Posted on 10/19/2011 5:17:19 AM PDT by marktwain
Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) said Sunday that he was worried about what he saw as certain inconsistencies in the investigation into the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and floated the theory that there was a third weapon at the scene. Federal officials say he didn't do his homework.
Two weapons linked to ATF's botched Fast and Furious operation (which allowed guns to "walk" into Mexico) had been found at the scene of Terry's death, but investigators haven't determined conclusively if one of those weapons killed him. It was Terry's murder that lead to complaints from ATF agents about the the bureau's anti-gun trafficking program.
"If weapon number one [which] appears to be missing were ballistically matched," Issa said on CBS "Face the Nation", "we would have an absolute rather than the inconsistency." From the interview:
Host Bob Schieffer: Are you suggesting that maybe that might be the gun, that evidence shows was the murder weapon, and for some reason the FBI has not disclosed that?
Chairman Issa: Well, we certainly want to know in some cases, as you know, there are investigations where there's materials that people feel are very sensitive.
Issa also added that the FBI "has a history in some cases of working with felons and criminals and hiding their other crimes."
A Justice Department spokeswoman said that Issa's false accusation "maligns the dedicated agents investigating the murder of Agent Terry" and "mischaracterizes evidence in an ongoing case."
"The FBI has made clear that reports of a third gun recovered from the perpetrators at the scene of Agent Terry's murder are false," Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said in a statement to reporters.
"When law enforcement analyzes evidence from a crime scene, it refers to some of the items seized as 'known' items or 'Ks' for shorthand," Schmaler explained. "Certain items were analyzed as 'known' items from the crime scene of Agent Terry's murder, including the two firearms referenced by Chairman Issa and designated by the FBI as Known Specimens 'K2' and 'K3'."
"According to the FBI, the item that Chairman Issa refers to as 'K1' is a blood sample from Agent Terry, not a firearm. For this reason, it was not listed on the ballistics report prepared by the FBI," Schmaler continued.
"Prior to his appearance on CBS this past Sunday, Chairman Issa's staff was informed that there were two - not three - guns recovered from the perpetrators at the scene of Agent Terry's murder," Schmaler said.
Oversight Committee Ranking Member Rep. Elijah E. Cummings issued a statement criticizing Issa's comments.
"It is unbelievably reckless for Chairman Issa to go on national television and repeat these baseless accusations, which attack the integrity and credibility of entire law enforcement agencies and undermine the prosecution of those responsible for Agent Terry's death. In a closed briefing with Committee staff earlier this month, the FBI dispelled any allegation that they recovered a third gun at the scene, and the Committee has no evidence to the contrary."
Late update: Issa spokesman Frederick Hill emails this statement: "If there was no third gun then Agent Brian Terry was killed by a weapon from Operation Fast and Furious. The Justice Department has so far failed to acknowledge this or provide appropriate answers."
Gunwalker ping.
That's why Mueller is so quiet. He is in Fast and Furious to his eyeballs. It could not have "worked" without FBI help in undermining the NIBC system.
"We're still working on gun control, but we have to do it under the radar."
--Obama
I think the Justice Department "spokeswoman" lies through her teeth and she knows it.
Spokes-persons are dim tools who are deliberately kept out of the real loop.
This denial reminds me of a quote attributed to Bismark:
“Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied.”
“Eric Holder, Another Day Another Denial.”
http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2011/09/our-department-of-obstructing-justice.html
“The third weapon recovered at the scene of Agent Terrys murder that the FBI made disappear is an SKS carbine. Not an assault weapon by any practical definition, authorities claim that the official existence of the Texas-purchased rifle at the crime scene could have exposed an FBI informant.”
“Another plausible motive for hiding the weapon is that it would be traced to a different ATF operational sector, as an early indication that gunwalking was not limited to Operation Fast and Furious in the Phoenix Field Operations area. We now know as a matter of fact that all three federal agents shot with walked firearms had weapons walked from Texas recovered at their crime scenes. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agents Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila were ambushed in Mexico by members of the Zetas cartel, including at least one armed with a weapon from Lancaster, Texas, the Dallas Field Operations area.”
” but investigators haven’t determined conclusively if one of those weapons killed him. “
It’s a distinction without a difference. They were used to either shoot him or provide cover fire for the criminal who did. This is only important to lawyers who don’t understand the basics of a firefight.
These guys are good.
Issa essentially is asking if there is a third gun, in the face of a stone wall, and when he asks a question to which the answer is “no,” and an innocent result, they cry holy hell that they have been wrongly accused, maligned and slandered.
Which tells you that they are guilty as hell on the other 99% of the factual questions.
My new tagline.
But it was Otto Von Bismark, not me.
In any case, worst can happen is some folks will think you're more of a genius than you really are. $;-)
Ping to posts 12 & 13. We don’t want Travis getting too big of a head on himself... $:-)
Bump
That’s good. means that Issa did his homework and will make Justice and the FBI out to be the conspirators that they are.
Issa is the man of the year
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