Fireworks in the ATF Investigation

The Fourth of July is known for fireworks in celebration of our country’s Declaration of Independence.  But this year, the date also included some fireworks in a committee hearing room inside the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.  For nearly eight hours the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Acting Director Ken Melson was formally interviewed by congressional investigators about the bureau’s policy, known as Fast and Furious, which allowed guns to be sold to known straw purchasers who then transported the firearms to third parties, often, it turns out, ending in the hands of Mexican drug cartels.  

Melson is the highest ranking official, thus far, to provide information about this reckless strategy.  His testimony will be helpful as we move forward in the investigation I’ve been conducting with Rep. Darrell Issa of California.  He chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and I’m the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has oversight responsibility for the Justice Department and its agencies.

After Melson’s testimony, Congressman Issa and I sent a letter to Attorney General Holder outlining some of the astounding testimony provided by the Acting Director, including allegations of instances where the Justice Department attempted to muzzle ATF officials who were trying to communicate with Congress.

One of the most disturbing revelations of the interview was Melson’s corroboration of details about the involvement of other agencies within the Justice Department, including the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the possibility that they were aware of and even working with people connected to Fast and Furious.  

In addition, contrary to denials by the Justice Department that the ATF never allowed guns to be purchased by known straw buyers and then allowed to be transferred to other people, Melson acknowledged that ATF agents had in fact witnessed transfers of weapons from straw purchasers to third parties without following the guns any further.

This investigation continues to widen the more we look into it.  We won’t give up until we get to the bottom of the controversy and learn who approved the policy and why they thought it would work.  

July 8, 2011