Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) said they were expanding their probe into a troubled anti-gun-trafficking program, two days after the Justice Department announced a shake-up of officials who oversaw the program.
In a letter Thursday to Ann Scheel, the acting U.S. Attorney in Phoenix, Messrs. Grassley and Issa essentially put the Arizona district office on notice, saying its role “in the genesis and implementation of this case is striking.” They sought extensive documents – emails, memos, notes and the like – from six top officials, including Ms. Scheel and Dennis Burke, the former U.S. Attorney who was ousted in the shake-up. The lawmakers had signaled on Tuesday that their investigation would intensify.
The program, “Operation Fast and Furious,” was run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It allowed suspected gun smugglers to buy some 2,000 firearms, some of which have turned up in crimes on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border; most haven’t been tracked down. When Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was fatally shot in December 2010, two assault rifles linked to “Fast and Furious” were found at the crime scene.
On Tuesday, Mr. Burke resigned and Kenneth Melson, acting head of the ATF was reassigned. In addition, an assistant U.S. attorney in Arizona, Emory Hurley, was also reassigned.
In their letter, Messrs. Grassley and Issa zeroed in on a court filing by the Phoenix office seeking to deny Mr. Terry’s family rights under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, and expressed concerns about conflicts of interest in prosecuting the Terry case. “Since your office directed and approved the daily tactical decisions in Operation Fast and Furious, it is hard to avoid the perception that a conflict of interest exists,” the two wrote.
Read More at WSJ By Mary Lu Carnevale, The Wall Street Journal
Please share this post with your friends and comment below. If you haven’t already, take a moment to sign up for our free newsletter above and friend us on Twitter and Facebook to get real time updates.
Follow @WestJournalism
Loading ...
I know that all of this nonsense presently going on in the white(?) house is only the tip of the iceburg and no matter how horrible things turn out the American public, especially the women, who are the large majority will get everything they deserve, but I don't think that they'll like it one bit, either? Watch!
We know Obama should be having his birth records searched and examined but we will settle for his part in Fast and Furious if it will get him impeached and removed from office. Does Leavenworth allow inmates to play golf? Obama has to have some tee time you know and maybe Mooschell can keep score for him.
Ernesto, I agreee with you 100%! Obozo, our Liar in Chief has commited many FELONIES in office, if he could be convicted on even just one, he would lose his great pension he will get after serving just one term, possibly the free medical for life too!! That is the very best we can even hope for!! His False ID and SS number have been pulled from ALL data banks, as that too is a felony!!
His fake birth certificate that he said was real…is a FELONY!!
Seems they are dragging their feet intentionally so the creep can finish his term. There appears to be enough evidence now to convict the liar in chief and all who reside at his excretory opening at the end of his alimentary canal. The agent's family should sue him and they would probably get more information faster than Issa and Grassley. Come on guys, you are Senators, FILE, FILE, FILE the charges and get the SCUMBAG out of the WH. NOWWWWWW!!!!! Are you all cowards and traitors?
OK, ISSA!
We've been waiting for 8 months for this Republican House to actually DO Something!
If you don't intend for this investigation to actually lead to placing the blame somewhere, and actually get someone fired, then why don't you just give it up. So far you are a do nothing bunch! So, as you might say, 'you don't have the concurrence of the Senate', but YOU are the guys who are charged with the responsibility of impeachment —- So get to it! Or get off the proverbial pot!
With CONgress it's merely another day of doing nothing about everything. " In my many years I have come to a conclusion that ONE USELESS MAN is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a CONgress." John Adams Whoever has his enemy at his mercy and doesn't destroy him is his own enemy. A "committee" is a life form with six or more legs and no brain. It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we CANNOT dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities ! Liberty means responsibility..that's why most men dread it.
If the Tea party had not won in 2010. we would not having an investigation of the dirty dealings in this White House. The present administration was stunned to find they lost the house and with it the right to work under cover. Senator Grassley and Rep Issa will get to the bottom of this, and will not let go until they do. The former chairman of Issa"s committee, Rep. Waxman would not have investigated unless it was a GOP
2010 was INEVITABLE stupid, and I expected a lot more than what we are getting. STOP being so passive about this, the liar in chief must GO NOW!! They have gotten to the bottom of this and are stalling so he can do more destruction, give us sharia piglaw, and steal more money. Passive azzh….comment.
Stop wasting time! Enough posturing, already! We all know what must be done, (except for dim-witted democrats in Portsmouth, NH). Appoint the special prosecutor and get on with the impeachment.
There's not much chance of a good outcome for the investigation when Issa says that he believes Holder only learned about it a couple of months ago. Maybe he should go to Google and he will find Holder's speech in Mexico in 2009 about the operation.
The NY Times smear story on Issa is just the beginning….the crooks in DC have to cover their heinies in a dozen ways as more and more information comes out on Fast and Furious. The only action they can take is to smear Grassley and Issa to keep the heat off themselves. Unfortunately, the newspeople can post stories full of lies and fabrications and if they get caught, an "Oops, I was mistaken" or "I got that information from a credible source (unnamed)" and a small retraction notice and correction on the bottom of page 17 so most readers will miss it. I pray that Issa and Grassley both have tough skins…
Cant you hurry up this investigation,we all know that odumbarse approved of this scheme,lets get him behind bars where he belongs!
Barack Obama is a control freak. There's no way he didn't know-and-approve of "Fast and Furious." Eric Holder is responsible for carrrying it out. Both should be in maximum security for their continued "Crimes Against Americans" – the very people they were charged with protecting. And that includes Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Not to mention the innocent Mexican people who also were murdered under the plot of Obama and Holder. Too bad that "we the people" can't enact Impeachment against this sham occupying the White House instead of having to depend on our useless, frightened Congress.
It drives me nuts!
"…it is hard to avoid the perception that a conflict of interest exists,” the two wrote."
No! There appears to be a conflict of interest! Why the weasel words? These criminals deserve respect? Why not a Special Prosecutor – NOW?
This should be the tremendous mistake that will finally topple this amateur regime. They've committed "high crime and misdemeanors" at every level up to and including the White House (the interference in the PA Senatorial election, which the WH counsel admitted broke laws, just not "serious" ones). Both Homeland Security and Justice knew of this clownish plot. If they get a decent independent counsel, I'm sure someone will point out that Obama knew and approved of "Fast and Furious", too. We should be able to say goodbye to Holder or Napolitano, or both. Even if Obama isn't ousted, the process of impeachment will destroy what little political capital exists within his administration, and the investigation will hamstring his re-election campaign regardless. I still want to see a conviction, though.
So, when will the House of Representatives do its job and begin impeachment investigations concerning Obama, not only for "Fast and Furious", but also for the scandal over his Birth Certificate, his apparently bogus Connecticut Social Security Number, his illegal involvement with union bribes, his destructive Executive Orders concerning illegal immigration and bypassing Congress, etc. etc.? The American people want some action, preferrably before this man absolutely destroys this nation — which is very likely his sole purpose as evidenced also by his absurd foreign policies and his domestic economic policies!
Good Luck Grassley And Issa With Trying To Catch Two Coyotes Obama And Holder Both Trained In That Commie-Style Rope-A-Dope Muslins Can Lie To Infidels, End Of Hearing. God Bless America And The Tea Party Patriots With Sarah Palin.
I hope they get to the bottom of Fast and Furious and they will probably find that obummer was at
the head of it.
Mr Grassley And Issa Save The USA Money And Impeach The Two Real Crooks Obama/Holder . God Bless America And The Tea Party Patriots With Sarah Palin.
Hello,
Maybe before the spring thaw-out from the winter we can get some real answers, and some real people can go to Federal prison for what happened. A Border Patrol Officer lost his life, and he was killed with a fire-arm that was smuggled into this nation from Mexico, and I will be damned to HELL if I do not say that the Border Patrol Officer deserves JUSTICE no matter who GOES to PRISON—-(NO MATTER WHO)–Thank you.