The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (and Really Big Fires) is staring down the barrel of a major scandal, one that could lead to the agency’s extinction. The ATF stands accused of letting buyers purchase rifles in the U.S. knowing that the guns were headed for Mexican drug cartels. Worse, they may have literally walked the guns into Mexico themselves (hence the scandal’s name). Worse still, it appears that two of those weapons were used by the drug gang that shot and killed Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry . . .
All this to justify the existence of the ATF’s Project Gunrunner firearms interdiction program and, thus, the agency itself. In other words, the agency allowed guns to be smuggled into Mexico so they could justify a program designed to stop guns from being smuggled into Mexico. How about that, then?
Reports of the ATF’s murderous impropriety have been circulating on the net for weeks (including here). A U.S. Senator has now taken up the investigation. The S has hit the mainstream media fan. For a taste of the MSM’s wake-up call we turn to none other than bloomberg.com . . .
“Members of the Judiciary Committee have received numerous allegations that the ATF sanctioned the sale of hundreds of assault weapons to suspected straw buyers, who then allegedly transported these weapons throughout the Southwest border area and into Mexico,” reads a letter sent Thursday from Grassley to Kenneth Melson, acting director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The letter does not elaborate on the role possible of federal agents in the sale of the guns, and it could not be determined if the purchases were part of a sting operation . . .
Grassley said in a letter Thursday that a buyer purchased three assault rifles with cash more than a year ago in Glendale, Ariz., and two of those guns were used in the shootout in Arizona.
“These extremely serious allegations were accompanied by detailed documentation which appears to lend credibility to the claims and partially corroborates them,” Grassley wrote.
In the follow-up letter to Melson, Grassley said an ATF manager in Phoenix questioned an agent who answered questions posed by Grassley staffers about the agency’s initiative to reduce the flow of firearms to Mexico.
The manager accused the agent of misconduct for his contacts with the judiciary committee, Grassley said.
“This is exactly the wrong sort of reaction for the ATF,” Grassley wrote. “Rather than focusing on retaliating against whistleblowers, the ATF’s sole focus should be on finding and disclosing the truth as soon as possible.”
Yeah right. Sure. The bureaucrats running federal agencies are famous for committing suppuka. Now that Senator Grassley and the mainstream media are on the case, Gunwalker is going to blow up big. The threads are already starting to unravel. azcentral.com:
A source within the justice system familiar with the case confirmed to The Arizona Republic last week that one or two weapons recovered from the border shootout had been traced to Lone Wolf Trading Co., a Glendale gun store, but did not confirm they were part of Project Gunrunner.
As I bloody well suspected. (I called Lone Wolf the day after a recent gun smuggling bust and asked them if the ATF knew what was going down. There was a long silence. And then they hung up.) While we wait for the next shoe to drop, a few observations . . .
– In all likelihood, the brewing Gunwalker scandal accounts for the otherwise inexplicable disappearance of the ATF’s request for a long gun registry for 8500 gun dealers near the Mexican border. In the light of these revelations, the registry would have seemed criminally inappropriate.
– Gunwalker may also explain the Obama administration’s decision not to install Andrew Traver at the helm of the ATF as a recess appointment. While it’s unlikely that the ATF Chicago bureau chief is involved in the Gunwalker debacle, stranger things have happened. Perhaps Traver knew Gunwalker was coming and didn’t want to be in the hot seat when the scandal broke.
– Traver’s nomination is now on hold. The last thing the Obama administration wants is a televised hearing that exposes Gunwalker and the ATF’s other nefarious activities. For an iceberg tip this surely be . . .
– We know that the ATF knew about guns purchased illegally at a gun store called Carter’s Country in Houston, Texas—and let them go though. The chances of that deal being an anomaly are nil. Lone Wolf is now in the frame for the guns that took out Agent Terry. The owner told azcentral “We have worked closely in conjunction with several federal agencies.” Yes, but for how long?
– If this pans out, the ATF is guilty of a criminal conspiracy to murder. At the risk of stating the obvious, this is serious shit.
– We’re right back in Watergate territory, looking at a major coverup. For example, why haven’t the FBI released the names of Agent Terry’s accused killers?
Why did Department of Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano fly in immediately after the killing? What did she know and when did she know it? Was President Obama informed about this?
– As we reported earlier, gun control advocates have cast their lot with the ATF. Big mistake. Their Plan B is DOA.
[Click here for Brad Kozak’s post Will the ATF Gunwalker Scandal Take Down President Obama?]
If true, this means that the ATF was complicit in getting guns into the hands of drug lords across the border. Question: did they do this for political reasons, i.e. “see look at those nasty American guns, we have to get rid of them,” or for reasons of personal profit? I have no doubt that the Mexican drug cartels have lots of friends within all the agencies of the US government tasked with enforcing laws that regulate their products.
Aren’t your two options related? They could sell the guns on the black market for a profit and ensure the security of their jobs (and future opportunities to sell more guns on the black market). A win/win from their perspective.
Wouldn’t it be fantastic to see these scumbags extradited to Mexico to get a dose of their own medicine in a Mexican prison.
I’m not one to relish in schadenfreude, especially with deaths involoved, but this all couldn’t be happening to a nicer bunch of scumbags.
Expect to see more and more of this as our government continues to spiral completely out of control. It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes for our country to complete its implosion.
The ATF is a rogue agency and always has been. Bad acts by the Bureau have been fully documented before, as the ATF has been the subject of three congressional investigations. In the end, only the innocent were punished. I expect no different in this case. ATF is a virus for which there is no cure.
Isn’t Project Gunwalker something the brady bunch supports? Or am I thinking of something else?
No.
Project Gunwalker is not something the Brady Bunch has come out in support of, that’s Project GunRUNNER. Project Gunwalker seems to be an offshoot of the Project GunRUNNER.
Serious feces, indeed, if the allegations are shown to be factual. Some people, and they know who they are, need to face the music and take the consequences of what they have done. Others have suggested firing squads, and I can’t say I disagree.
Hopefully, it will be like on TV, where the first rat to roll over on his buddies gets a pass on the needle. I don’t know that the needle is all that bad an option compared to the idea of life without parole in a Mexican prison. The needle is quick, sanitary, and I’ve heard, relatively painless. Getting punked day after day by REAL bad guys is a whole ‘nother story.
I just hope whoever talks first has enough knowledge to send the highest level (up to DHS or DOJ headquarters, or higher still) operatives to jail along with them. After they finish whatever time they get in Club Fed, let Arizona have their way with them and then send their old tired asses to Mexico. They’ll make room for them.
Please remember that we do not have much data, I would hesitate to make any judgements until more is known. Could be size of Watergate (doubtful without proof of direct presidential involvement which IMHO is extremely unlikely) maybe the size of Clinton’s problems maybe nothing at all.
I am extremely glad that this is being looked into at the Senate level, and the second letter is even more interesting but we still have extremely little knowledge.
NukemJim
PS But if it is true 🙂 Going after violent criminals is great, going after inanimate objects is extremely questionable IMHO.
That’s ironic that Lone Wolf was mentioned.
I had stopped for fuel many times at the Phillips 66 Circle K station on 91st and McDowell Rd. many times on the way to work.
Usually the cleark won’t make eye contact with anyone that knocks on the door before 6 am, as I’ve tried this.
But the fuel pumps work with a debit card.
One day as I pumped fuel at 4 am I was watching for 2 legged predators I noticed the clerk looking at me. I found this peculiar, stopped the pump, and looked at the front of the store. Some white trash scumbag was peering thru the windows then started trowng some white trash chick around with corn rows in her hair, all the while she was screaming “RAPE” as he tried to push her out the front doorsof the store.
911 hung up on me repeatedly as I called for the police to intervene.
Long story short, Tolleson PD sent out officers because Phoenix PD hung up on me 4 times, and the police surrounded the gas station, the scumbag released the girl that ran away wearing no pants this time… Anyway. I could have sworn the girl I ran into at the Lone Wolf was the same girl at the gas station.Funny thing. When the ATF investigates patriots that buy more than one gun a week there is no low the atf wont go into setting up patriots.
Every one should contact there representatives and demand that the responsible persons be publically identified and braught to justice. Dont let them sweep this under the rug. Those who serve their country and their families deserve better.
Tonkin Gulf incident much?
Snore.
While as a patriot I do harbor the naive hope that this will spur the American people to action, I know that in historical terms, gov agencies have been creating ‘false-flag’ incidents to further an agenda since before my grandfather was born in 1903.
I also know that the majority of Americans are too busy and/or lazy to actually figure out what is really being done in their name.
How do we know the guns are being sold to drug runners just because that’s the way it’s reported. Maybe they are being sold to freedom fighters who need to be able to fight against the communist chinese… same ones who are being invited into this country by our own criminal government.
This is just is just bussiness as usual for these drug sniffing ass licking scumbags in our government. This is not the first time for gun runningand drug trafficing sanctioned by the white house. does any one remember the Iran contra affair. The powers that be were going to hang ollie north out to dry when they were caught. Ollie wouldn’t take it and told them that it had been going on for at least 12 years and what he meant was that he would take a bunch with him. So the shit heads had to hunch their backs and deal with it. Every body protected every one else until it just blew over.A ny one want to make any bets as how they will play this one. they will just dumb upun less it is pushed real hard. Most of the sheep won’t hear about it because the liberal media won’t will only try to cover it up. some one needs to put up some billboards about it.
A lot of people in our government have an appetite for nose candy, and slipping a few hundred guns across the border is cheaper than paying for the stuff. Similar shit goes on in the business world, there’s more than oil on the tankers that come up from south america, and big business is immune, only the small time retailers get busted for the sake of statistics. What is really going on is fantastic……………