After waiting six years, new light may be shed soon on one of the Barack Obama administration’s biggest scandals, a gun trafficking “sting” that flooded Mexico with guns, embarrassed the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, led to Capitol Hill hearings, and cost the life of a Border Patrol agent.
Former President Obama continues to claim his administration was scandal free, but critics say otherwise, according to a report in the Boston Globe.
The Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it has entered into a “conditional settlement agreement” with the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform concerning the release of additional documents related to the controversial Operation Fast and Furious, conducted by the BATF during the Obama administration. During the operation, between 2,000 and 2,500 guns were allowed by ATF in Phoenix to fall into the hands of criminals both in Mexico and the United States, many of them winding up with Mexican drug cartel gunmen. Guns linked to the operation have occasionally turned up at crime scenes south of the border.
This “gun walking” scheme was exposed when two rifles related to the case turned up at the scene of a fatal shootout between suspected drug smugglers and Border Patrol agents. During that exchange of gunfire in December 2010, agent Brian Terry was fatally wounded. Terry’s brother, Kent has urged President Donald Trump to reopen the investigation, which was largely ignored by the dominant media, even though most of the guns have yet to be recovered.
That incident literally blew the lid off of the operation, which one BATF official called a “perfect storm of idiocy” while testifying under oath before the House committee in 2011 when it was chaired by Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA). TGM’s predecessor, Gun Week, covered the scandal for more than two years.
Originally uncovered by the late Mike Vanderboegh, a “citizen journalist” and blogger, and author David Codrea, the scandal ultimately was covered by former CBS investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson, reporters from Fox News and the Los Angeles Times, leading to hearings before the Oversight committee.
In a telephone conversation, Codrea told Liberty Park Press that after so much time has passed, he is concerned that “it will end up being much ado about nothing.”
“I am afraid,” he said, “that all we’re going to see is sound and fury signifying nothing.”
He would like to see the Oversight committee convene more hearings and see some of those involved testify under oath.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over thousands of subpoenaed documents, which were withheld after former President Barack Obama tried to keep them from the committee by declaring executive privilege. A federal judge ultimately ruled the documents had to be turned over.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a statement: “The Department of Justice under my watch is committed to transparency and the rule of law. This settlement agreement is an important step to make sure that the public finally receives all the facts related to Operation Fast and Furious.”
Several BATF agents were reassigned or retired as a result of the scandal, although nobody was ever prosecuted or fired.
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