Project Gunrunner

19 posts
Civil Rights

Fast & Furious: Unexpected Progress

Two years ago, Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt of Congress. At issue was his refusal to turn over documents crucial to the investigation of the ATF’s disastrous Fast & Furious operation. The President invoked executive privilege and refused to turn over the information.

Shortly after, the website Judicial Watch made an Freedom of Information Act request for those documents. Nothing came of it, so they filed a lawsuit in September of 2012. That lawsuit was decided earlier this month by U.S. District Court Judge John Bates, who ruled that the Department of Justice must provide a Vaughn index of the relevant documents.

The Supreme Court established the concept of the Vaughn index in Vaughn v. Rosen. An agency that wishes to withhold information must provide a detailed index and description of the information, state the statutory exemption claimed, and they must explain how disclosure would damage their interests.

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Civil Rights

10th Circuit Upholds Multiple Long Gun Reporting

In 2011, the ATF began requiring dealers in Southwestern border states to report sales of multiple semiautomatic rifles to individual purchasers. The ATF doesn’t have the authority to do this.* As such, the requirement has been challenged in the DC and 5th Circuit courts, but it was upheld in both instances.

Today, the 10th Circuit issued a ruling [pdf] affirming them.

Among the lovely chestnuts of wisdom was this:

A review of Project Gunrunner conducted by the Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) indicates that tracing guns seized in Mexico can provide “crucial” information in gun-trafficking investigations and generate intelligence regarding trends in gun smuggling. (…) [Assistant Director of Field Operations William Hoover] explained that trace information helps ATF “reconstruct the flow of weapons along the border, how and where they are being purchased, and who is purchasing them.”

Yeah, because that worked so well when Project Gunrunner was active.

* Here’s the multiple-handgun form [pdf].

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Civil Rights

Fast & Furious: Censorship

Special Agent John Dodson was on the ground during the initial stages of the ATF’s botched Fast & Furious operation. When he came forward as a whistleblower, Arizona US Attorney Dennis Burke leaked an internal memo to the media in an attempt to discredit Dodson’s testimony to Congress on the operation.

He has authored a book covering his experiences, but the Bureau is attempting to block publication. Their rationale is that it “would have a negative impact on morale in the Phoenix [Field Division] and would have a detrimental effect on our relationships with DEA and FBI.”

Right. Because running over 2,000 guns to Mexican cartels, slandering agents who came forward, and lying to Congress did none of those things.

Civil Rights

Fast & Furious: Aftershocks

Jalisco chief of police Luis Astorga was shot to death by gang members in late January. The gun in used was a WASR-10, a cheap Romanian AK-47 sporter traced to Lone Wolf Gun supply in Arizona. In February of 2010, Lone Wolf sold it to Jacob Montelongo under the direction and supervision of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Like over 2,000 other weapons sold during this operation, it would be lost, and it would later resurface at a crime scene in Mexico. The death toll in from these weapons is over 170 now.

I can only imagine Andre Howard’s heart sinking every time he hears about this. He did what he was told to do by law enforcement. He cooperated with what he thought was a legitimate sting operation. He was lied to, and now his reputation is ruined.

For his part in this whole racket, Montelongo has been sentenced to a mere 41 months in prison. 

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Civil Rights

Fast & Furious: More Contempt

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Last summer, Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt of Congress on the grounds that he stonewalled their investigation into the tragic Fast & Furious operation. The President invoked Executive Privilege in the matter, and it was effectively swept under the rug.

The President’s action allows information to be withheld, but it doesn’t make the contempt conviction go away. As a result, the Justice Department has been attempting to negotiate some sort of compromise on the matter.

Evidently, those talks aren’t going very well. The most shocking thing about it is the very literal contempt Holder shows for Congress when asked about the charges:

But I have to tell you that for me to really be affected by what happened, I’d have to have respect for the people who voted in that way (…) And I didn’t, so it didn’t have that huge an impact on me.

And this guy is still the chief law enforcement officer in the nation.

Civil Rights

You See, It’s a Long Story, But…

You may remember George Gillett. He was second in charge of the BATFE Phoenix field division during the Fast & Furious operation. A congressional committee found that he “failed to provide responsible supervision” during that little fiasco, which is putting it mildly.

This last Thanksgiving, Mexican beauty queen Maria Flores Gamez and five others were killed in a shooting in Sinaola. Guns from Fast & Furious were found at the scene. Interestingly enough, one of those was an FN 5.7 pistol, which was traced directly back to Mr. Gillett. Now, by “directly,” I mean directly.

Gillett purchased the weapon at Legendary Arms, a Phoenix gun store. On the federal form 4473 used to buy the gun, Gillett used the ATF office address, 201 East Washington, and said “Apt 940.” On subsequent purchase, Gillett used a commercial address, that of a strip mall.

Yep, he lied on the form.

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Civil Rights

Fast & Furious: Denouement

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The Office of the Inspector General has released its findings on the Fast & Furious debacle. The short version? Everybody short of Attorney General Eric Holder has egg on the face. The report finds that Holder himself was unaware of the operation until February of 2011.

In the wake of the report, former Acting Director Kenneth Melson announced his retirement, and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstein resigned. Aside from the ATF Phoenix division staff, he seems to bear the brunt of the investigation’s ire.

And what of Holder? He fired back today about the “baseless accusations” leading to his contempt charge from Congress, and in the eyes of the public, he’s right. The Democrats claimed that Issa’s investigation was a partisan witch-hunt, and this report validates that assertion.

The report calls for a wide swath of disciplinary action, though I’m not expecting much. To this day, not a single government agent has been held responsible for Brian Terry’s death.

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Civil Rights

Win Some, Lose Some

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The Supreme Court upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) today. Let’s do act like adults and call it by its proper name, rather than “Obamacare.”

Do I agree with Roberts’ decision? No, but here we are. Reaching back to 1895, he finds that

The elementary rule is that every reasonable construction must be resorted to in order to save a statute from unconstitutionality.

So, he went looking for a reason to uphold the individual mandate. In the end, he found it justified by virtue of being a tax, rather than doing so through a tortured reading of the Commerce Clause. We would have been far worse off if he’d found his authority there.

If the Republicans mean that stuff they’re pounding their chests about (and if their supporters can be troubled to show up at the polls this November), it’s a bump in the road in any case.

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Civil Rights

Two Minutes to Midnight

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Hours before a vote in the House to hold the Attorney General in contempt of Congress, the President has invoked executive privilege as a reason not to turn over relevant documents. Whatever the reason, it only serves to make the administration look worse.

The obvious implication is that the President has something to hide that would be damaging if it were made public. Was there Oval Office involvement in Fast & Furious, or is Obama simply protecting a friend and political ally? Or does the guy just feel like throwing a cog into the works? In any case, it smacks of arrogance.

I guess we can forget about the whole doctrine of transparency this administration touted so vocally in its early stages.

Civil Rights

Frowny Face for Holder

The 2013 budget for the Department of Justice is up for review. During deliberations, Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz attached House Amendment 1068. The text of the amendment sounds like CSPAN on Valium:

An amendment to prohibit the use of funds used in contravention of paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 1001(a) of title 18, United State Code.

The code section in question is this,

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully–
(1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact;
(2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or
(3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry;
shall be fined under this title, [or] imprisoned not more than 5 years

The short version?

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Civil Rights

Holder Contempt Charge: Now It’s Official

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Sharyl Attkisson reports that the draft of a contempt citation naming Eric Holder is being circulated to members of the House Oversight Committee today. The citation addresses the Attorney General’s lack of cooperation in the investigation of Fast & Furious.

Resolved, That Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General of the United States, shall be found to be in contempt of Congress for failure to comply with a congressional subpoena.

Resolved, That pursuant to 2 U.S.C. §§ 192 and 194, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall certify the report of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, detailing the refusal of Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, to produce documents to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as directed by subpoena, to the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, to the end that Mr. Holder be proceeded against in the manner and form provided by law.

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Civil Rights

Fast and Furious: Another Round

Attorney General Eric Holder testified before the House Oversight Committee again today. As with his previous appearances, we were treated to a litany of evasions and excuses. Long story short:  he doesn’t know what’s going on in his department, and he claims to have had no knowledge of any gunwalking operations prior to the death of Brian Terry.

It’s been over a year since he promised an internal investigation, and he has yet to provide any explanation or any proof of action. Representative Labrador pointed out that Holder continues to show up for Congressional hearings unprepared, and that he seems oblivious to happenings at Justice. Representative Farenthold took it a step further, asking Holder, “knowing what you know, do you think you’re qualified to lead the Department of Justice?”

Holder’s response? “If you’re going to ask me to resign (…) you’ve asked the wrong question.”

I don’t think we are.

Civil Rights

Fast and Furious: Cummings Pushes Back

Attorney General Holder gets another chance to testify to the House Oversight Committee Thursday morning.  Just in time, Representative Elijah Cummings has released a report [pdf] in which he claims to clear the White House and Department of Justice of any complicity in this matter.  Of course, if they were already clear, then why is this unsolicited “report” even necessary?

He doesn’t go so far as to claim ignorance, only that,

[t]he Committee has obtained no evidence that Operation Fast and Furious was a politically-motivated operation conceived and directed by high-level Obama Administration political appointees at the Department of Justice.

Instead, Cummings settles for declaring that the administration did not conceive or direct Fast and Furious.  He seems to think that justification hinges on such semantic differences.

Entitled “Fatally Flawed: Five Years of Gun-walking in Arizona,” the report tries to lump Fast and Furious in with prior such schemes as Wide Receiver (“see?  

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Civil Rights

Circling the Wagons

Eric Holder testified before Congress today for the second time regarding the Fast & Furious disaster. Here’s the condensed version:

The allegations of impropriety began to circulate in April of 2010.  Terry died in December, and despite the widely distributed and reported allegations, Holder claimed in May of 2011 that he’d only heard them a few weeks prior.  He revised that estimate to “probably (…) a couple of months” today.

If that’s the way he’s running his office, Holder is, at the very least, wildly incompetent.

He’s calling an operation that provided weapons used in over 200 Mexican homicides a “failed response,” and he swears he’s taking measures to stop future lapses in judgement, but he’s taking no responsibility.

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Civil Rights

Sooner or Later

We know now that the ATF sat by and let straw purchases of weapons happen in Phoenix.  We know they reassured dealers that the weapons would be tracked.  We know that didn’t happen, and that those weapons have been used in dozens of homicides.

As of today, we also know that the ATF themselves purchased weapons and sold them to criminals.  Apparently, John Dodson was given authorization and ordered by Supervisor Voth to pick up a few Draco pistols and deliver them to suspects.

I’m not sure why Dodson didn’t bring this up during his testimony to Congress back in June.  Any risk of self-incrimination can easily be countered by the Nuremberg Defense, especially considering that his vehement resistance to the idea is well documented.

This whole thing is far worse than Watergate, and yet only two mainstream news organizations are actively following it.  I don’t know what it’s going to take to bring this to the front page, but Congressional hearings are largely toothless when the department charged with prosecuting the issue is complicit in the problem at hand.

Civil Rights

“A Perfect Storm of Idiocy”

Representative Issa and Senator Grassley released a joint report [pdf] on their investigation into the ATF’s Fast and Furious operation. It covers their recent interviews with ATF officials in Mexico.

Acting ATF Attaché Carlos Canino gave his thoughts on the situation:

You don’t lose guns. You don’t walk guns. You don’t let guns get out of your sight. You have all these undercover techniques, all these safety measures in place so guns do not get out of your custody or control. I mean, I mean, you could follow, you could do a surveillance for 1,000 miles . . . either use planes, trackers, you use everything under the sun, but at the end of the day, those guns do not leave your control. At some point those guns do not get into the streets.

Law enforcement is known to let drugs and other contraband “walk” from time to time if a minor infraction might lead them upstream to the bigger fish.  

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Civil Rights

Crossed Wires on Gun Control

I came home to two different emails tonight. The news is good, and unintentionally amusing. Both messages regard Monday’s Department of Justice announcement that gun dealers in the southwest would be required to report multiple sales of rifles to the ATF. The first is from the NRA-ILA:

House Committee Passes Amendment to Defund Illegal Obama Firearm Sales Reporting Requirement

Today, during consideration of the FY 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill, pro-gun U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) offered an amendment to prohibit the use of funds for a new and unauthorized multiple sales reporting plan proposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Amendment was passed by a vote of 25-16.

The Rehberg Amendment, which was strongly supported by NRA, will defund the Justice Department’s controversial and illegal move requiring federally licensed firearms retailers in states bordering Mexico to report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles.

That’s good news, and my hat’s off to Denny Rehberg.

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Civil Rights

Closing the Barn Door

The Justice Department announced today that gun shops in Arizona, Texas, California, and New Mexico will have to report all sales in which multiple “high powered” rifles are involved.

There are two problems with this.  The first is that the horses have already run free.  Lone Wolf Trading Company and the other dealers implicated in the Fast & Furious controversy were cooperating with the BATFE.  The sales were done under the orders and direct supervision of the Bureau, the dealers were reporting them in real time, and those guns still got across the border into Mexico.

So, Justice wants to generate (by their estimates) an extra 18,000 reports per year, most of which will do nothing more than tie up payroll and manpower the ATF doesn’t have, and which will end up sitting in boxes and gathering dust in the Martinsburg office.   How is an insignificant stopgap like this supposed to staunch the bleeding?

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Civil Rights

Blowing It

The reputation of the ATF has taken a beating over the years.  Longtime members of the gun culture are well aware of the Bureau’s disastrous actions in the early 1990’s.  During the last decade, the ATF seemed to have reformed their strategy somewhat, and their credibility was slowly being rebuilt.

That all changed with the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry late last year.

On December 14th, Terry was gunned down in a firefight near Rio Rico in southern Arizona.  The following day, Arizona law enforcement recovered two of the rifles used.  They were WASR-10 semiautomatic AK-47 clones, purchased by Jaime Avila at a shop in Glendale the previous January.

Avila had been identified by the ATF the previous January as a participant in a vast conspiracy to transport weapons and narcotics across the border into Mexico.  Both Avila and the rifles were in their database as “suspect.” Yet Avila was not arrested or questioned until the death of agent Terry.