Posted on 07/07/2011 5:34:57 PM PDT by Kaslin
Scandal: The ATF's acting director spills the beans on a program involving multiple agencies that not only supplied guns to Mexican gangs and drug cartels but may also have used taxpayer dollars to buy them.
The official story that Fast and Furious, also known as Project Gunrunner, was merely a botched sting operation run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives designed to track and stop cross-border arms-trafficking collapsed this week in secret testimony by ATF acting director Kenneth Melson.
Unwilling to be made a scapegoat in the affair, which resulted in the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry using one of the trafficked guns, Melson, acting ATF director since April 2009, testified behind closed doors on Monday before two congressional oversight committees. He appeared with his own private attorney, rather than lawyers from the Department of Justice. His explosive testimony needs to be heard loudly and publicly.
According to a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder from Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, Melson testified that he learned the full details of the operation only after Terry's death made the operation public and he reviewed internal documents — documents that have been withheld by DOJ — that made him "sick to his stomach."
ABC News reports that Melson wanted to appear before oversight committees earlier, but Eric Holder's Justice Department sought to delay his testimony. Pressured to resign and unwilling to take the fall, Melson seized the opportunity to tell his story.
"If his account is accurate, then ATF leadership appears to have been effectively muzzled while the DOJ sent over false denials and buried its head in the sand," the letter said. "That approach distorted the truth and obstructed our investigation."
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
"You heard Zero talk about his civilian security force? He has been arming them for over two years already."
*****While this wouldn’t have greatly hindered Mexican gangsters from getting guns they intend to commit their crimes with, there’s something sickening about America willingly contributing these weapons when it could have refrained or stopped it — plus interdicting the guns would also have caught a number of runners which were allowed to just waltz back into Old Mehico scot free.*****
Are you saying that they just gave the guns to the cartels? If they were paid for with taxpayer money, it is possible that certain people set this up also as a way to launder taxpayer money by getting freezers full of cash from the cartels on the downlo.
Arm America’s enemies, blame it on the 2nd Amendment and pass laws to disarm us...all the while making a pretty penny to boot. Heck of a scheme if this is how it played out.
BUMP-TO-THE-TRUTH!
Sweet feathery freepdom! Can we as a nation please stop adding the suffix “-gate” to every political scandal? They weren’t moving these guns out of the Watergate hotel, were they?
If leftists are telling the truth about the effectiveness of gun control, then those who put guns in the hands of criminals are complicit in murder. If they wish to argue that the criminals would have gotten guns anyway, then they have no basis for hindering law-abiding citizens' efforts to arm themselves. Conservatives need to play up the contradiction here.
‘I think one point that is being lost here is that, from BATFE reports, they were unable to connect a single straw buyer to any Mexican drug cartel.’
Ya think Erik? :)
Except for this story that came out today...
Interview Provides Insight Into Zeta Cartel, “the American government itself would sell them “(weapons)
Industrial size drum O’ Popcorn...
And Beer...
(Where oh where did my salt go?...)
What did the President know and when did he know it?
He probably does all of his coordinating for this stuff when he's out on the golf course.
YAWN ...... Wake me up if this investigation ever actually goes anywhere.
This seems to be building quite nicely and much quicker than I had expected.
Our government has been illegitimate for some time, this is only icing on the cake. Let’s hope this unravels and slaps people out of their coma, and then we finally take down a large number of bureaucrats, agencies and politicians. At some point, David Gregory and all those other wusses are going to have to take notice, and start looking like reporters.
They deserve some confrontation for this mess.
Yes Sir I will.
Thanks for all your threads, I really enjoy them.
You’re on the ball my friend!!
It’s as clear as Waterford crystal.
Go back to sleep. Nothing is happening. All is quiet on the western front.
http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/02/21/hezbollah-working-with-cartels/
Is it teason for a president to supply our enemies with weapons?
Hezbolla is the drug lord of Mexico.
I’m sure you are active on the Casey Anthony threads. Now that is news, right?
Actually, a simple twitter account and facebook page can create some serious havoc. So, while you sit there yawning you could be doing basic tasks, and distribute the information. I drop this story anywhere I can. This needs to get out. IMO, this is a golden opportunity.
‘You’re on the ball my friend!!’
When the ball isn’t smacking me in the head. :)
Great paper.
This is an excellent summary of the issue and I encourage all to share it as broadly as they can, especially to those that are just starting to wonder what all the hubbub is about.
Correct.
This is not just misprision of a felony under federal statute, this is both commission of said felony AND conspiracy to undertake said felonies by multiple persons in the Obama administration.
Not only is Impeachment clearly called for the POTUS, criminal prosecutions of all involved must be undertaken.
Time for a Special Prosecutor and the GOP is derelict in not demanding, formally, just that.
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