Report: Fast and Furious a product of DOJ ‘deliberate strategy’ laid out by Eric Holder, other senior Obama officials

Daily Caller
Matthew Boyle

The latest congressional report on Operation Fast and Furious found that the gunwalking-program-turned-scandal was the result of a “deliberate strategy created at the highest levels of the Justice Department aimed at identifying the leaders of a major gun trafficking ring.”

The report is the second installment in a three-part series from Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Sen. Chuck Grassley and House oversight committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa.

That “deliberate strategy,” congressional investigators argue, sprang from “a series of speeches about combating violence along the Southwest border” that Attorney General Eric Holder delivered shortly after taking office.

“Although [the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] ATF did not officially open the Fast and Furious investigation until the fall of 2009, the groundwork for the strategy that would guide the operation began shortly after new leadership took control of the Department of Justice nine months earlier,” the report reads. “On February 25, 2009, just one month after Attorney General Eric Holder took office, he gave a speech noting the danger of the Mexican drug cartels, focusing on the Sinaloa cartel in particular.”

On Feb. 25, 2009, Holder said the drug cartels “are lucrative, they are violent, and they are operated with stunning planning and precision” and, under his leadership, he promised “these cartels will be destroyed.”

A little more than a month later, on April 2, 2009 in Cuernavaca, Mexico, congressional investigators say Holder “gave further insight into the department’s new strategy for combating these dangerous cartels.”

“He spoke about the development of a prosecution and enforcement strategy with respect to firearms trafficking, noting that the ‘administration launched a major new effort to break the backs of the cartels,’” the report reads. “In particular, the attorney general said that the Justice Department was committed to adding ‘100 new ATF personnel to the Southwest Border’ and that Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) would add ‘16 new positions on the border.’ Most importantly, the attorney general noted that there must be ‘an attack in depth, on both sides of the border, that focuses on the leadership and assets of the cartel.’”

Shortly after that April 2, 2009 speech by Holder, congressional investigators say “a Firearms Trafficking Working Group was formed.” Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, the head of DOJ’s Criminal Division, led the working group. It was tasked with “exploring and recommending proposals to enhance law enforcement efforts to curb firearms trafficking, focusing specifically on investigation, interdiction, training, prosecution, and intelligence-sharing.”

Later, on June 30, 2009, congressional investigators say Deputy Attorney General David Ogden argued that the border between the U.S. and Mexico was the “front line” to fight firearms trafficking. The report lays out how Ogden “also said that ATF and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would sign a new agreement to ‘ensure coordination between the departments on firearms investigations.’”

Then, on Aug. 19, 2009, that working group presented its recommendations to Holder in a memo. “The recommendations section of this August 2009 memo included many of the previous public comments by Attorney General Holder and Deputy Attorney General Ogden,” the congressional report says of that memo.

“The document went on to recommend “intelligence-based, prosecutor-led, multi-agency task forces,’” congressional investigators write. “It suggested that under its new model, ‘we develop priority targets through the extensive use of intelligence,’ which would allow it to ‘build cases, coordinating long-term, extensive investigations to identify all the tentacles of a particular organization.’”

Fast and Furious official MIA in order to avoid testifying

Gather
Robert Flynn

William McMahon supervised the
Phoenix-run Fast and Furious program.

The Fast and Furious Scandal is taking a new, sinister twist as one of those at the center of the botched gun-running scheme has been conveniently given a job by Obama-ally J.P. Morgan, far outside the borders of the United States. William McMahon, former ATF official and one of those responsible for the botched operation that resulted in the death of an American border agent, is not only reportedly collecting $100,000 annually for "security" services to the politically connected banking giant, but is also still receiving his ATF paycheck. With the invoking of Executive privilege by the Obama White House, and now this new shocking revelation of a political protection racket, is it possible that the Obama White House is digging itself into an even deeper hole?

McMahon, who may well be prosecuted for perjuring himself during the recent Congressional hearings into the notorious operation that allowed thousands of assault weapons to cross the border into Mexico, has been given a "job" in the Philippines. Critics claim that this move has been made in order "to prevent him from exposing further criminality among higher-ranking officials." Many other high officials have invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during hearings in Congress; however, McMahon made statements that now appear to have been outside the realm of truth.

This obvious attempt to scurry a potentially damaging witness out of the country is a disgusting show of contempt not only for the rule of law, but for the American people as well. The Obama administration, if responsible for this travesty of justice, may have tarnished the office of Presidency forever. And with the incompetent and possibly criminal McMahon getting a fortunate job with J.P. Morgan, the home of many current and former Obama supporters, as well as the largest recipients of taxpayer money gladly doled out by the Obama White House, it gives ammunition to those who cry foul.

In fact, critics will almost certainly claim that the President of the United States appears to have had one of his politically connected banking giants give McMahon a job outside the country so that he could not testify to how much the President was personally involved in the scandal.

Whether or not this is true, the American people deserve better. The Presidency was once a proud and honorable position, one to be admired and dreamed of attaining, but the current occupant has soiled the office with his corruption and immorality. How far has the United States sunk that the President is accused of having witnesses hidden outside the reach of American law?

America cannot survive as the greatest nation on Earth if it continues to elect morally bankrupt socialists who will stop at nothing to destroy this nation's greatness. America must find a way to return the honor to the Presidency, and not have it sullied with plots that seem to come from a film-noir mystery. Both the country and its people deserve better than what they have now, a President that seems to be at the center of the Fast and Furious Scandal and racing toward his own Watergate moment.

'Fast and Furious' ATF Official Granted Paid Leave to Take 6-Figure Job at JP Morgan

CNS News
Susan Jones

The long-awaited inspector general's report on the Justice Department's botched gun-running scheme is finished, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said on Wednesday.

But along with that news comes more questions: Issa and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) are demanding to know why a top ATF official involved in Operation Fast and Furious remains on paid leave from ATF -- while simultaneously drawing a six-figure salary from J.P. Morgan, a major investment bank.

In a letter to the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Issa and Grassley asked why the Justice Department would approve such a special arrangement for Bill McMahon.

(Pardon the goofy player)

“Under any reading of the relevant personnel regulations, it appears that ATF management was under no obligation to approve this sort of arrangement,” wrote Issa and Grassley. “Given McMahon’s outsized role in the Fast and Furious scandal, the decision to approve an extended annual leave arrangement in order to attain pension eligibility and facilitate full-time, outside employment while still collecting a full-time salary at ATF raises a host of questions about both the propriety of the arrangement and the judgment of ATF management.” Issa and Grassley say the ATF has made it possible for McMahon to "double dip for nearly half a year by receiving two full-time paychecks -- one from the taxpayer and one from the private sector."  They noted that the treatment of McMahon is "in sharp contrast" to how the ATF has treated whistleblowers such as Special Agent John Dodson, "who is told he must wait until the Inspector General’s report is complete before the agency will even consider his simple request for a statement retracting the false statements made about him by agency leadership.” Issa and Grassley noted that ATF approved the arrangement for McMahom before the Justice Department inspector general finished his report on the failed gun tracking scheme.

 As for the IG report examining Fast and Furious, as well as the Justice Department's knowledge of and response to it, Issa said the report is done: "We know that the IG report is finished, we know that it's at Justice, and we know that we can't see it. We're hoping, though, that they will release it," Issa told Fox News's Greta Van Susteren on Wednesday. Issa said he's "positive" that the IG's report "is going to say the same thing our report has said, which is -- this is somebody (Bill McMahon) who is responsible for and signed documents that he told our committee he didn't see, didn't know about. Now, the only question is -- did he not read them and sign them?" "We're dealing with somebody who should have been fired from ATF," Issa added. According to the final congressional report on Fast and Furious, William McMahon was a supervisor at ATF headquarters who served as a "crucial link" between ATF headquarters and the Phoenix Field Division. "He received a wealth of information about Fast and Furious” -- including the fact that straw purchasers had bought over 900 firearms, many of which ended up in Mexico -- "but did not view it as his role as supervisor to ask questions about events in the field. He has publicly admitted to having failed in his duty to read information presented to him about the case."

The report says McMahon rubber stamped critical documents that came across his desk without reading them. McMahon also "gave false testimony to Congress about signing applications for wiretap intercepts in Fast and Furious," the report says.  Operation Fast and Furious began in the fall of 2009 as part of a plan to track guns illegally purchased in the U.S. to Mexican drug cartels. The ATF lost track of most of the 2,000 weapons that were allowed to "walk" into Mexico, and two of the straw-purchased guns ended up at the scene of a U.S. border agent's murder. (Issa told Fox News that news of McMahon's double-dipping will produce "more outrage for the family of fallen Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.) According to the final congressional report, "From the outset, the case was marred by missteps, poor judgments, and an inherently reckless strategy." Issa, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has accused Attorney General Eric Holder and other Justice Department officials of undermining his investigation into Fast and Furious.

Fast and Furious Fallout: Former Deputy Director Leaving ATF

KARN

William Hoover

(WASHINGTON) -- The former Deputy Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has left the agency in the wake of the fallout from the Fast and Furious gun walking scandal. William Hoover was no longer employed at the agency as of Aug. 1, 2012, according to an ATF spokesman. Officials declined to comment further citing the Privacy Act.

Hoover had served as the Deputy Director of the Bureau since February 2007 and was in that position during the Fast and Furious gun running scandal. Prior to being the number two at the ATF, Hoover had served as the Assistant Director for Field Operations. He joined the ATF in 1987 after having worked in Virginia at several law enforcement agencies. He had also served as special agent in charge of Boston and Washington Field Offices before going to the ATF Headquarters.

Under Fast and Furious ATF, agents recorded and tracked straw purchases of weapons which were allowed to walked across the U.S. border into Mexico and into the hands of cartel members. The ATF operation took a tragic toll when two guns linked to the operation were found near slain U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry on Dec. 14, 2010.

Hoover had been briefed on Fast and Furious by ATF Agent William Newell who had been the special agent in charge overseeing the case. In March 2010 Hoover became concerned about the number of guns involved in the case and ordered ATF agents in Phoenix to wrap the case up in 90 days.

Hoover was among five ATF officials recently named in a Congressional report responsible for the botched gun running operation. The report, released earlier this week and prepared by Rep. Darrell Issa, Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, noted of Hoover and ATF Assistant Director Mark Chait, “Assistant Director Mark Chait and his superior, Deputy Director Hoover, had several opportunities to put an end to the operation but failed to do so. Hoover knew that Newell had employed risky tactics in the past as SAC yet failed to monitor him closely. Either Hoover did not ask the right questions or simply turned a blind eye to the unavoidable reality that reckless gunwalking tactics were being used again in Fast and Furious.”

Although Hoover had ordered his agents to wrap up the investigation within 90 days in March 2010 indictments were not returned by federal grand juries until January 2011.

Hoover was reassigned to a subordinate position last October when the newly appointed Acting Director of the ATF Todd Jones shook-up senior staff positions.

Last August Dennis Burke, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona where operation Fast and Furious was overseen resigned from the Justice Department. The assistant U.S. attorney who helped run the program, Emory Hurley, has also been reassigned from working on criminal cases and is currently assigned to the civil division at the Arizona U.S. attorney’s office. William Newell was reassigned to ATF Headquarters from overseeing the Phoenix Field Office.

The Justice Department’s Inspector General report into Fast and Furious is expected to be released in the next several weeks.

Issa's investigation into the unfolding scandal led to contempt of Congress charges against Attorney General Eric Holder, who was accused of shepherding the Fast and Furious -- and hiding documents about it. Prior to the contempt vote in June, President Obama asserted executive privilege to "freeze" some of the documents Holder refused to provide to Issa's House probe.

Obama Contributor, Who Helped Enact Assault-Weapons Ban, Ran ‘Fast and Furious’

CNS News
Fred Lucas

Dennis K. Burke, who as a lawyer for the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee in the 1990s

Former U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke

was a key player behind the enactment of the 1994 assault-weapons ban, and who then went on to become Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano’s chief of staff, and a contributor to Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential primary campaign, and then a member of Obama's transition team focusing on border-enforcement issues, ended up in the Obama administration as the U.S. attorney in Arizona responsible for overseeing Operation Fast and Furious.

When Obama nominated Burke to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona, Burke told the Arizona Capitol Times he believed he understood what the president and his attorney general wanted him to do.

“There’s clearly been direction provided already by President Obama and Attorney General Holder as to what they want to be doing, and this is an office that is at the center of the issues of border enforcement,” said Burke.

Over the course of several days, CNSNews.com left multiple telephone messages with Burke for comment on this story. He did not respond.

Dennis K. Burke has had a long career working as an aide and political appointee to Democratic elected officials. From 1989 to 1994, he was a counsel for the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, working in that capacity for several years on an assault-weapons ban, which was finally enacted on Sept. 13, 1994 as the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. That act expired on Sept. 13, 2004. (See NYT: Dennis Burke, Sen. DeConcini, Weapons Ban.pdf)

From 1994-95, Burke served in the Clinton Justice Department in the Office of Legislative Affairs, and in 1997-99, he was an assistant U.S. attorney in Arizona.

From 1999 to 2003, Burke was chief deputy and special assistant to Arizona Attorney General Janet Napolitano.

In 2003, when Napolitano became governor, Burke became her chief of staff. He stayed in that job until the fall of 2008, when he left to help Democratic political campaigns, including then-Sen. Obama’s presidential campaign.

Department of Homeland Security
Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show that on Jan. 9, 2008, while working as Gov. Napolitano’s chief of staff, Burke contributed $2,000 to then-Sen Obama’s presidential primary campaign. Since 1997, according to FEC records, Burke has contributed a total of $16,350 to various Democratic candidates.

After Obama was elected in November 2008, Burke joined his presidential transition team, serving on the Immigration Policy Working Group.

Eight days before Obama’s inauguration, on Jan. 12, 2009--while Burke was working on the transition team--Obama met with Mexican President Felipe Calderon at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C. At that meeting, Obama “pledged” to take action to stop the flow of guns from the United States to Mexico.

Obama also decided to put Burke’s old boss, incoming Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, in a leadership role in making the gun-trafficking problem a top priority.

“President-elect Obama expressed support for efforts in the border states in both the United States and Mexico to eradicate drug-related violence and stop the flow of guns and cash,” incoming White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement at the time. “He told President Calderón that he intends to ask the Secretary of Homeland Security to lead an effort to increase information sharing to strengthen those efforts. He pledged to take more effective action from the United States to stem the flow of arms from the United States to Mexico.”

When Napolitano became Homeland Security secretary, Burke moved from the Obama transition team to become her senior adviser. On Feb. 25, 2009, a little more than a month after Obama had made his “pledge” to Calderon, Napolitano testified in the House Homeland Security Committee. She stressed that stopping the flow of guns to Mexico was a top priority of the Obama administration and key focus of her work.

Former Obama chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.

Responding to a question about violence on the border, Napolitano said the administration was going to work with the Mexican government on the issue. Then she said: “Secondly, it is looking at, government-wide, at what we can do to stop the southbound export of weaponry, particularly assault-type weapons and grenades that are being used in that drug war.”

Napolitano further noted that drug cartels were targeting Mexican government officials and law enforcement officers, and that, given the seriousness of the threat, Obama’s national security adviser, the attorney general, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Customs (of which the Border Patrol is part) would all be working on the issue.

Is Eric Holder Mastermind or just Absent-minded?

The Examiner
William Holder

Attorney General (AG) Eric Holder admitted lying to Congress May 2011 when he testified he learned of Fast and Furious (F&F) “…last few weeks”. His defenders say he misunderstood the question.

Last Thursday, the 2ndof February 2012, Eric Holder said he made sure F&F was over “as soon as he learned about its tactics…” (Cockerham, 2012)

Note how one Holder testimony reduces the other testimony to nonsense.

The essential question about gunrunning and Fast and Furious (F&F) is:

What did AG Eric Holder know, and when did he know it?

A) On May 3, 2011, Oversight Committee chair, Rep. Darrell Issa, asked AG Holder, "When did you first know about the program, officially I believe known as Fast and Furious, to the best of your knowledge, what date?"

B) AG Holder testified, "I'm not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks."

Attorney General (AG) Eric Holder admitted lying to Congress May 2011 when he testified he learned of Fast and Furious (F&F) “…last few weeks”. His defenders say he misunderstood the question.

Last Thursday, the 2ndof February 2012, Eric Holder said he made sure F&F was over “as soon as he learned about its tactics…” (Cockerham, 2012)

Note how one Holder testimony reduces the other testimony to nonsense.

The essential question about gunrunning and Fast and Furious (F&F) is:

What did AG Eric Holder know, and when did he know it?

A) On May 3, 2011, Oversight Committee chair, Rep. Darrell Issa, asked AG Holder, "When did you first know about the program, officially I believe known as Fast and Furious, to the best of your knowledge, what date?"

B) AG Holder testified, "I'm not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks."
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C) Holder's May 3, 2011 testimony under oath was perjury.

D) Holder’s testimony last Thursday depends on last May’s testimony.

So, what do we know about what Eric Holder really knew?

On October 3rd, 2011, CBS reporter Cheryl Atkisson obtained five Department of Justice (DOJ) memos to and from Holder subordinates detailing various aspects of the F&F smuggling program showing Holder had received weekly briefings on F&F from as early as July of 2010 -five months before Tucson District Border Agent, Brian Terry was murdered in the Arizona desert with an F&F-smuggled weapon.

Reading the DOJ emails in question makes both the AG’s testimonies under oath ridiculous.

One email in particular is specially damning: on Oct. 17, 2010, Deputy Assistant AG/ Criminal Division, Jason Weinstein, emailed Deputy Chief of the National Gang Unit, James Trusty, questioning the wisdom of having Assistant AG, Lanny Breuer, attend a press conference questioning F&F, "…given the number of guns that have walked." http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/2011/10/holder-should-fire-his-aides-or-get-fired-himself#ixzz1lLctyGnm

The words show knowledge that walking guns is smuggling guns.

Report Unloads on ATF for Mexican ‘Gunwalking’

Wired

Days before Attorney General Eric Holder is once again hauled before Congress to testify for Operation Fast and Furious, a new report sheds light on whether high-ranking officials knew, or have been honest about, one of the biggest failures in Justice Department history: a disastrous plan by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to allow gunrunners to “walk” firearms into the hands of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel.

These questions are crucial because Fast and Furious has not only become a huge political issue, it also determines who will take responsibility for allowing thousands of guns to move unimpeded into a war zone south of the U.S.-Mexico border. The gunwalking operation — an attempt to build cases by not stopping but monitoring the flow of U.S. straw-purchased weapons to Mexico’s cartels — eventually saw the ATF lose track of more than 2,000 guns, many in the hands of cartel hitmen.

Hundreds of weapons recovered at crime scenes in Mexico were later traced to Fast and Furious, including AK-47 variant rifles discovered at the scene of a Dec. 14, 2010, shootout between border bandits and a Border Patrol BORTAC tactical unit in Arizona. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was killed in the fight.

But Fast and Furious wasn’t the first operation to run guns. The report, released by House Democrats, describes the plot as “the latest in a series of fatally flawed operations run by ATF agents in Phoenix and the Arizona U.S. Attorney’s Office,” beginning with the 2006-2007′s Operation Wide Receiver. In the beginning, Phoenix-based ATF agents “went forward with plans to observe or facilitate hundreds of suspected straw firearm purchases,” according to the report. Faced with the risk of losing track of the guns, Wide Receiver was shuttered.
In two cases, named the “The Hernandez Case” and “The Medrano Case,” the ATF watched groups of conspirators cross into Mexico carrying straw-purchased guns. In “Medrano,” smugglers snuck more than 100 firearms into Mexico while under observation by the ATF.

Fast and Furious was much bigger, with greater potential rewards — and risks — for field agents, involving “a sizable network the operation of straw puchasers [the ATF] believed were trafficking military-grade assault weapons to Mexican drug cartels.” But then the operation went badly wrong. Guns disappeared, or appeared after gunfights with the Mexican military or in stash houses. Then agent Terry was shot.

Angry former ATF chief blames subordinates for Fast and Furious

Los Angeles Times
Richard A. Serrano

In a deposition with congressional investigators, Kenneth E. Melson faults agents, supervisors and top aides for the gun sale program that has been linked to drug cartel violence.

Kenneth E. Melson

Reporting from Washington — In a confidential deposition with congressional investigators, the then-head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives blamed agents, field supervisors and even his top command for never advising him that for more than a year, his agency allowed illegal gun sales along the southwestern U.S. border.

The deposition, which was taken in July and was recently obtained by the Washington bureau, shows that Kenneth E. Melson was irate. Even his chief intelligence officer at ATF headquarters was upset with the operation, dubbed Fast and Furious, but did little to shut it down, Melson complained. "He didn't come in and tell me, either," Melson said. "And he's on the same damn floor as I am."

But B. Todd Jones, Melson's replacement as acting director of the agency, said in an interview that Melson allowed overzealous field agents and supervisors to go beyond approved tactics.
Pointing out that the ATF has had five acting directors in the last six years, Jones said the resulting weak management structure has given some field agents a license to operate independently of Washington.

"There was a vacuum. Fast and Furious went off the rails, and there were plenty of opportunities to pivot so none of this would happen," Jones said.

The Joke at Justice

The Examiner
William Heuisler

“Holder” and “Justice” in the same sentence are becoming a joke.

Finally Attorney General Holder's honesty has been questioned by Congress.

According to records and testimony, over the past dozen years, Attorney General (AG) Eric Holder, has lied to Congress many times. For example. he lied about gun smuggling, a $48 million thief and FALN terrorists.

Recently, AG Holder was accused of  "lack of trustworthiness" in his May 3rdtestimony denying long-term knowledge of Fast and Furious (F&F) - the ATF gun smuggling scheme where 2,000-plus guns were “straw bought” at Arizona gun shops, and smuggled to Mexican drug cartels. F&F guns were found at Tucson District Border Patrol Agent, Brian Terry's murder scene.

A letter to Congress last Tuesday added to the lies. AG Holder wrote, he had, "no recollection of knowing about 'Fast and Furious' or of hearing its name prior to the public controversy about it. Prior to early 2011, I certainly never knew about the tactics employed in the operation." (Seper, 2011)

But recently released memos show Holder received at least 5 briefing papers and reports on F&F as early as July 2010. Also, Ken Melson, ex-head of ATF, testified under oath he had received F&F instructions from US Attorneys and Holder’s Assistant AGs in 2010 and 2011.
                                             

On February 2001, House Government Reform Committee questioned Eric Holder on his role, as Clinton Deputy AG, in the pardon of financier, Marc Rich, a fugitive from US Justice for 17 years, whose former wife, Denise had recently donated $1.3 million to Democrats.

Holder testified he had not been "intimately involved or overly interested" in the US $48 million fraud case against Marc Rich, and that he "never devoted a great deal of time to this matter." He had "only a passing familiarity with the underlying facts" and had "no memory" of Rich's attorney, Jack Quinn, saying he was going to file a pardon request with President Clinton.

Fast And Furious: 22 Shocking Facts About The Scandal That Could Bring Down The Obama Administration

End of the American Dream

Could Fast and Furious be the scandal that brings down the Obama administration?  With the full knowledge of the Department of Justice, ATF agents facilitated the sale of thousands of guns to Mexican drug cartels and dropped all surveillance of those weapons once they crossed the border.  Weapons sold during Operation Fast and Furious have been used to shoot U.S. border control agents.  Weapons sold during Operation Fast and Furious have been found at dozens of crime scenes in Mexico.  Nobody has been held accountable for this scandal yet.  U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has been stonewalling all efforts by members of Congress to look into Fast and Furious.  A CBS reporter that has been aggressively investigating this story was recently screamed at and cussed at by a high ranking official that works in the White House.  It has become abundantly clear that the Obama administration desperately wants to hide what went on during Operation Fast and Furious.  So will they succeed or will we eventually find out the truth?

What you are about to read should shock the living daylights out of you.  The U.S. government purposely armed Mexican drug cartels with thousands of guns and then ordered agents not to follow the weapons across the border.

This should be a story that the mainstream media is pounding on every single day.
But they aren't.

In fact, they are mostly ignoring it.

However, if the truth starts getting out and the American people start grasping what really happened this thing could become absolutely huge.

In fact, this could end up being Obama's Watergate.

The following are 22 shocking facts about the scandal that could bring down the Obama administration....

#1 During Operation Fast and Furious, ATF agents purposely allowed thousands of guns to be sold to individuals that they believed would get them into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.

#2 ATF agents were specifically ordered not to intercept the guns before they crossed the border.  The following is a brief excerpt from a CBS News report that detailed the fierce objections that many ATF agents expressed when they were ordered to stand down....

On the phone, one Project Gunrunner source (who didn't want to be identified) told us just how many guns flooded the black market under ATF's watchful eye. "The numbers are over 2,500 on that case by the way. That's how many guns were sold - including some 50-calibers they let walk."

50-caliber weapons are fearsome. For months, ATF agents followed 50-caliber Barrett rifles and other guns believed headed for the Mexican border, but were ordered to let them go. One distraught agent was often overheard on ATF radios begging and pleading to be allowed to intercept transports. The answer: "Negative. Stand down."

CBS News has been told at least 11 ATF agents and senior managers voiced fierce opposition to the strategy. "It got ugly..." said one. There was "screaming and yelling" says another. A third warned: "this is crazy, somebody is gonna to get killed."

#3 Operation Fast and Furious remained a secret until the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry last December.  Two guns that were sold during Operation Fast and Furious were found at the scene of the murd

Congress issues subpoena for Holder, others in 'Fast and Furious' probe

CNN

Congressional investigators have issued a subpoena for communications from several top Justice Department officials - including Attorney General Eric Holder - relating to the discredited "Fast and Furious" federal gunrunning operation, according to Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California.

Operation Fast and Furious involved agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowing illegal sales of guns believed to be destined for Mexican drug cartels to "walk" from Phoenix, Arizona, gun stores into Mexico.

The idea was to track the sellers and purchasers of guns to Mexican cartels, but the program became mired in controversy after weapons found at Mexican and American murder scenes were traced back to the program. Mexican officials and critics in the United States called the program a failure, saying it exacerbated the longstanding problem of U.S. weapons getting into the hands of the violent Mexican cartels.

Investigations Intensify for Operation "Wide Reciever", the 2006 Predecessor to "Fast and Furious"

The Examiner
Luke Witman

Southern Arizona arms dealers accused
to knowingly selling weapons to
Mexican gun smugglers.

With the dust still far from settled on the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives’ failed Mexican arms smuggling sting Operation Fast and Furious, the Justice Department is intensifying its investigation into a similar ATF-led operation that took place in Tucson in 2006. Dubbed Operation Wide Receiver, in this precursor to Fast and Furious, agents allegedly allowed guns to pass from Southern Arizona arms dealers and into the hands of Mexican criminals, in a larger attempt to get to the leaders of the drug cartels.

The Justice Department investigation into Operation Wide Receiver began in 2006, when a local resident tipped off authorities that Tucson gun dealer Michael Detty was supplying guns to Mexican criminals. However, it was not until May of 2010 that an indictment was issued against Detty and his business Mad Dawg Global Marketing. The indictment alleges that Detty sold 269 weapons to criminals in Sonora, only 47 of which were eventually seized by ATF officials. This means that at least 222 firearms potentially reached the hands of cartel members.
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In an interview with CBS’ The Early Show, Wednesday Oct. 5, Detty claims that he was working as an undercover informant for the very people who are now responsible for indicting him. He argues that, after receiving a very large order for semiautomatic rifles from a young Latino man at a Tucson gun show, he reported the suspicious transaction to the ATF, who then urged him to continue selling guns to this individual, so that U.S. officials could trace them. Detty said that he had no idea that ATF authorities were allowing the weapons to slip across the border and into the cartels, and it makes him sick to know how he was used.

Detty is not the only person involved in Operation Wide Receiver to have been indicted for his actions. Along with him, eight other Tucson residents were charged last year with supplying weapons to gun smugglers. Two have already pled guilty, while two others are expected to enter pleas next Wednesday. The remaining five have cases that are still pending.

An attorney for one of those charged, Ricardo Mendez Jr., is arguing that the case against his client should be dropped, since it has taken four years for the Justice Department to come up with his indictment. Indeed it does seem strange to many that the indictments against arms dealers involved in Wide Receiver did not come until the existence of Operation Fast and Furious came to light. With members of Congress as well as members of the public anxious for someone to take responsibility for the failures of recent gunrunning stings, it seems overly convenient to some that the dealers are being brought to justice, while nobody from the ATF has yet to take responsibility for the agency’s misdeeds.

CBS Reporter: White House Official ‘Screamed’ & ‘Cussed’ at Me for Coverage of ‘Fast and Furious’

The Blaze
Jonathon M. Seidl

CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson has been doggedly covering the ATF and DOJ scandal surrounding the gunwalking “Fast and Furious” case. And now she’s coming out with some juicy details about her attempts to get information from the DOJ and the White House regarding the case.

On Laura Ingraham’s radio show Tuesday, Attkisson said she was “screamed” and “cussed” at by the White House while trying to get information last Friday, and that a DOJ spokesperson “yelled” at her while she was trying to get clarification on the case. And she named names.
Ingraham: So they were literally screaming at you?

Attkisson: Yes. Well the DOJ woman was just yelling at me. The guy from the White House on Friday night literally screamed at me and cussed at me.

Ingraham: Who was the person? Who was the person at Justice screaming?

Attkisson: Eric Schultz Oh, the person screaming was [DOJ spokeswoman] Tracy Schmaler, she was yelling not screaming. And the person who screamed at me was Eric Schultz at the White House.
Why such the reaction from the spokespeople?

“They will tell you that I’m the only reporter–as they told me–that is not reasonable,” she told Ingraham. “They say the Washington Post is reasonable, the LA Times is reasonable, the New York Times is reasonable, I’m the only one who thinks this is a story, and they think I’m unfair and biased by pursuing it.”

You can listen to her tell the story below (the revelation initially comes at the beginning and then picks up again at the 6:00 mark):



This all comes House RepublicanS are calling for a special investigation of Attorney General Eric Holder over his handling of the scandal and after it was revealed this week that Holder was sent briefings on the program as early as June 2010. That contradicts his statement under oath in May 2011 that he first heard about the operation “over the last few weeks.” Holder’s camp has tried to explain the contradiction by saying he was referring to the details of the case and not the case itself.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) addressed the issue on Fox today and said he personally handed a letter to Holder on the issue in January of this year, which would also seem to contradict Holder’s defense:

Holder’s Hollywood manqué: About Death

The Examiner
William Heuisler

Tucson’s “Wide Receiver” is the latest government gun-smuggling code.

Hollywood could have invented cute names for ATF agents smuggling guns to criminals. Maybe even introduced a plot twist where a brave Border agent is murdered because of gun smuggling. But even Hollywood would realize Eric Holder’s Project Gunrunner - and all its foul brood - is about Death.

The American people are slowly learning about a sinister scheme, concocted in the US Government's Executive Branch, that was then enabled by Chiefs of nearly every Federal Law enforcement Agency. Gunrunner, Fast and Furious and Wide Receiver are all stylized, trivialized names for government agents who helped smuggle American guns to Mexican drug cartels.

Playful names mask deadly crimes and deep corruption too serious to invent. ATF agent whistleblowers say that ATF's Operation Fast and Furious (with Justice Department direction) enabled thousands of weapons to be smuggled into Mexico and sold to drug cartels.

The smuggling, gun-walking project called Gunrunner (proudly announced in 2009 by Attorney General, Eric Holder in Cuernavaca, Mexico) has cost the lives of Tucson Sector Border Agent, Brian Terry and ICE Agent, Jaime Zapata, along with hundreds of Mexican military and law enforcement.

We learn more about this bizarre Hollywood manqué disaster through e-mails and phone calls between ATF’s Phoenix Chief, Bill Newell, and a White House National Security Staff member, Kevin O’Reilly.

Newell email (09.03.10)(pdf)
Arizona Gunrunner Impact Team 
chart(pdf)
O'Reilly email (09.03.10)(pdf)

(Attkisson, 2011)

ATF Chief Agent (Phoenix) and National Security Staff member (White House) talked and wrote about Fast and Furious, always avoiding names. But they slipped. They carelessly mentioned a group called “OCDTF”. Newell sent O’Reilly e-mail photographs including a .50 caliber rifle that Newell says, "Was purchased in Tucson as part of an OCDTF case."

This is a significant admission. OCDTF means “Organized Crime Drug Task Force” - a joint task force that operates under the Department of Justice, and includes US Attorneys, ATF, DEA, FBI, ICE and IRS.

Newell admits OCDTF smuggled guns in Tucson as part of Fast and Furious.

And then a little plot twist: Congressional investigators Issa and Grassley asked to interview O'Reilly by September 30. But the Administration said O'Reilly is on assignment for the State Department in Iraq. (Attkisson, 2011)

Convenient. This script would be laughable if reality were not so deadly.

No matter what these cuff-linked, capitol-city heroes dream up for politics, a wide receiver plays in a game.

Holder’s schemes are not games. Gunrunner has always been about Death. Gunrunner means gun smuggler; Fast and Furious means car chases. And Americans should never forget the common denominator - the ultimate moment, the final play – is desert death, a spray of bullets, or a spike of black-tar heroin in a ruined arm.

Attkisson, C. (2011). CBS News. Investigation. New Fast and Furious Docs released by White House. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20114184-10391695.html

Agent Terry's Family Denied Crime Victim Status In Gun Walker Case

John Hayward
Salem News

(WASHINGTON D.C. Human Events) - Border Patrol agent Brian Terry’s murder at the hands of Mexican criminals carrying at least one weapon from the ATF’s “Operation Fast and Furious” brought that awful program to a screeching halt.  The straw purchaser who secured the weapon carried by Terry’s killers, a 23-year-old Phoenix man named Jamie Avila, is now on trial for gun-trafficking offenses.

Agent Terry’s family asked to be granted status as crime victims, so they could talk with prosecutors and speak at Avila’s sentencing.  It’s a routine request… but to the surprise of many observers, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Arizona has denied them.  William LaJeunesse of Fox News reports:

U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke argues because the family was not "directly or proximately harmed" by the illegal purchase of the murder weapon, it does not meet the definition of "crime victim" in the Avila case. Burke claims the victim of the Avila's gun purchases, "is not any particular person, but society in general."

Prominent litigator and the former U.S. Attorney in Florida, Kendall Coffey disagrees.

"The government apparently is saying they're not victims, even though it was a federal crime that put the murder weapon in the hands of the killer of Brian Terry," says Coffey. "They are simply rights of respect, rights of communication and the right to be heard."

Gosh, it’s a shame Agent Terry was caught in the crossfire when those invaders started shooting at society.

Why would U.S. Attorney Burke issue this unusual decision?  Take a wild guess:

Coffey and others wonder if Burke has a conflict. It was his office that led Operation Fast and Furious. The operation, while executed by agents for the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, was managed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory Hurley. Hurley drafted the response to the family's motion. It was signed by Burke.

Congressional investigators are expected to subpoena both to appear before the House Government and Oversight Committee next month to answer questions about the flawed operation that put some 2,000 weapons in the hands of the Sinaloa cartel.

LaJeunesse goes on to speculate that Avila might have cut a deal with prosecutors that would keep him out of jail, a development that would go over especially poorly if Terry’s family was seated in the courtroom, armed with official crime victim status.  

The family may also be considering a wrongful death suit against the federal government, which would involve Burke.  Victim status would pump a lot of energy into that case.

Meanwhile, the expanding Gun Walker case has involved agencies beyond the ATF and U.S. Attorney’s Office, including the IRS, FBI, DEA, and CIA.  Robert Farago and Ralph Dixon of the Washington Times offer the provocative theory that the CIA was actually the driving force behind Operation Fast and Furious.

The CIA​ is concerned that the Los Zetas drug cartel has a real shot at overthrowing the Mexican government.  They control huge amounts of territory, they’ve got military training, and they control a terrifying arsenal.  Their major rival is the Sinaloa cartel, which is the caffeine-free Diet Coke version of Los Zetas.  They also happen to be the major recipients of Fast and Furious guns:

Operation Fast and Furious may not have been the only way the CIA helped put lethal weapons into the hands of the Sinaloa cartel and its allies, but it certainly was an effective strategy. If drug thugs hadn’t murdered Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry with an ATF- provided weapon, who knows how many thousands more guns would have crossed the U.S. border?

To be sure, Operation Fast and Furious suited the ATF’s needs. It was all too willing to let guns walk to increase its power, prestige and budget in Washington. It actively recruited so-called straw purchasers and happily used American gun dealers as pawns. And it was only one agency in a mosaic of federal agencies helping the CIA actualize its covert plans.

The fact that Operation Fast and Furious was part of the CIA’s black-bag job in Mexico does not excuse the ATF for violating the very federal laws it was created to enforce; for contributing to the deaths of hundreds of innocent citizens, including a Border Patrol agent trying to live up to his oath; or for being unrepentant, uncooperative and unresponsive to the wishes of the American people for honesty, integrity and loyalty to the U.S. Constitution.

There has never been a more dangerously misguided, dishonest, and covered-up program than the Gun Walker project.  Whatever you think of scandals like Watergate or Iran-Contra, they were balsa wood scale models of this monstrosity.  It’s increasingly clear that the stated purpose of the operation – 

 following the guns to their cartel buyers – was never realistic.  The L.A. Times reports today that even a few months into the project, it was clear that its dogs were not hunting:

Five months into the surveillance effort — dubbed Operation Fast and Furious — no indictments had been announced and no charges were immediately expected. Worse, the weapons had turned up at crime scenes in Mexico and the ATF official was worried that someone in the United States could be hurt next.

Acting Deputy Director William Hoover called an emergency meeting and said he wanted an "exit strategy" to shut down the program. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for decades had dedicated itself to stopping illegal gun-trafficking of any kind. Now it was allowing illegal gun purchases on the Southwest border and letting weapons "walk" unchecked into Mexico.

But those at the meeting, which included a Justice Department official, did not want to stop the illegal gun sales until they had something to show for their efforts. Hoover suggested a "30-day, 60-day or 90-day" exit plan that would shut Fast and Furious down for good — just as soon as there were some indictments.

In the end, it took a year and a half to get any indictments… and they came after Agent Terry was killed.  Was it really an attempt to pump up gun-crime statistics for the benefit of American liberal politicians, a CIA operation that shredded U.S. law in a desperate attempt to support the government of Mexico, or both?  It’s a story that gets worse every day.  Today the family of the courageous Border Patrol agent killed by this insane program was told by a U.S. Attorney that they’re not officially victims of the crime that armed his murderers.

Court documents say U.S. knew about coke

UPI

Vicente Zambada-Niebla

EL PASO, Texas, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. officials let the Sinaloa drug cartel smuggle tons of cocaine into the United States in exchange for intelligence about rival cartels, court documents say.

The claim was made by attorneys in defense of Mexico's Vicente Zambada-Niebla, who was extradited to the United States to face drug-trafficking charges in Chicago, the El Paso (Texas) Times reported.

If the claim is true, it could prove to be as damaging to federal investigators as the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm's "Operation Fast and Furious," that let U.S. weapons get into Mexico, the report said.
 
Documents filed in U.S. federal court said the Sinaloa cartel was allowed to bring tons of cocaine into the United States in exchange for information about rival cartels, The Houston Chronicle reported.

The documents also said Zambada-Niebla worked as an informant for the U.S. government while he was a known fugitive.

Zambada-Niebla's legal team wants a U.S. judge to drop charges against their client because his alleged agreement with the government reportedly promised him immunity from prosecution.
Federal prosecutors and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency declined to comment on the case.

Zambada's lawyers said as recently as 2008 his client and a top cartel lawyer allegedly met at a Mexico City hotel with two DEA agents, where he was reportedly promised immunity.

In "Fast and Furious," the ATF botched a sting to catch weapons traffickers by allowing a load of illegally purchased guns slip into Mexico. The shipment was lost and some of the guns turned up at crime scenes, including one where a U.S. Border Patrol agent was killed.

AG Holder swaps a rat with a mouse

The Examiner
William Heuisler

Ken Melson

Tuesday Eric Holder replaced “lab rat”, Ken Melson with house mouse, Todd Jones.

Whistleblower-Agent Vince Cefalu says Melson is a “lab rat” that should never have been put in charge of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). Agent Cefalu says there is a “cover your ass” attitude by Attorney General (AG) Holder. (Richardson, 2011)

So Todd Jones fits right in.

Cefalu was one of the first ATF agents to report weapons smuggling to Mexican drug cartels by Holder’s Project Gunrunner (Fast and Furious in Arizona) that resulted in the murder of Tucson District Border Patrol Agent, Brian Terry.

Cefalu said, “I think everything we said all along has been proven to be true. It’s no secret that they’re cleaning house.” Cefalu added that AG Holder almost certainly asked ATF Director Ken Melson what job he wanted in return for his silence. “You don’t think they gave him that for his stellar performance at ATF, do you?” (Richardson, 2011)

But new ATF Director, Jones, was as deeply involved in Fast and Furious as Melson. Nothing has changed in ATF leadership but the names.

Todd Jones has been involved in Gunrunner and Fast and Furious since October of 2009.
According to Senator Charles Grassley’s June 15, 2011 congressional testimony, Todd Jones was a member of the Southwest Border Strategy Group that met on October 27, 2009 to discuss Gunrunner, Fast and Furious, and smuggling guns into Mexico. Present were, Assistant AG Lanny Breuer, Kenneth Melson, Director, ATF, William Hoover, Deputy Director, ATF, Michele Leonhart, DEA, Robert Mueller, Director FBI, Justice Department Directors of Organized Crime, Drug Enforcement Task Force, Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Marshals, the US Attorneys of four Border States and …Chairman of the AG’s Advisory Committee, Todd Jones. (Owens, 2011) (Grassley, 2011)
Advisory Committee? Todd Jones was Eric Holder’s in-house flunky for years - an in-house mouse, so to speak.

Further reference: Examiner articles 7/8/2011 http://www.examiner.com/crime-prevention-in-tucson/attorney-general-on-a-razor-s-edge and 8/30/2011 http://www.examiner.com/crime-prevention-in-tucson/the-first-fast-and-furious-fall-guy

Also promoted for smuggling murder-guns was Phoenix, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory Hurley, who oversaw Fast and Furious on a day-to-day basis. He was reassigned from the criminal to civil division. Three other ATF supervisors responsible for the illegal Fast and Furious were promoted: William G. McMahon, a former Deputy Director of Operations, took over the Office of Professional Responsibility. Field supervisors William D. Newell and David Voth were also promoted by the AG to higher pay grades.

But grunt-level ATF whistleblowers have been scattered so they cannot further expose AG Holder’s Mexican smuggling schemes. Four conscientious agents who would not abide smuggling and murder were reassigned (but not promoted) to Florida and South Carolina.

Attorney General Holder only promotes his in-house rodents.

Grassley, C. (2011). US Gov. pdf. Statement on Fast and Furious to the US House of Representatives. http://www.nraila.org/pdfs/CGrassley.pdf

Owens, B. (2011). Pajamas Media. Email confirms “Gunwalker” known throughout Justice Department. http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/email-confirms-gunwalker-known-throughout-justice-department/?singlepage=true

Richardson, P. (2011). Pajamas Media. Gunwalker cover-up accelerates: Ken Melson reassigned. http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/gunwalker-cover-up-accelerates-ken-melson-reassigned/

Adding insult to murder

The Examiner
William Heuisler

Today prosecutors have opposed a request by parents of murdered Tucson District Border Patrol agent, Brian Terry. Terry's parents want to be part the case against the man who bought the two rifles found at their son's murder scene.

But Government lawyers say the events are not connected.

Department of Justice US attorneys actually propose the absurdity that the case against Jaime Avila and 19 others accused of smuggling the murder weapon is different from Terry's because Terry was a victim of murder - not a victim of firearms offenses.

Lawyers for Terry’s parents asked a judge to let them become part of the case so they can stay updated.
But Government lawyers are trying desperately to disconnect Attorney General (AG), Eric Holder’s Project Gunrunner (see Fast and Furious) from the murder of a Border Patrol agent trying to enforce our smuggling laws.

Brian Terry’s mother wants to know who authorized the ATF weapon smuggling that caused the death of her son in the desert south of Tucson. She will find her answer in a 2009 speech in Cuernavaca, Mexico, recorded in the Justice News, where AG Eric Holder announced Project Gunrunner:

"Last week, our administration launched a major new effort to break the backs of the cartels. My department is committing 100 new ATF personnel to the Southwest border in the next 100 days to supplement our ongoing Project Gunrunner. DEA is adding 16 new positions on the border, as well as mobile enforcement teams, and the FBI is creating a new intelligence group focusing on kidnapping and extortion. DHS is making similar commitments, as Secretary Napolitano will detail." (Holder, 2009)

Project Gunrunner resulted in Arizona’s “Fast and Furious” scheme of illegal gun smuggling.

Project Gunrunner resulted in the deaths of at least two American law enforcement Agents and over 150 Mexican law enforcement officers.

Trying to separate AG Holder’s Project Gunrunner from the murder of Tucson District Border Agent Brian Terry is an insult to Brian Terry’s parents. But it is also an insult to every law abiding American’s intelligence.


Associated Press (2011). Arizona Capitol Times.  Feds oppose agent’s parents becoming part of case.http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2011/08/11/feds-oppose-agents-parents-becoming-part-of-case/?utm_source=Publicaster&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Capitol%20Times%20August%2011%20Morning%20Edition&utm_term=Feds+oppose+agent%e2%80%99s+parents+becoming+part+of+case
Holder, E. (2009). Justice News. United States Department of Justice. Attorney General Eric Holder at the Mexico/ United States Arms Trafficking Conference. http://www.justice.gov/ag/speeches/2009/ag-speech-090402.html

DOJ obstructs murder investigation

The Examiner
William Heuisler

Agent Brian Terry's Funeral

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has deliberately undercut investigations into the murder of Tucson District Border Patrol Agent, Brian Terry. Apparently DOJ will do anything to avoid blame for the effects of their Gunrunner/ Fast and Furious gun-smuggling operations.

Two days after the former Marine and Border Agent was killed, on December 14th, 2010, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Phoenix supervisors confirmed AK47 rifles from the Terry murder scene were from Operation Gunrunner’s “Fast and Furious” smuggling scheme to deliver nearly 2000 combat weapons to Mexican drug cartels. (Serrano, 2011)

Emails sent by ATF supervisors two days after Terry's killing openly discuss Fast and Furious guns found at the murder scene. George Gillett, acting special agent in charge, sent his boss, William Newell, a "narrative of incident/activity" about the Border Agent’s death. The email narrative said Jaime Avila bought three AK-47s a year earlier from a Phoenix-area store and two "were recovered in the area" of Agent Terry's killing. "In summary," the email said, "Avila admitted to ATF agents that he straw purchased these firearms for an unidentified Hispanic male." (ATF emails 2011)

Two months later, the United States Department of Justice clumsily tried to obstruct the Terry murder investigation.

In response to Senator Grassley’s question about the Terry murder gun, DOJ emailed, "these allegations are not true", and made no acknowledgement the guns were even there. Then DOJ reversed themselves and made a specious distinction between guns “found” at the murder scene and guns "used" in the killing. (Serrano, 2011)

More obstruction in a February 3rd email to ATF supervisors: "You are in no way obligated to respond to congressional contacts or requests for information...not authorized to disclose non-public information about law enforcement matters outside of ATF or the Department of Justice to anyone, including congressional staff." (ATF emails, 2011)

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In emails to William Hoover, ATF acting deputy director, bureau officials even discussed what steps to take to throw Grassley and congressional investigators off the murder trail. An email to Hoover actually proposed obstruction: a "watered-down" account of what was found at the site of the Terry killing. (Serrano, 2011) (ATF emails, 2011)

Lastly, in a cynical parody of reality on July 19th, spokeswoman for Attorney General, Holder, Tracy Schmaler, said to Senate investigators, “Fighting criminal activity along the southwest border - including the illegal trafficking of guns to Mexico - has been a priority of this administration and this Department of Justice.” (Seper, 2011)

Faced with lying to Congress, suborning perjury, and poisoning a murder investigation, what should Americans do when their Justice Department obstructs justice?


ATF emails (2011). Los Angeles Times data desk. ATF emails in Agent’s shooting death. http://documents.latimes.com/atf-emails-agent-shooting/

Serrano, R. (2011). Latimes.com. ATF sought to downplay guns scandal emails show. http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-0722-fast-furious-emails,0,2978238,print.story

Seper, J. (2011). The Washington Times. House to question ATF officials on guns to Mexico. Meddling by Justice a key issue. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/20/house-to-question-atf-officials-on-guns-to-mexico/

Documents: Feds allegedly allowed Sinaloa cartel to move cocaine into U.S. for information

El Paso Times
Diana Washington Valdez

U.S. federal agents allegedly allowed the Sinaloa drug cartel to traffic several tons of cocaine into the United States in exchange for information about rival cartels, according to court documents filed in a U.S. federal court.

The allegations are part of the defense of Vicente Zambada-Niebla, who was extradited to the United States to face drug-trafficking charges in Chicago. He is also a top lieutenant of drug kingpin Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman and the son of Ismael "Mayo" Zambada-Garcia, believed to be the brains behind the Sinaloa cartel.

The case could prove to be a bombshell on par with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' "Operation Fast and Furious," except that instead of U.S. guns being allowed to walk across the border, the Sinaloa cartel was allowed to bring drugs into the United States. Zambada-Niebla claims he was permitted to smuggle drugs from 2004 until his arrest in 2009.

Randall Samborn, assistant U.S. attorney and spokesman for the Justice Department in Chicago, declined comment.

The court in Chicago had a status hearing on Wednesday and ordered the government to respond to allegations in Zambada-Niebla's motion by Sept. 11.

According to the court documents, Mexican lawyer Humberto Loya-Castro, another high-level Sinaloa cartel leader, had his 1995 U.S. drug-trafficking case dismissed in 2008 after serving as an informant for 10 years for the U.S. government.

Guzman and the Zambadas allegedly provided agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with information about other Mexican drug traffickers through Loya-Castro.

"Loya himself continued his drug trafficking activities with the knowledge of the United States government without being arrested or prosecuted," the court documents state.

Zambada-Niebla met voluntarily with U.S. federal agents on March 17, 2009, at the Sheraton Hotel in Mexico City, which is near the U.S. Embassy, "for the purpose of his continuing to provide information to the DEA and the U.S. government personally, rather than through Loya," court records allege.

"DEA agents (then) told Loya-Castro to tell Mr. Zambada-Niebla that they wanted to continue the same arrangements with him as they had with Mr. Loya-Castro."

Five hours after the meeting, Mexican authorities arrested Zambada-Niebla and extradited him later to the United States. His father and Guzman are fugitives.

The court documents also allege that the U.S. government is using a "divide and conquer" strategy, "using one drug organization to help against others."

Zambada-Niebla's motion seeks U.S. government records about the 2003 Juárez case involving an informant who participated in several homicides for the Carrillo-Fuentes drug cartel, while under ICE's supervision.

He also requested records about the ATF's "Operation Fast and Furious," which permitted weapons purchased illegally in the United States to be smuggled into Mexico, sometimes by paid U.S. informants and cartel leaders.