Free Republic

The choice of Minnesota U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF) made him the face of a national anti-violence agenda growing from the shock of the schoolhouse shooting massacre in Connecticut. But much like President Obama’s effort to ban assault weapons and expand background checks on gun buyers, Jones’ nomination has become stuck in the mire of congressional politics. On Tuesday, nearly six months after his name was put forward, Jones is expected to face off with some of the most skeptical Republican critics of gun restrictions and the ATF,...

As part of President Barack Obama’s 23-point gun control plan, he nominated Minnesota U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones–who currently doubles right now as the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives–to be the ATF director. Jones was personally a part of the high-ranking Department of Justice unit that first met on October 26, 2009, to create the new DOJ policy that was used to justify “gunwalking” in Operation Fast and Furious. In Fast and Furious, the ATF “walked” roughly 2,000 firearms into the hands of the Mexican drug cartels. That means through straw purchasers the agency...

Exclusive: Bradlee Dean reveals latest revelation in 'Fast and Furious' scandal As we know, Eric Holder’s “Fast and Furious” scheme has sparked outrage among the American people. The DOJ’s “Fast and Furious” operation placed guns into the hands of drug smugglers who have committed crimes through entrapment, which was directly responsible for the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Holder’s ultimate goal was to circumvent his own criminal activity by blaming gun stores in America for selling the very guns that the ATF put in the hands of smugglers. Of course, his plans were botched before he could blame...

John Solomon, writing in the Washington Guardian, is reporting today that B. Todd Jones, the Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), released a video last week to all employees. In the video, Jones warns that there would be “consequences” for any employees who report wrongdoing outside their chain of command. Jones was a federal prosecutor when Attorney General Eric Holder asked him to lead the embattled agency after the Fast and Furious scandal. He is supposed to improve morale and instill a new culture in the aftermath of that scandal. Jones' precise words are:...

A video message from ATF Acting Director Todd Jones on July 9, 2012, to ATF staff presents a disturbing message to potential whistleblowers in the agency. The acting director says, "... if you don't find the appropriate way to raise your concerns to your leadership, there will be consequences. ..." Sen. Chuck Grassley says the essence of whistleblowing is reporting problems outside of an employee's chain of command, and whistleblowers were instrumental in exposing the shortcomings of Operation Fast and Furious.

Senator Charles Grassley and Congressman Darrell Issa are strongly criticizing a video message from B. Todd Jones, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to agency employees that might discourage them from stepping forward as whistleblowers. They sent a letter to Jones on Wednesday, and on Thursday morning, a San Diego newspaper came to Issa’s defense when it labeled a “watchdog” group now demanding that Issa be held in contempt of Congress as being, in reality, a “front group” set up by Democrats “to pursue and defend their interests.” It is the latest chapter in the...

Was the new acting director of ATF involved at the inception of the criminal gunwalking scandal known as Operation Fast & Furious? The appointment of B. Todd Jones as acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, hasn't caused much of a ripple – in the media or in the ATF. By most accounts Jones is a stand-up guy, ex-Marine, and in a refreshing change of pace, apparently not known for ignominious bouts of bad judgment. But who your friends are generally says a lot about you, and Todd Jones is a longtime friend and...

With St. Louis Cardinals star Albert Pujols hitting his 400th career homer and Alex Rodriguez having recently reached the 600-homer mark, now is a great time for a guy who served up a homer to each slugger to compare and contrast the two future Hall of Famers:

Wednesday, April 30, 2003Punishing Jones not the answer By Rob NeyerESPN.com Dipping into the ol' e-mailbag today ... Hey Rob, I just read about Todd Jones' anti-gay remarks and the Colorado Rockies corresponding response. And the only adjective the Rockies can come up with in response to Jones' disgusting tirade is "unfortunate"? If there were really any justice, Todd Jones would be suspended, or even fired, by either the team or MLB. Making anti-gay remarks like that is right in line with racist remarks in reference to Hispanics, African-Americans, etc. and there is no place in that for baseball, America...