Posted on 06/18/2011 4:35:40 AM PDT by stevie_d_64
The Justice Department is expected to oust the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to people familiar with the matter, amid a troubled federal antitrafficking operation that has grown into the agency's biggest scandal in nearly two decades.
Moves toward the replacement of Kenneth Melson, acting ATF director since April 2009, could begin next week, although the precise sequence of events remains to be decided, these people said.
The shakeup shows the extent of the political damage caused by the gun-trafficking operation called Fast and Furious, which used tactics that allowed suspected smugglers to buy large numbers of firearms. Growing controversy over the program has paralyzed a long-beleaguered agency buffeted by partisan battles. The ATF has been without a Senate-confirmed director since 2006, with both the Bush and Obama administrations unable to overcome opposition from gun-rights groups to win approval of nominees.
In November, President Barack Obama nominated Andrew Traver, the head of the ATF's Chicago office, as permanent ATF director. The nomination stalled in the Senate after the National Rifle Association said Traver had a "demonstrated hostility" to the rights of gun owners.
Traver is set to travel to Washington on Tuesday to meet with Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Attorney General James Cole, the people said. The administration is weighing whether to name Traver as acting director or choose another interim chief while awaiting Senate action on his nomination, they said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
How convienient...
Toss the temp guy who brought one of the biggest scandals of such proportion enough to warrant even the discussion of holding someone from this agency accountable for it by firing them...
And then bring in a guy who is more of a problem than this one to our right to keep and bear arms...
I say it is a brilliant play by this administration...Almost a two-fer sale...
/sarcasm off
Plus Holder gets to stay right where he is.I think that I’m gonna be sick....
This is a rogue agency that has terrorized good citizens in this country for years. Years and years.
Call Darrel Issa's office and tell him. NOT ENOUGH.
This agency must be seriously DE-FUNDED.
The time is now; failure to act now -- it's over. If this cannot be done, we live in a police state.
and the dominoes begin to fall.....the question is, who will be the last domino standing?
Kenneth Melson, acting ATF director since April 2009The bus will need new tires soon.
I think Holder will resign and set the investigation back a few steps and the media will breathlessly report on the idiotic investigation of Bush.
Just last Wednesday, Justice went on record to say they haven’t figured out who authorized Gunwalker (fast/furious).
Why send Melson packing?
“The Justice Department is expected to oust the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives,”
What did Holder know, and when did he begin the cover-up.
I think Issa has played this thing brilliantly...It really does not matter if holder resigns...he will still be called upon to testify....napolitano will also be caught in the crossfire, along with a number of lower ranking petty beaurocrats....Issa has successfully blocked all the exits...even the media cannot spin this positively...the only question, the one that he is trying to answer is, how far into the white house does this go????
The fact that its now being tied to the death of a mexican official has made it too big to hide. I figure the mexicans will issue an official demand for answers today.
Obama nominated Andrew Traver, the head of the ATF’s Chicago office, as permanent ATF director.
The links of stupidity are unlimited in the Obama chain.
Somebody needs to be criminally charged.
who is going to be next if they determined the gun used in the January shooting that almost killed Giffords was a part of this program?
back in march, when this thing started to go postal, the mexican government went to holder and asked him what the hell was going on...holder told them to go pound sand..THAT is the link to holder...3 days after terry was murdered, napolitano flew down there in person to visit the local atf office...THAT is the link to nap....now if these two can link this to fubo, it is all over...these two have no exit from the trap, except to give up fubo...there only hope is to have fubo pardon them, and he will never put himself up there as a sacrifice...
Operation Fast and Furious obviously never happened and is a hoax. I know this because my local hard-copy and hardcore progressive newspaper, the Hearst’s Times-Union out of Albany, NY, did not report about it. Some abbreviated AP reports could be found if searched for on the on-line addition.
I do not think there is any less informative newspaper, and designedly so, in this country than the Albany Times Union.
CBS has done several stories on this, and the washington post and even the new york times have covered this....the curtain is coming down, hard and fast..
Damage control.
It will be interesting to see where this guy gets pigeonholed later.
Mike
I don’t care for tobacco or explosives but I could use me some alcohol and firearms.
You have got to be kidding me? The fact that Melson still sits in his position is a travesty as well as sliding in Traver HEAD Of ATF’s Chicago office as ATF Director? Obama is a criminal mob thug corrupt POS radical racist POS that also protects terrorists and criminals over this country.So as always Holder is safe? Holder needs to step down now. This is a travesty as Obama will just replace Melson with someone else that will take his treasonous orders.
I pray to God Issa continues and holds Obama et al in contempt and Obama et al goes on trial for treason.
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