Informant in raw video gives Fox News explosive details about Gunwalker

Gun Rights Examiner ^ | 22 May, 2011 | David Codrea

[marktwain]

Gun Rights Examiner has been so involved providing original investigative reporting on “Project Gunwalker”* developments that investigations conducted by others at times go unexplored. Such is the case with a raw video produced by Fox News on April 27, in which reporter William La Jeunesse interviewed an unidentified confidential informant.

Not that the reports go unnoticed behind the scenes. This correspondent has been in contact with La Jeunesse on Gunwalker developments for some months, and while not free to share his replies, this is what he was emailed following publication of his May 4 report:

Per your report:

“In a second, equally explosive disclosure, a law enforcement source tells Fox News, that ATF undercover agents were acting as the straw buyers and purchasing guns using government-issued false identifications and then providing those guns to cartel traffickers to gain credibility in their undercover roles. In that capacity, the ATF "provided 2, 50 cal. machine guns to traffickers that are loose in Mexico and unaccounted for," the source said.”

From...a[n]...expert on NFRTR:

“IF a dealer had M2s in stock, they could NOT have been legally transferred to a buyer without approval by ATF. Taking the report at face value, it would mean that (1) the straw buyer went through the NFA paperwork process to get the M2s, and (2) ATF knew about that by definition, and allowed the guns to walk anyway.

“I am suspicious of the reports, in the sense that the M2s in question originated from a dealer. Could be that they were M1s, and the straw buyer converted them into machine guns; which is quite a different thing?”

Thought I'd run that by you to make sure.

[marktwain]

The article has more confirmations of the gunwalker/gunrunner scandal.

[saganite]

Still waiting for this scandal to hit the big time. When will the hearings start?

[tutstar]

Bump

[blueyon]

Just asking...is this a set up? If it can “go to court” will this be inadmissible evidence now?

[Lurker]

Nothing the ATF does surprises me anymore. Nothing.

[blueyon]

I hope this takes Holder down...as in “Your Fired”

[BCR #226]

There are a couple of issues with this report.

1. If the BATFE did do a straw purchase on a registered, transferable machine gun of any kind, there is going to be hell to pay. This will make the third time since 1934 that a lawfully registered machine gun was used in a crime. And it will be the third time that it was done by a law enforcement officer. Folks, we have a very concerning problem here.

2. Given the process in which a person must go through to obtain a legally registered NFA item, the fact that there are not many such transferable full auto’s on the registry and the depth of the background check involved, I have to seriously question this report. IF the BATFE did allow these transfers to go through, the NFRTR and the whole NFA has just shown itself completely ineffective.

There have been reports for years of the BATFE adding transferables to the registry post 1986. BATFE has refused to divulge any information at all on this topic basing their refusal on the tax status of the transfers.

Now, the NFRTR has been exposed to international criminal use. The tax line won’t work now. We can’t get the information through a FOIA but now the whole database and integrity of that database is further in question and subject to the investigation of Congress. Given that the 1986 ban supposedly closed the registry to transferable MG’s, if these guns were post May dealer samples that were allowed to be transferred on a Form 4, BATFE is in deep shit.

[Condor51]

This doesn't make sense:

“I am suspicious of the reports, in the sense that the M2s in question originated from a dealer. Could be that they were M1s, and the straw buyer converted them into machine guns; which is quite a different thing?”

So I'm really cornfused?!?

• A .50 Cal M2 'Machine Gun' is the Ma Deuce, the Browning 'Heavy' Machine Gun.
  
• An 'M1' Machine Gun (military version) is the M1928A1, the .45 Cal Thompson Sub Machine Gun.
  
• Or 'M1' could refer to the M1 Garand, or .30 cal M1 Carbine.
  
• But, only the .30 cal carbine M1 had a Selective Fire Version and THAT was designated as an M2. But it sure ain't a .50 Cal.

Maybe I'm nitpicking but this not a a potato-tomato thing.

Was the ATF walking .50 Cal Ma Deuces across the border to Drug Cartels or sub-machine guns? In either case the ATF is guilty as hell but I'm really interested in what 'machine guns' they were giving to the scum bags.

an aside: And to be able to afford a 'Legal' Class 3 'Ma Deuce' you'd have to be either a Drug Smuggler OR a Gubmint Agent with bottomless pockets. And if one was to buy two at a time -- every Fire Alarm, Bell and Whistle in the state should have went off.

[bcsco]

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[Erik Latranyi]

Two points:

First, the firearms could have been M82s...a semi-auto .50 cal. The people involved in this case do not seem like they really know what they are talking about.

Also, it would be easy to confirm if the dealer in question was a Class III dealer. If not, it was a semi-auto transferred like any other firearm.

My second point is the seeming contradiction in video:

He asserts Mexico is receiving weapons with approval of U.S. authorities.

Juxtaposed to this:

He corroborates that the Mexican government was intentionally not informed of these activities.

Either the informant is spreading disinformation to discredit the reporters on this story or the "Mexico" in the first statement is the criminal elements.

While I am prone to believing the latter, I will not assume as these people would love nothing more than to discredit the reporting on this story.

[Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!]

http://issa.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=726:chairman-issa-subpoenas-atf-for-project-gunrunner-documents&catid=63:2011-press-release&Itemid=4

http://biggovernment.com/awrhawkins/2011/04/03/congressman-darrell-issa-r-ca-demands-answers-on-operation-gun-runner/

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2721464/posts

[Gaffer]

With the ignorance of the media, the 50 caliber ‘machine gun’ thing could have been a Barret or a Bush knockoff in Semi....

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks marktwain.

In a second, equally explosive disclosure, a law enforcement source tells Fox News, that ATF undercover agents were acting as the straw buyers and purchasing guns using government-issued false identifications and then providing those guns to cartel traffickers to gain credibility in their undercover roles. In that capacity, the ATF "provided 2, 50 cal. machine guns to traffickers that are loose in Mexico and unaccounted for," the source said.

[wastedyears]

Don't forget this little gem...

[Nachum]

The list, ping

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[itsahoot]

Browning M2 .50 Caliber Machine Gun I don't think they make this baby in a non auto form.

I fired these things, Quad mounted on a Halftrack when I was a kid in the National Guard, strictly use as air defense then.

[itsahoot]

•A .50 Cal M2 ‘Machine Gun’ is the Ma Deuce, the Browning ‘Heavy’ Machine Gun.
•An ‘M1’ Machine Gun (military version) is the M1928A1, the .45 Cal Thompson Sub Machine Gun.
•Or ‘M1’ could refer to the M1 Garand, or .30 cal M1 Carbine.
•But, only the .30 cal carbine M1 had a Selective Fire Version and THAT was designated as an M2. But it sure ain’t a .50 Cal.

Just reminiscing, but I have fired every one of those babies. Expert with all but the Quad Ma Duece hard to tell score firing at a towed sleeve, along with 20 other Halftracks. :)

[ctdonath2]

IIRC, an M2 is pretty easy - for those who know and have a machine shop at their disposal - to convert to full auto. (Maybe I’m confusing it with the M1919.)

Most likely it’s just ignorance confusing a semi auto with a full auto.

If it’s an NFA violation however, S will HTF like we’ve never seen in a gun case. Run right, could bring down the ATF.

[itsahoot]

Barrett M82a1

Browning M2

[Nachum]

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