‘Calm down’ about Fast and Furious gun sting, ATF acting director says

[alp227]

Source: The Washington Post

The new acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced a major shake-up of his agency Wednesday and urged Washington insiders to “calm down” about the latest revelations surrounding a controversial ATF gun operation.

B. Todd Jones said calm is needed as he begins rebuilding the beleaguered agency, including shuffling top personnel. He made his comments as his boss, Attorney General Eric J. Holder Jr., came under fire this week from Republican lawmakers, with one calling for a special counsel to investigate Holder’s role in the Fast and Furious gun-trafficking operation.

Fast and Furious, a Phoenix gun sting that began in 2009, allowed small-time straw purchasers to pass firearms to middlemen, who then trafficked the guns to Mexico. The fury over the tactics, which resulted in more than 2,000 illegally purchased firearms hitting the streets, has led to the reassignment of the ATF’s former acting director and others, and the resignation of the U.S. attorney in Arizona.

On Tuesday, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, asked President Obama to appoint a special counsel to investigate whether Holder told the truth to Congress at a hearing on May 3 about Fast and Furious.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/calm-down-about-fast-and-furious-gun-sting-atf-acting-director-says/2011/10/05/gIQAbKJpOL_story.html

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CBS reported on Oct. 3: "ATF Fast and Furious: New documents show Attorney General Eric Holder was briefed in July 2010"

[midnight]

1. Hmm.. Do we know where the Arizona shooter that killed a Federal Judge

got his gun?

[AzNick]

Yes, a gun store

He was a rightful owner of a 9mm Glock.

[midnight]

4. Good to know... thanks for sharing... Are you a resident of AZ?

[AzNick]

6. Yes and we've covered the subject in length in the DU guns forum :)

I am also a gun owner, and an NRA member, and yes, I am a liberal.

[midnight]

9. I grew up off of Camelback Mountain..

But now I'm in Wisconsin....I love Lake Michigan but I really miss the palm trees and the mountains -you are lucky... Enjoy....

[razorman]

17. It is good to see someone who is not ashamed of the "liberal" label. I am finding that

the left/right divide on the issue of gun ownership is not as stark as it once was. One need not be a conservative anymore to be a gun owner or an NRA member. We can still proudly call ourselves "liberals" without having to pass a litmus test on issues like this.

[AzNick]

3. Dupe

[plumbob]

2. "Reshuffled"? People need to be FIRED!

and then prosecuted. People are DEAD, FFS!

[midnight]

5. Yes... I heard they set up the program with the stipulation that they would

track and then they didn't....

[webDude]

14. Right! "Calm down" my ass, you're lucky there are not pitchforks and torches!

[AngryAmish]

15. But mostly Mexicans, and as we know they are brown so they don't count

It appears that in the eyes of the ATF and Justice Department, killing a Mexican is the same as killing a goldfish or rat.

[No Elephants]

7. Nothing to see here. Simma down now.

[quakerboy]

8. Ah yes. Classic

Eric Holder.. yet more proof the republicans will do their best to screw you over even if you don't push the envelope or challenge their lawbreaking.

[AtheistCrusader]

11. The Republicans did something similar, but at least made an effort to install tracking devices

in the firearms. It was a half-assed effort that didn't work, but it beat the no-assed non-effort under Fast and Furious.

[TheWraith]

10. "Calm down" over the government selling thousands of weapons to criminals?

If I did that, I would be serving out felony sentences for the rest of my natural life. But because the government did it, it's supposedly no big deal. :eyes:

[Tx4obama]

12. Darrell Issa Pressed To Add Bush Administration Program To Fast And Furious Investigation

Darrell Issa Pressed To Add Bush Administration Program To Fast And Furious Investigation

SNIP

The second story to emerge on Tuesday provided some relief for the administration. The Associated Press reported that a program similar to Fast and Furious had been implemented under the Bush administration.

Far less is known about that program, Operation Wide Receiver -- which also allowed guns to be transferred to suspected traffickers for the purposes of tracking their movement -- mainly because it remained a secret during the previous administration. But to the extent that it was similar to Fast and Furious, it helped defuse the current controversy.

The chief driver of the Fast and Furious investigations, House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), had pledged to look into the Bush administration when circumstances demanded it, noting, "many of the issues we’re working on began with President Bush or even before, and haven’t been solved."

And during a CNN interview on Tuesday evening, he was pressed for the first time to address the work done by Obama's predecessor on arms trafficking.

SNIP

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/05/darrell-issa-fast-and-furious-department-of-justice_n_995940.html

[burf]

13. Maybe the ATF and DOJ should heed

some of their own advice.

CBS reporter: White House, DOJ reps ‘yelled’ and ‘screamed’ at her over ‘Fast and Furious’ scandal

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/10/04/cbs-reporter-white-house-doj-yelled-and-screamed-at-her-over-fast-and-furious-scandal/#ixzz1a02sUvHE

[Lurks Often]

16. I'll calm down when the truth comes out, not before. nt

[Ter]

18. Abolish the vile ATF

n/t