports that Mr. Melson would be pleased to cooperate with the Committee.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Elijah E. Cummings
Ranking Member
Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 3, 2011, before a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing.
(Credit: CBS News)Judiciary Committee member and head of the House Oversight Committee Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) had requested that Holder appear, in part to dig deeper into when-he-knew-what about ATF's so-called "gunwalking" operation Fast and Furious.
In May, Holder testified that he only first heard about Fast and Furious a few weeks before. However, as CBS News reported, documents and memos indicate he had been sent multiple briefings mentioning Fast and Furious in 2010.
Holder later explained in a letter to Congress that he didn't read those memos, and that in any event, nobody at the Justice Department who knew of Fast and Furious was aware of the specific "gunwalking" tactics used.
More Fast and Furious coverage
Memos contradict Holder on Fast and Furious
Agent: I was ordered to let guns "walk" into Mexico
Gunwalking scandal uncovered at ATF
Also today, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) requested a public hearing with the former Director of ATF: Kenneth Melson.
"A hearing with Mr. Melson would help the Committee and the American people better understand what mistakes were made in Operation Fast and Furious, how these tactics originated, who did and did not authorize them, and what steps are being taken to ensure that they are not used again," wrote Cummings in a letter today to Rep. Issa.
Rep. Cummings says Melson's attorney has indicated Melson would be "pleased to cooperate."
Below is a copy of the Cummings letter.
October 28, 2011
The Honorable Darrell E. Issa
Chairman
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
As I have stated repeatedly, I believe Operation Fast and Furious was a terrible mistake with tragic consequences. As I have also stated, I support a fair and responsible investigation that follows the facts where they lead, rather than drawing conclusions before evidence is gathered or ignoring information that does not fit into a preconceived narrative.
On several occasions over the past month, you have called on Attorney General Eric Holder to appear before the House Judiciary Committee to answer questions about when he first became aware of the controversial tactics used in Operation Fast and Furious. The Attorney General has now agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on December 8, 2011, when you will have another opportunity to question him directly.
With respect to our own Committee's investigation, I do not believe it will be viewed as legitimate or credible-and I do not believe the public record will be complete-without public testimony from Kenneth Melson, who served as the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
A hearing with Mr. Melson would help the Committee and the American people better understand what mistakes were made in Operation Fast and Furious, how these tactics originated, who did and did not authorize them, and what steps are being taken to ensure that they are not used again.
Our staffs have already conducted transcribed interviews with Mr. Melson and the former Deputy Director of ATF, William Hoover. During those interviews, these officials expressed serious concerns about the controversial tactics employed by the Phoenix Field Division of ATF as part of this operation. They also raised concerns about the manner in which the Department of Justice responded to congressional inquiries. Both officials also stated that they had not been aware of the controversial tactics being used in Operation Fast and Furious, had not authorized those tactics, and had not informed anyone at the Department of Justice headquarters about them. They stated that Operation Fast and Furious originated within the Phoenix Field Division, and that ATF headquarters failed to properly supervise it.
Since the Attorney General has now agreed to appear before Congress in December, I believe Members also deserve an opportunity to question Mr. Melson directly, especially since he headed the agency responsible for
Operation Fast and Furious. My staff has been in touch with Mr. Melson's attorney, who reports that Mr. Melson would be pleased to cooperate with the Committee.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Elijah E. Cummings
Ranking Member
Friday, October 28, 2011
Holder Agrees to Testify on Operation Fast and Furious
By Joy Lin
Attorney General Eric Holder has agreed to appear before the House Judiciary Committee in December to talk about Operation Fast and Furious.
Holder's appearance was requested by House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), as questions emerged over the Attorney General's level of involvement in the botched gun sting.
But while Issa and other Republicans have been zeroing in on the Attorney General's office in their investigation of Fast and Furious, defenders of DOJ leadership say the operation originated -- without adequate supervision -- within the Phoenix field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
In a letter to Chairman Issa, the committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings (M.D.) called for a public hearing with former ATF director Kenneth Melson to get a clearer understanding of the operation.
"With respect to our own Committee's investigation," Cummings wrote, "I do not believe it will be viewed as legitimate or credible -- and I do not believe the public record will be complete -- without public testimony from Kenneth Melson."
Cummings said that Melson, as well as the former Deputy Director of ATF, William Hoover, stated in interviews that "they had not been aware of the controversial tactics being used in Operation Fast and Furious, had not authorized those tactics, and had not informed anyone at the Department of Justice headquarters about them. They stated that Operation Fast and Furious originated within the Phoenix Field Division, and that ATF headquarters failed to properly supervise it."
"A hearing with Mr. Melson would help the Committee and the American people better understand what mistakes were made in Operation Fast and Furious, how these tactics originated, who did and did not authorize them, and what steps are being taken to ensure that they are not used again," wrote Cummings.
Melson's attorney has indicated that he would be "pleased to cooperate," according to Cummings' office.
Fox News
Attorney General Eric Holder has agreed to appear before the House Judiciary Committee in December to talk about Operation Fast and Furious.
Holder's appearance was requested by House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), as questions emerged over the Attorney General's level of involvement in the botched gun sting.
But while Issa and other Republicans have been zeroing in on the Attorney General's office in their investigation of Fast and Furious, defenders of DOJ leadership say the operation originated -- without adequate supervision -- within the Phoenix field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
In a letter to Chairman Issa, the committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings (M.D.) called for a public hearing with former ATF director Kenneth Melson to get a clearer understanding of the operation.
"With respect to our own Committee's investigation," Cummings wrote, "I do not believe it will be viewed as legitimate or credible -- and I do not believe the public record will be complete -- without public testimony from Kenneth Melson."
Cummings said that Melson, as well as the former Deputy Director of ATF, William Hoover, stated in interviews that "they had not been aware of the controversial tactics being used in Operation Fast and Furious, had not authorized those tactics, and had not informed anyone at the Department of Justice headquarters about them. They stated that Operation Fast and Furious originated within the Phoenix Field Division, and that ATF headquarters failed to properly supervise it."
"A hearing with Mr. Melson would help the Committee and the American people better understand what mistakes were made in Operation Fast and Furious, how these tactics originated, who did and did not authorize them, and what steps are being taken to ensure that they are not used again," wrote Cummings.
Melson's attorney has indicated that he would be "pleased to cooperate," according to Cummings' office.
Fox News
Eric Holder To Testify On Fast And Furious,,The Time Has Come To Come Clean Mr. Holder
Attorney General Eric Holder is set to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Dec. 8 about ATF’s flawed Fast and Furious operation that let guns flow to Mexican drug cartels, a Justice Department spokeswoman confirmed.
Holder has agreed to a request from Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) to testify before the Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Oversight Committee.
Oversight Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) has turned this investigation into a political matter in his attempts to shield the Obama administration from what is clearly more of their lawless corruption.
The bottom line is Eric Holder is responsible for Fast N Furious and needs to man up and take responsibility for this horrendous criminal act committed by rogue Agents within the Bureau Of Alcohol Tobacco And Firearms Phoenix Field Office, headed by then Special Agent In Charge at the time William Newell, who is clearly divorced from reality and has no business working in law enforcement.
Several Agents within the Bureau Of Alcohol Tobacco And Firearms have come forward in this investigation, voicing their total disapproval of this criminal operation,and have since suffered reprisals from upper management with the ATF as well as the DOJ.
The Bureau Of Alcohol Tobacco And Firearms is a federal law enforcement agency under the control of Attorney General Eric Holders Office at the Department Of Justice.
Mr. Holder the time has come to step up and take responsibility for this horrendous act sponsored by your office.Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry is dead Mr. Holder and his family has no answers due to your illegal operation,and constant stonewalling in this investigation.
The American People will accept nothing less than Eric Holders resignation and possible indictment for his knowledge and blessings of this illegal operation,as well as all others who had knowledge and swore and Oath to the Constitution and did nothing to stop it!
Lawmakers blast Justice Department’s ‘Fast and Furious’ probe
Rep. Darrell E. Issa (above) and Sen. Chuck Grassley sent a letter to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, demanding access to documents pertinent to the Fast and Furious investigation.
(GunReports.com) -- The Washington Times reports that two senior Republican lawmakers lambasted the Justice Department last week for its “false denials” in the Fast and Furious gunrunning operation, demanding that the FBI turn over documents in its ongoing probe into the shooting death by Mexican bandits of a U.S. Border Patrol agent.
In a seven-page letter to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, Rep. Darrell E. Issa of California and Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said the lack of answers being given to Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry’s family concerning his Dec. 14 killing and the delay in bringing those responsible to justice “only compounds their anguish.”
“After 10 months of FBI investigation, Agent Terry’s family and the American public deserve to know more about the status of the inquiry, the state of the evidence, and any connections to Operation Fast and Furious,” they wrote.
The central characters in the failed “Fast and Furious” firearms investigation were 19 men and one woman, all legal residents of the U.S., accused of laying down hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit cash at Phoenix-area gun shops to buy an arsenal of high-powered weapons for Mexican drug smugglers.
Between September 2009 and December 2010, congressional investigators said, they purchased or aided in the purchase of more than 2,000 AK-47 assault weapons, Barrett .50-caliber sniper rifles, FN 5.7mm semi-automatic pistols and other assorted rifles, shotguns and handguns that later were “walked” into Mexico. About half the weapons remain unaccounted for.
They paid cash, as much as $900,000, and with each purchase they signed their names on Form 4473, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) document, swearing under the threat of committing a felony that they were not purchasing the weapons for someone else — that they were not “straw buyers.”
But they were, and the ATF knew it.
Read The Letter Here
GunReports.com
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Clinton: Justice Dept. didn't seek State Dept.'s permission for "gunwalking" operation
By Tolleah Price
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Thursday denied having any advance knowledge of a controversial program run by federal officials that allowed thousands of guns to be smuggled from the U.S. to Mexico in an effort to trace them to leaders of drug cartels before the program's existence became public.
She said the Justice Department did not "request coordination" or give "any kind of notice or heads up" about "Operation Fast and Furious," the ATF operation which put thousands of guns in the hands of Mexican drug cartels. The weapons may have been used in the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.
During the hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) asked Clinton at what point did the State Department learn about Operation Fast and Furious.
"My recollection is that I learned about it from the press, that's my recollection," Clinton said.
Mack said the Justice Department was required to receive a written waiver from the State Department in order to export arms to the drug cartels.
There is no evidence the Justice Department sought a waiver, Clinton said, but she offered to investigate the matter.
Clinton is the latest cabinet member of the Obama administration to face questions surrounding the operation.
Members of Congress investigating the scandal on Wednesday asked FBI director Robert Mueller to clear up questions about evidence found at the murder scene of Agent Terry.
He was shot and killed near the Mexican border on Dec. 14, 2010. Two weapons recovered at the scene were traced to "Operation Fast and Furious."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.
She said the Justice Department did not "request coordination" or give "any kind of notice or heads up" about "Operation Fast and Furious," the ATF operation which put thousands of guns in the hands of Mexican drug cartels. The weapons may have been used in the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.
During the hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) asked Clinton at what point did the State Department learn about Operation Fast and Furious.
"My recollection is that I learned about it from the press, that's my recollection," Clinton said.
Mack said the Justice Department was required to receive a written waiver from the State Department in order to export arms to the drug cartels.
There is no evidence the Justice Department sought a waiver, Clinton said, but she offered to investigate the matter.
Clinton is the latest cabinet member of the Obama administration to face questions surrounding the operation.
Members of Congress investigating the scandal on Wednesday asked FBI director Robert Mueller to clear up questions about evidence found at the murder scene of Agent Terry.
He was shot and killed near the Mexican border on Dec. 14, 2010. Two weapons recovered at the scene were traced to "Operation Fast and Furious."
Smith Calls for Investigation into AG’s Statements at HJC Hearing
| For Immediate Release | Contact: Kim Smith Hicks, (202) 225-3951 |
Smith Calls for Investigation into AG’s Statements at HJC Hearing
Chairman Smith: “The Department’s consistent response to Congress has been that Operation Fast and Furious was a discrete law enforcement effort largely isolated to the ATF office in Phoenix. These documents appear to undermine this claim and bring into question statements made by Attorney General Holder to this Committee.
“Allegations that senior Justice Department officials may have intentionally misled Members of Congress are extremely troubling and must be addressed by an independent and objective special counsel. I urge you to appoint a special counsel who will investigate these allegations as soon as possible.”
###
Holder Received at Least Five Memos on Fast and Furious
WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley and Congressman Darrell Issa today said that Attorney General Eric Holder received at least five weekly memos beginning in July 2010, including four weeks in a row, describing the ill-advised strategy known as Operation Fast and Furious. The memos were to Holder from Michael Walther, the director of the National Drug Intelligence Center.
The Attorney General told Issa during a House Judiciary Committee in May 2011 that he had just learned of Fast and Furious a few weeks before. Yet, on January 31, in a previously scheduled meeting, Grassley personally handed him two letters about Fast and Furious. Grassley and Issa said they find it very troubling that Holder actually knew of Operation Fast and Furious much earlier, and in greater detail than he ever let on.
The memos specifically said that the straw buyers were "responsible for the purchase of 1500 firearms that were then supplied to Mexican drug trafficking cartels."
"With the fairly detailed information that the Attorney General read, it seems the logical question for the Attorney General after reading in the memo would be "why haven't we stopped them?" Grassley said. "And if he didn't ask the questions, why didn't he or somebody in his office?"
"Attorney General Holder has failed to give Congress and the American people an honest account of what he and other senior Justice Department officials knew about gunwalking and Operation Fast and Furious. The lack of candor and honesty from our nation's chief law enforcement officials in this matter is deeply disturbing," Issa said.
Grassley and Issa have been leading the investigation into who approved the strategy to allow guns to be purchased by known straw buyers who then often transferred the firearms to Mexican Drug Cartels.
Grassley, Issa Press for Additional Information on Death of ICE Agent Zapata, Tactics Used in Texas
WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley and Congressman Darrell Issa are pressing for additional information into the murder of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata and the tactics used while conducting surveillance on known straw purchasers, raising concerns similar to policies of Operation Fast and Furious out of the Phoenix office.
The letter explains the inconsistent statements by the Justice Department regarding Otilio Osorio, his brother Ranferi Osorio, and Kelvin Morrison. The three straw purchasers were known to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, long before one of the guns purchased by the brothers was linked to the murder of Agent Zapata.
To make matters worse, Grassley and Issa wrote in their letter that documents indicate the ATF failed for more than three months to create a Report of Investigation on the November 9 transfer of firearms between the brothers and Morrison and a confidential informant, witnessed by ATF agents. The report was finally written on February 25, 2011—the same day the ATF received the report tracing the Zapata murder weapon back to the purchase by Otilio Osorio.
Grassley and Issa said that documenting investigative steps three months after the fact and only after a trace returned to the murder of a federal agent raises red flags about the nature of ATF’s investigation.
Here is a copy of the text of today’s letter from Grassley and Issa and here is a signed copy of the letter. Also, click here to read Grassley’s March 4, 2011 letter and here to read the March 28, 2011 letter. Here is a copy of the Justice Department’s latest response.
October 25, 2011
Via Electronic Transmission
The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530
Dear Attorney General Holder:
On October 11, your Department (DOJ) sent Senator Grassley a letter regarding murdered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agent Jaime Zapata. Not only was the response more than six months late, it completely failed to answer the key questions.1
In a March 1, 2011, press release, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) stated it was unaware of Otilio Osorio’s purchase on October 10, 2010, of the weapon used to murder Agent Zapata.2 According to ATF documents, however, the agency had reason to believe as early as September 17, 2010, that Otilio’s brother and co-habitant Ranferi Osorio and their next-door neighbor Kelvin Morrison were straw purchasers.3 Yet the ATF apparently made no effort to contact Ranferi Osorio or Kelvin Morrison and inquire about how their weapons came to be trafficked to Mexico within 2 weeks of their purchase.
Moreover, it appears that the ATF had an opportunity to arrest the Osorio brothers and Kelvin Morrison during a staged operation on November 9, 2010. According to a DOJ press release, “a Dallas ATF confidential informant (CI) arranged a meeting” at which the Osorio brothers, arriving at the meeting with Morrison as a passenger in their vehicle, “unloaded several large bags containing firearms into the CI’s vehicle, which was kept under surveillance…”4 The DOJ press release says all 40 firearms had obliterated serial numbers, which made simple possession of them a prosecutable offense.5 Local law enforcement officials stopped the vehicle later in the day—presumably in concert with ATF and for the purpose of identifying the vehicle’s inhabitants.6 Inexplicably, none of the suspects were arrested.
Finally, documents in our possession indicate that the ATF did not create a Report of Investigation (ROI) on the November 9 transfer of firearms until over three months later, on February 25, 2011—the same day ATF received the report tracing the Zapata murder weapon back to the purchase by Otilio Osorio.7 Documenting investigative steps three months after the fact and only after a trace returned to the murder of a federal agent raises red flags about the nature of ATF’s investigation.
Yesterday, another member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator John Cornyn, also raised questions about issues surrounding the Osorio brothers and Morrison and urged us to look into the matter.8 Accordingly, please provide detailed responses to the following questions:
(1) Did ATF make any effort to question Ranferi Osorio or Kelvin Morrison after trafficked firearms were traced back to them on September 17? If not, why not?
(2) Why weren’t any of these individuals arrested in November in connection with the undercover drop-off of weapons on November 9?
(3) Was any surveillance maintained on the Osorio brothers or Morrison by any DOJ component, including ATF and DEA, after the November 9 operation?
(4) If not, did personnel from any DOJ component raise concerns about the wisdom of allowing individuals like the Osorio brothers or Morrison to continue their activities after the November weapons transfer? If so, how were those concerns addressed?
(5) Given that the likely recipients of any trafficked guns were so close to the border, did personnel from any DOJ component raise concerns about the possibility of those guns being used against U.S. border agents? If so, how were those concerns addressed?
(6) Does any component of DOJ know when or how the firearm used in the deadly assault on Agent Zapata was trafficked to Mexico?
(7) Does the ATF have policies about creating ROIs at the time that events take place?
(8) Why was the ROI regarding events in November 2010 not created until immediately after the ATF received the trace results on the Zapata murder weapon?
In addition to answering those questions, please provide all records relating to the following:
(9) When any component of the DOJ first became aware of the trafficking activities of Otilio and Ranferi Osorio and Kelvin Morrison;
(10) Surveillance that may have been conducted on the Osorio brothers or Morrison prior to the November 9 transfer of weapons;
(11) The November 9 transfer; and
(12) Any surveillance that any component of the DOJ continued to conduct on the Osorio brothers or Morrison between the November 9, 2010, transfer and their arrest on February 28, 2011.
We look forward to receiving your response as soon as possible, but by no later than noon on November 8, 2011. Should you have any questions regarding any of these letters, please contact Tristan Leavitt in Ranking Member Grassley’s office at (202) 224-5225 or Henry Kerner of Chairman Issa’s Committee staff at (202) 225-5074.
Sincerely,
___________________________ ___________________________
Darrell Issa, Chairman Charles E. Grassley, Ranking Member
Committee on Oversight and Committee on the Judiciary
Government Reform U.S. Senate
U.S. House of Representatives
cc: Mr. B. Todd Jones, Acting Director
U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Honorable Michele M. Leonhart, Administrator
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member
U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
The Honorable Patrick Leahy, Chairman
U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary
1 Letter from Senator Charles Grassley to Acting Director Kenneth Melson (Mar. 4, 2011) (Attachment 1); Letter from Senator Charles Grassley to Acting Director Kenneth Melson (Mar. 28, 2011) (Attachment 2).
2 Department of Justice Press Release (Mar. 1, 2011), available at
http://www.fbi.gov/dallas/press-releases/2011/dl030111.htm.
3 Attachments 2.2 and 2.3, attached to Letter from Senator Charles Grassley to Acting Director Kenneth Melson (Mar. 28, 2011).
4 Department of Justice Press Release (Mar. 1, 2011).
5 Id.
6 Id.
7 Delivery of Firearms to ATF Confidential informant (created Feb. 25, 2011, 14:53).
8 Letter from Senator John Cornyn to Senator Charles Grassley and Chairman Darryl Issa (Oct. 24, 2011).
Fundraiser to be Held for Fallen Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry
"It would just be nice to show the family that they don't stand alone and to thank him for his service and sacrifice."
As Cam Edwards points out in the interview, the Terry family has been denied victim status in this case and still hasn't received any information surrounding the details of Brian's death. Nearly a year after his murder, the Obama Justice Department still has not issued an apology to the Terry family for Brian's murder.
You can buy tickets for this event by visiting rememberbrianterry.com. Monetary donations are also being accepted.
TownHall.com
'Gun-walking:' Back Sen. Cornyn's inquiry
A reported 60 rifles were recovered from criminals in El Paso. That makes it our business to know more details on what's being called "gun-walking" on the U.S.-Mexico border.
There has been a "Fast and Furious" operation run by the U.S. government. Are there others?
We back Texas Sen. John Cornyn in his efforts to obtain more information for the public. So far it appears he is being stonewalled.
Cornyn said Attorney General Eric Holder has not responded to a letter he sent in August. " ... Reluctance to address allegations of additional 'gun-walking' schemes in my state raises serious questions, and Texans deserve a full accounting of the department's role in this matter," Cornyn said in a statement.
At question: Is there anything to allegations that there are U.S. government-backed "gun-walking" programs in Texas?
"Gun-walking" is a program intended to stop the flow of weapons from the U.S. into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. What's known is the U.S. government allowed some 2,000 guns to be be purchased by suspected arms traffickers on behalf of Mexican drug cartels.
It was a sting operation. The idea was to trace the guns, thus hone in on the cartels.
By June, some of those guns had been linked, using an electronic tracing program, to more than 170 crime scenes. Reports are that some 1,400 of those weapons have not been recovered.
One of the weapons was used to kill ICE Agent Jaime Zapata in Mexico. His partner, El Pasoan Victor Avila, was wounded. The
U.S. citizens deserve to know what's going on. El Pasoans deserve to know what has been going on right here.
EL PASO TIMES
Gun buyer linked to "Fast and Furious" murder pleads guilty
By Kim Skeen and Sharyl Attkisson
A Dallas County man linked to the murder of ICE Agent Jaime Zapata has pleaded guilty to weapons violations.
Otilio Osorio, 22, of Lancaster, Texas, only pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to three counts of a 21-count indictment against him.
Prosecutors say one of three guns found at the scene in Mexico where Agent Zapata was shot to death on February 15 was traced back to Osorio. Investigators believe he was the straw purchaser of the weapon, bought in Texas four months before the murder. As part of an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Osorio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make a false statement in firearms records and possessing a weapons with a removed serial number.
Seven other defendants in the case have also entered guilty pleas. The maximum penalty for each count is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing dates have not yet been scheduled.
As reported by CBS News, Congressional Republicans investigating allegations that the Obama administration allowed thousands of weapons to be trafficked into Mexico have asked for more information about the circumstances surrounding Agent Zapata's death.
More coverage:
Napolitano on ATF Fast and Furious: "We're waiting for the Inspector General"
DOJ: No 3rd gun in "Fast and Furious" murder
Issa to press FBI for "gunwalking" info
Holder subpoenaed for documents in "Gunwalker"
AG Holder responds to critics on Gunwalker
On Wednesday, Rep. Darrell Issa and Senator Charles Grassley wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, questioning how the government handled the investigation of Otilio, his brother Ranferi Osorio and another defendant Kelvin Leon Morrison.
According to a joint statement from the offices of Rep. Issa and Sen. Grassley, "the three straw purchasers were known to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, long before one of the guns purchased by the brothers was linked to the murder of Agent Zapata."
Records obtained by CBS News show ATF watched as the Osorio brothers and Morrison transferred weapons to a confidential informant on November 9, 2010, but failed to arrest the men. The agency's report documenting that incident was dated February 25th, the same day the agency traced the Zapata crime scene gun to Otilio.
The Attorney General has denied knowing that gunwalking was part of an ATF operation that allowed weapons to be smuggled into Mexico. The Justice Department Inspector General has launched an investigation.
CBS NEWS
U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata.
Otilio Osorio, 22, of Lancaster, Texas, only pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to three counts of a 21-count indictment against him.
Prosecutors say one of three guns found at the scene in Mexico where Agent Zapata was shot to death on February 15 was traced back to Osorio. Investigators believe he was the straw purchaser of the weapon, bought in Texas four months before the murder. As part of an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Osorio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make a false statement in firearms records and possessing a weapons with a removed serial number.
Seven other defendants in the case have also entered guilty pleas. The maximum penalty for each count is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing dates have not yet been scheduled.
As reported by CBS News, Congressional Republicans investigating allegations that the Obama administration allowed thousands of weapons to be trafficked into Mexico have asked for more information about the circumstances surrounding Agent Zapata's death.
More coverage:
Napolitano on ATF Fast and Furious: "We're waiting for the Inspector General"
DOJ: No 3rd gun in "Fast and Furious" murder
Issa to press FBI for "gunwalking" info
Holder subpoenaed for documents in "Gunwalker"
AG Holder responds to critics on Gunwalker
On Wednesday, Rep. Darrell Issa and Senator Charles Grassley wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, questioning how the government handled the investigation of Otilio, his brother Ranferi Osorio and another defendant Kelvin Leon Morrison.
According to a joint statement from the offices of Rep. Issa and Sen. Grassley, "the three straw purchasers were known to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, long before one of the guns purchased by the brothers was linked to the murder of Agent Zapata."
Records obtained by CBS News show ATF watched as the Osorio brothers and Morrison transferred weapons to a confidential informant on November 9, 2010, but failed to arrest the men. The agency's report documenting that incident was dated February 25th, the same day the agency traced the Zapata crime scene gun to Otilio.
The Attorney General has denied knowing that gunwalking was part of an ATF operation that allowed weapons to be smuggled into Mexico. The Justice Department Inspector General has launched an investigation.
CBS NEWS
Issa, Grassley Press Holder on Fast and Furious !
By Martin Gould
Republicans investigating the Fast and Furious gunrunning scandal piled more pressure on attorney general Eric Holder on Wednesday, insisting he answers questions on the death of immigration officer Jaime Zapata.
Rep. Darrell Issa and Sen. Chuck Grassley gave Holder two weeks to tell them why agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives did not intercept the guns that were used to kill Zapata as he worked in Mexico in February.
I
ssa, the Californian who chairs the House Oversight Committee and Iowan Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee have relentlessly pursued Holder for answers surrounding the Fast and Furious case in which guns were bought by so-called straw purchasers and smuggled into Mexico. At least four Republican Congressmen have called for Holder’s resignation.
The plan was to follow the weapons which, it was believed, would lead them to leaders of Mexico’s violent drug cartels. But hundreds of weapons went missing and have been used in crimes on both sides of the border including Zapata’s murder and the killing in December of Border Agent Brian Terry in Arizona.
Three men, brothers Otilio and Ranferi Osorio and their next-door neighbor Kelvin Morrison , were arrested at their homes in Lancaster, Texas within two weeks of Zapata’s murder. They are awaiting trial on charges of possessing firearms with obliterated serial numbers and could each face 15 years in jail.
In their letter to Holder, Issa and Grassley say the men bought the weapon that killed Zapata on Oct. 10 last year and it was trafficked into Mexico within two weeks.
They claim ATF officers even watched on Nov. 9 as the Morrison and the Osorio brothers unloaded 40 weapons in large bags into a confidential informant’s vehicle which was being kept under surveillance.
“Local law enforcement officials stopped the vehicle later in the day – presumably in concert with ATF and for the purpose of identifying the vehicle’s inhabitants. Inexplicably none of the suspects were arrested,” the two GOP members wrote.
Issa and Grassley also want to know why the ATF agents did not create an investigation report until Feb. 25, the day it became clear that Zapata had been killed by a Fast and Furious weapon.
“Documenting investigative steps three months after the fact and only after a trace returned to the murder of a federal agent raises red flags about the nature of ATF’s investigation,” they wrote.
Zapata, 32, was working out of the immigration office in Laredo, Texas when he was sent on assignment to Mexico City, his mother Mary Zapata-Munoz told the Houston Chronicle in an interview. She was under the impression he would be working at a desk job gathering intelligence in the U.S. embassy.
“I never thought on that fateful day that he said, 'Mom, I'm going to Mexico City on an assignment,' that he wouldn't come back," she said. "I never thought that his life was being in danger."
Zapata-Munoz said she still has no idea why her son was in San Luis Potosi, 250 miles north of the capital, when he was killed, nine days into his Mexican mission. When she was told of his death, her initial reaction was “That’s not my son. It can’t be. He’s not supposed to be there.”
The family was told that Zapata and fellow agent Victor Avila were ambushed by gunmen with assault weapons and that they had identified themselves by pressing their IDs up to the window of their armored SUV which carried diplomatic license plates.
But the agents made a fatal mistake by rolling a window down slightly to talk to the gunmen, who stuck a handgun and an AK-47 through and started shooting, reported the Chronicle. Zapata was shot in a major artery in his leg and died from loss of blood.
Zapata-Munoz told the Chronicle, "I feel like I'm not getting the truth. I know nothing will bring my son back. But I want to make sure that no other person has to go through what we went through, what Jaime went through.
“Can you imagine those last moments, trying to save your life and your buddy's life?
© Newsmax. All rights reserved.
Republicans investigating the Fast and Furious gunrunning scandal piled more pressure on attorney general Eric Holder on Wednesday, insisting he answers questions on the death of immigration officer Jaime Zapata.
Rep. Darrell Issa and Sen. Chuck Grassley gave Holder two weeks to tell them why agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives did not intercept the guns that were used to kill Zapata as he worked in Mexico in February.
I
ssa, the Californian who chairs the House Oversight Committee and Iowan Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee have relentlessly pursued Holder for answers surrounding the Fast and Furious case in which guns were bought by so-called straw purchasers and smuggled into Mexico. At least four Republican Congressmen have called for Holder’s resignation.The plan was to follow the weapons which, it was believed, would lead them to leaders of Mexico’s violent drug cartels. But hundreds of weapons went missing and have been used in crimes on both sides of the border including Zapata’s murder and the killing in December of Border Agent Brian Terry in Arizona.
Three men, brothers Otilio and Ranferi Osorio and their next-door neighbor Kelvin Morrison , were arrested at their homes in Lancaster, Texas within two weeks of Zapata’s murder. They are awaiting trial on charges of possessing firearms with obliterated serial numbers and could each face 15 years in jail.
In their letter to Holder, Issa and Grassley say the men bought the weapon that killed Zapata on Oct. 10 last year and it was trafficked into Mexico within two weeks.
They claim ATF officers even watched on Nov. 9 as the Morrison and the Osorio brothers unloaded 40 weapons in large bags into a confidential informant’s vehicle which was being kept under surveillance.
“Local law enforcement officials stopped the vehicle later in the day – presumably in concert with ATF and for the purpose of identifying the vehicle’s inhabitants. Inexplicably none of the suspects were arrested,” the two GOP members wrote.
Issa and Grassley also want to know why the ATF agents did not create an investigation report until Feb. 25, the day it became clear that Zapata had been killed by a Fast and Furious weapon.
“Documenting investigative steps three months after the fact and only after a trace returned to the murder of a federal agent raises red flags about the nature of ATF’s investigation,” they wrote.
Zapata, 32, was working out of the immigration office in Laredo, Texas when he was sent on assignment to Mexico City, his mother Mary Zapata-Munoz told the Houston Chronicle in an interview. She was under the impression he would be working at a desk job gathering intelligence in the U.S. embassy.
“I never thought on that fateful day that he said, 'Mom, I'm going to Mexico City on an assignment,' that he wouldn't come back," she said. "I never thought that his life was being in danger."
Zapata-Munoz said she still has no idea why her son was in San Luis Potosi, 250 miles north of the capital, when he was killed, nine days into his Mexican mission. When she was told of his death, her initial reaction was “That’s not my son. It can’t be. He’s not supposed to be there.”
The family was told that Zapata and fellow agent Victor Avila were ambushed by gunmen with assault weapons and that they had identified themselves by pressing their IDs up to the window of their armored SUV which carried diplomatic license plates.
But the agents made a fatal mistake by rolling a window down slightly to talk to the gunmen, who stuck a handgun and an AK-47 through and started shooting, reported the Chronicle. Zapata was shot in a major artery in his leg and died from loss of blood.
Zapata-Munoz told the Chronicle, "I feel like I'm not getting the truth. I know nothing will bring my son back. But I want to make sure that no other person has to go through what we went through, what Jaime went through.
“Can you imagine those last moments, trying to save your life and your buddy's life?
© Newsmax. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Issa, Grassley Press for Additional Information on Death of ICE Agent Zapata, Tactics Used in Texas
The letter explains the inconsistent statements by the Justice Department regarding Otilio Osorio, his brother Ranferi Osorio, and Kelvin Morrison. The three straw purchasers were known to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, long before one of the guns purchased by the brothers was linked to the murder of Agent Zapata.
To make matters worse, Grassley and Issa wrote in their letter that documents indicate the ATF failed for more than three months to create a Report of Investigation on the November 9 transfer of firearms between the brothers and Morrison and a confidential informant, witnessed by ATF agents. The report was finally written on February 25, 2011—the same day the ATF received the report tracing the Zapata murder weapon back to the purchase by Otilio Osorio.
Grassley and Issa said that documenting investigative steps three months after the fact and only after a trace returned to the murder of a federal agent raises red flags about the nature of ATF’s investigation.
Here is a copy of the text of today’s letter from Grassley and Issa, and here is a signed copy of the letter. Also, click here to read Grassley’s March 4, 2011 letter and here to read the March 28, 2011 letter. Here is a copy of the Justice Department’s latest response.
House Oversight Committee
###
Chaffetz to Napolitano: What Role Did Homeland Security Dept. Play in Fast and Furious?
Janet Napolitano is clearly lying in this video.There is evidence to suggest that Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano knew about Fast N Furious from the beginning.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Obama evades ‘Fast and Furious’ questions from Latino media
President Barack Obama boards Air Force One during his departure from Los Angeles International Airport, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
“We’re working very hard to have a much more effective interdiction effort … we are checking southbound transit … to capture illegal guns, illegal cash transfers to cartels,” he said at the morning event with representatives from Yahoo!, MSN Latino, and AOL Latino/Huffington Post Latino Voices. “It is something we’ve been building … it’s not yet finished, and there’s more work to do,” he said.
Conservative Action Fund treasurer Shaun McCutcheon told The Daily Caller that Obama’s inability to answer basic questions about Operation Fast and Furious suggests the administration is covering up even more about the controversial program.
“The more that comes out about this Fast and Furious scandal, the more we realize that there are very real dangers in a government that is too big to monitor itself,” McCutcheon said in an email. “The Obama administration refuses to take responsibility for the deaths of Americans and Mexicans alike under their watch because of their program.”
Obama blamed budget problems, in part, for what some see as ATF’s incompetence. “Part of the problem is budgetary [and] … we are going to have to figure out ways to operate smarter and more efficiently in investigations without a huge expansion of resources because those resources are aren’t there.”
No reporters at the roundtable pressed Obama further on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives program. Operation Fast and Furious was an Obama administration program in which ATF agents facilitated the sale of firearms to Mexican drug cartels via “straw purchasers” who could legally purchases guns in the United States, but were doing so with the intention of trafficking them into Mexico.
House oversight committee chairman Rep. Darrell Issa and Sen. Chuck Grassley have pursued a congressional investigation into the ATF operation over the past several months, and that has led to at least a few high-ranking Obama administration resignations. Their investigations have also revealed that White House officials were aware of Fast and Furious and the ATF tactics the program employed.
Conservative groups are unlikely to let this scandal die down without greater accountability.
“This Fast and Furious scandal reminds us that cronyism is murderous and its politics are dangerous,” Ali Akbar, a political consultant for the conservative Vice and Victory told TheDC. “I’m talking with other conservative groups and we’re not letting this go. We applaud Chairman Issa for pursuing this national tragedy that looks like it trickles all the way up to the top.”
Monday, October 24, 2011
Reps. Chaffetz and Gowdy Seek Information From President Obama On Flawed Fast & Furious Program
Congressmen ask Administration to come clean on what they knew and when
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, October 14, 2011, Representatives Chaffetz (UT-3) and Gowdy (SC-4) sent a letter to President Obama seeking information in the “Fast and Furious” investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The letter asks what the President knew about the investigation and when he learned of it. This is significant information because both President Obama and Attorney General Holder have spoken about when they were informed of “problems” with the investigation. Reps. Chaffetz and Gowdy believe “Fast and Furious” was a flawed investigation from its origin.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT)
Rep. Chaffetz added, “We’re looking for answers. I hope Mr. Holder will come before the Congress and clear up this glaring discrepancy. The President promised he would help get to the bottom of these questions and hold people accountable. We have a number of questions for Mr. Holder to answer.”
According to Congressman Gowdy, a former state and federal prosecutor who handled scores of firearms cases, “Fast and Furious was both ill-conceived and ill-executed, and any investigation that relies on ‘gun-walking’ and the recovery of guns at crimes scenes is so fundamentally flawed that whoever approved it needs to be disciplined. Allowing guns to walk away from law enforcement surveillance into another country is serious enough, but adding to that, what seems to be ATF’s plan to wait to recapture these guns at crimes scenes – after yet another law is violated – is frankly astonishing in its ineptitude. So, it is not enough for me to know when the President and Attorney General learned of so-called “problems” with “Fast and Furious”- “Fast and Furious” was a problem from its very inception.”
The Committees on the Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform have been focused on “Fast and Furious” for months. To date, ATF Director Ken Melson has stepped down and U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke has resigned. Attorney General Holder continues to deny prior knowledge of the investigation, but documents show he had been informed of the operation more than 6 months before his May 3rd testimony in a Judiciary Committee hearing focused on Department of Justice Oversight.
CORNYN ASKS GRASSLEY, ISSA FOR FORMAL INVESTIGATION OF ALLEGED TEXAS-BASED FAST AND FURIOUS OPERATION
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and former state Attorney General, today sent a letter to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) requesting that they look into allegations of additional Texas-based “gun-walking” programs similar to the “Fast and Furious” operation they are currently investigating. In August Sen. Cornyn wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder asking him to respond to these allegations, but the Administration has yet to respond to Sen. Cornyn’s request.
“Though their failure to respond is not direct evidence of malfeasance, the Department’s reluctance to address allegations of additional “gun-walking” schemes in my state raises serious questions, and Texans deserve a full accounting of the Department’s role in this matter,” Sen. Cornyn wrote.
Full text of the letter is below:
October 24, 2011
Dear Chairman Issa and Ranking Member Grassley,
I am writing to commend your oversight efforts and to express my hope that you will use your authority to investigate allegations that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) conducted a “gun-walking” program similar to Operation Fast and Furious in the State of Texas. Clearly, ATF “gun-walking” schemes have had significant spillover effects in Texas—in two separate incidents in January and April of 2010, a total of 60 rifles that were “walked” during Operation Fast and Furious were recovered from the hands of criminals in El Paso.
As you know, the attorney for a federal firearms licensee (FFL) in Houston has alleged that its employees were ordered by the ATF to conduct suspicious sales of firearms to purchasers who may have been working on behalf of Mexican drug cartels. Last December, the Department of Justice convened a grand jury to investigate whether several of the Houston FFL’s salespeople were criminally liable for selling weapons to straw purchasers. This investigation was dropped only after the FFL revealed that the illicit sales were carried out at the behest of the ATF. I fear that ATF may have pressured other FFLs in Texas to conduct illegal activities, and that many of these weapons may have ended up in the hands of cartels and at the scene of multiple violent crimes in Mexico.
I also respectfully request that you investigate whether a Texas-based “gun-walking” program may have been responsible for the murder of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata on February 15, 2011 in Mexico. One of the weapons used to murder agent Zapata was purchased by Texas resident Otilio Osorio in October, 2010 and subsequently trafficked to Mexico through Laredo, Texas. Osorio and two co-conspirators were arrested by the Department of Justice on unrelated weapons charges in March 2011, and evidence uncovered by Senator Grassley suggests that the ATF was aware of Osorio’s weapons trafficking activities long before that date. The delay in his arrest raises concerns that the ATF knowingly allowed Osorio to continue trafficking weapons through Texas as part of a broader “gun-walking” program.
I wrote to Attorney General Holder in August asking him to promptly disclose the details of any past or present Texas-based ATF “gun-walking” programs similar to Operation Fast and Furious. I have not received any response from the Department of Justice. Though their failure to respond is not direct evidence of malfeasance, the Department’s reluctance to address allegations of additional “gun-walking” schemes in my state raises serious questions, and Texans deserve a full accounting of the Department’s role in this matter.
I support your efforts to hold the Department of Justice accountable for their involvement in the Operation Fast and Furious tragedy. American tax dollars should never again be spent to arm Mexican drug cartels.
Sincerely,
JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator
Senator Cornyn serves on the Finance, Judiciary, Armed Services and Budget Committees. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.
Issa to press FBI for "gunwalking" info
(CBS News)
WASHINGTON - The head of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Darrell Issa, said he plans to send a letter to the FBI this week to ask about apparent discrepancies in the investigation of a murder related to "Fast and Furious," the government's controversial "gunwalking" case, CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports.
U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was gunned down near the U.S.-Mexico border last December, and at least two assault rifles from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Fast and Furious case were found at the scene.
That focused blame on the controversial ATF operation that monitored suspects who trafficked the weapons instead of arresting them and seizing the guns.
Holder subpoenaed for documents in "Gunwalker"
AG Holder responds to critics on Gunwalker
Leahy plans oversight hearing with Holder
But 10 months after the murder, there are questions about how many weapons the FBI recovered at the scene and other key details.
On CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday, Issa, R-Calif., told moderator Bob Schieffer there's reason to ask whether there's a third, missing weapon.
(Watch at left)
"When agents who were at Brian Terry's funeral made statements to his mother indicating that there were three weapons ... then you look and say, well was there a third weapon at the scene?" Issa asked. "Were there additional people who escaped with weapons?"
Issa: Holder hiding Fast and Furious facts
Dem: Issa is on "Fast & Furious" witch hunt
Congressional investigators seek DOD records
Also, a ballistics report turned over to Congress mentions just two rifles, saying it "could not be determined" if one of them fired the bullet that killed Terry.
There's also talk of a third weapon, called an "SKS" rifle, in secret recordings obtained by CBS News. In the following partial transcript of a March 2011 conversation, the lead ATF case agent on Fast and Furious is speaking to a gun dealer who cooperated in selling weapons to suspects.
Gun dealer: "There's three weapons."
ATF agent: "There's three weapons."
Dealer: "I know that."
Agent: "And yes, there's serial numbers for all three."
Dealer: "That is correct."
Agent: "Two of them came from the store."
Dealer: "I understand that."
Agent: "There's an SKS that I don't think came from ... Dallas or Texas or something like that."
The FBI wouldn't comment but has implied in the past that there was no third gun. Issa said he's seeking clarity and that, until key questions are answered, it fuels speculation.
The FBI has kept nearly everything about Terry's murder secret, saying that releasing anything would jeopardize their investigation, now beginning its eleventh month.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Sollenberger and Rozell: No Executive Privilege for Obama’s BlackBerry
Does modern technology create new constitutional protections for presidential secrecy? The country’s first BlackBerry-using president is denying Congress access to communications on his mobile device — a unique claim of privilege that was bound to happen eventually.
On the heels of President Barack Obama’s refusal to release certain documents relating to Operation Fast and Furious, White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler has issued a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee denying access to the president’s BlackBerry messages relating to the Energy Department’s loan to Solyndra.
It is safe to assume that the president is using a BlackBerry to communicate with his close advisers and other government officials throughout the executive branch. Such communications, though afforded protection under appropriate circumstances, may be critical to a Congressional investigation of possible executive branch wrongdoing.
Yet Ruemmler maintains that “long-standing and significant institutional Executive Branch confidentiality interests” shield all communications made via Obama’s BlackBerry. She also argues that Congress does not have to encroach “upon these important interests” as “the agency documents the Committee has requested, which include communications with the White House, should satisfy the Committee’s stated objective — to ‘understand the involvement of the White House in the review of the Solyndra loan guarantee and the Administration’s support of this guarantee.’”
Ruemmler’s position is a vast overreach of the president’s right to confidentiality. The chief executive does not possess this type of an absolute protection from producing documents or other evidence under a general rubric of executive privilege. Even though no president before him has used a BlackBerry while serving, the sui generis of this situation does not create a new, or even greater, protective privilege than already exists.
Simply put, new technology does not change the basic norms that govern executive privilege. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is seeking information to carry out its oversight functions. Obama cannot deny Congress access to information on the Solyndra loans just because he used a BlackBerry instead of writing his correspondence on paper.
Ruemmler also implies Congress should be satisfied with the documents disclosed so far, which amount to thousands of files. Past administrations have made a similar argument during their stonewalling efforts against Congress. It is a common executive branch tack: Count the number of pages released to Congress, even if most or all are not germane to the legislative investigation, and then claim to have fully cooperated with the legislative branch.
The fact is, the president does not win or get to say he’s being cooperative with Congress by simply handing over boxes and boxes of documents but withholding the most important or relevant papers. Legislators did not accept the same argument when the George W. Bush White House made it, and they should not do so here.
The last time a president tried to convince lawmakers that they should be satisfied with the large quantity of documents released and some limited testimony, a Democratic House decided to issue a contempt citation against Bush White House officials and bring a suit in federal court.
Obama is going down a path of secrecy that is making his promises of transparency and openness hallow. The constitutional question in this case — Congressional access to a president’s BlackBerry — is new, but it is one that will arise again. The outcome concerns the institutional powers of both the presidency and Congress, along with basic notions of democratic accountability and transparency.
Allowing the president to wall off communications because they happen to have been produced on a handheld electronic device creates a terrible precedent. The future will bring new means of communications that we cannot even imagine today. How many different means of technology will presidents then possess to conceal information from Congress, and also from the media and ultimately the public?
Obama has not provided any reasonable argument that could be used to protect the class of presidential communications that he wants to conceal. Without a showing of a demonstrable need for secrecy, the oversight interest of Congress wins out over any executive confidentiality claims, no matter the means of communication.
Mitchel A. Sollenberger is an assistant professor of political science at University of Michigan-Dearborn. Mark J. Rozell is a professor of public policy at George Mason University. They are the authors of the forthcoming book “The President’s Czars: Undermining Congress and the Constitution.”
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