Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Breaking updates on the ATF-DOJ gun smuggling scandal

Link: http://www.examiner.com/conservativ...ling-scandal?CID=examiner_alerts_article

Several breaking updates have shed new light on the continually-developing scandal of gun smuggling at the Department of Justice and its Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

First, one of the main players within the government entities implicated in the scheme, whom blogger Mike Vanderboegh refers to as allegedly 'the only honest piano player in the whorehouse,' is set to divulve explosive information before a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. ATF acting director Kenneth Melson has been called to testify this afternoon before the Committee, which will meet on the afternoon of Thursday, March 31, 2011.

The thing that is curious about Melson's appearance is that he will testify before a subcommittee that is charged with oversight over the Western Hemisphere, the Peace Corps, and Narcotics Affairs.

It is assumed that at least one Senator will want to know what Melson knows concerning the ATF's illegal activity in placing U.S. guns directly into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. This is particularly true given that the Republicans who sit on the committee are some of the staunchest supporters of Second Amendment rights--DeMint, Rubio, Lee, Isakson, and Barrasso.

Vanderboegh wonders if Melson will plead the 5th given that his agents, excluding the whisteblowers, have all denied any knowledge of such a scheme.

The Honorable Alan D. Bersin, Commissioner
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20229

Dear Commissioner Bersin:

Since January, I have been investigating the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) operation called �Fast and Furious��part of the broader �Project Gunrunner� initiative. According to several agents, ATF leadership encouraged gun dealers to engage in sales of multiple weapons to individuals suspected of illegally purchasing them for resale to Mexican cartels. Specifically, I am seeking information on whether CBP officials had an opportunity to seize weapons from straw purchasers on two specific occasions.

First, on March 8, 2011, federal authorities indicted 11 defendants, including the Mayor and the Police Chief of a small town in New Mexico, for conspiring to smuggle weapons from the United States into Mexico.1 According to the indictment, on January 14, 2010, Blas Gutierrez and Miguel Carrillo were pulled over near the border and were found in possession of eight weapons, including three AK-47-type pistols. 2 Also according to the indictment, two of the weapons were later smuggled to Mexico, where they were found this month, March 2011.3 I understand that CBP may have been the agency that conducted the vehicle stop referenced in the indictment and that some of the weapons may have been connected to Operation Fast and Furious. However, CBP allegedly let the individuals go, perhaps because it failed to determine that the weapons or individuals were connected to ATF operation at the time of the vehicle stop.

Second, CBP officials allegedly stopped Jaime Avila near the border in the spring or summer of 2010. He allegedly had the two WASR-10 rifles in his possession that were later found at the scene of Agent Brian Terry�s murder, along with over thirty additional weapons. CBP officials contacted ATF or an Assistant United States Attorney who allegedly instructed CBP to allow Avila proceed without seizing the weapons.

1 Indictment, filed March 8, 20l1, United States v. Villalobos, Case 2:11-cr-00487. (Attachment 1)
2 Id. at 3.
3 Id.

Page Two

In order to ascertain the extent to which these accounts are accurate, please ensure that CBP officials are prepared to answer questions about these two incidents in addition to questions about the use of force policy at the staff briefing scheduled for this Friday. If you have any questions about this request, please contact Brian Downey at (202) 224-5225. Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley
Ranking Member

It's not making news on the big three and makes very little on Fox.

"Is the director aware of this," Gil asked the supervisor. Gil says his supervisor answered "Yes, the director's aware of it. Not only is the director aware of it, D.O.J.'s aware of it... Department of Justice was aware of it."

Two new videos and an article up on CBS today. What big three are you referring to? Larry, Mo & Curly?


Darren Gil, recently retired ATF attache to Mexico during Operation Fast & Furious went on record with CBS that he was told that Acting Director Melson knew and approved of this program, as well as people in DOJ.

CBS article on "Who knew, and how high did it go?"




Two video's of his interview, both worth watching. He was blocked out of records of the operation, though he knew that many guns were being traced back to Phoenix. Yelling matches over the phone, warnings about what would happen when Mexico found out or the guns ended up killing Mexican politicians/police/soldiers. And now he's SERIOUSLY ticked that the administration is leaving out the fact that agents in Mexico didn't know anything about this operation, but are being left down there and being hung out to dry and are in danger due to this.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7360783n

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7360785n

CBS is the mainstream portal pushing this, and pushing it relentlessly.

But it's also been featured repeatedly on Rush, on Laura Ingram, and others. Just got talked about briefly on Beck, and I'm guessing he'll run with it once he looks into it.

House of Representatives has 4 investigators working full time on it, and Issa has started towards having congressional hearings on it with subpoena'd parties testifying under oath.

Even the Senate is getting into it, between the Republicans and the anti-gun democrats there's a lot of folks there ticked off.


And all of this has occurred over 6 weeks, and all you do is keep saying it's going to go away. I don't know why you would or why you hope it will, but keep on. Or, if you don't have a reason for wanting it to go away, why don't YOU go away. Find something that you're passionate about besides cyber stalking and get involved with the world. Make a difference, instead of being an indifferent pain.

1960, the part of your stance that I find amazing; considering you claim to be a cop and a thus a trained observer, is that this whole immigration and gun running thing is only of an interest to the border states.

Wrong, pal. Most of the mid-west is being over-ran with illegals. I doubt that you are dumb enough to have missed it, I think that you're playing an internet "cowboy" persona.
The evidence is around for everyone to see, and plenty are getting tired of it.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
You need to quit living in a fantasy world fella. This is going to float away like many other things in big Govt. This will not crumple Obama. Someone will be the fall guy in this and life will go on.

In 20 months we'll have a new election. If this countries Repub. party can put up a candidate worthy enough to win, things may change. Let me ask you this, other then a voter, are you involved, in your local Repub. Party? Do you go out an help campaign for candidates within the R-Party, do you support them with money and physically??? Or are you just an grumpy old man who complaines how bad things are??? This is a serious quiestion, you can answer or not. Your non-involvement, if it is answers that question.


I'm not happy about it. USBP has too strict of ROA, that and US agents should be armed in forign countries. But i understand reality from having had a mil. career and working in Govt. that things don't always happen as you wish. We'll just have to wait and see how it turns out. So in the mean time, i'm not going anywhere!!!

Project Gunwalker may not lead directly to Obama's downfall, BUT it is a huge political scandal for the 2012 elections and it needs to be talked about and investigated for that reason.

Dissing it just because it won't lead to Obama's impeachment is silly. We don't need one big thing to remove him, we need to show a pattern of things that will reveal him to be a worse president than ANY potential replacement.

Whether or not Holder or Obama directly knew of this, it was Obama's administration and Holder's department which lead to the USA intentionally allowing the trafficking of firearms into an allied nation with the knowledge that they would be used against that nation's law officers and military.

1960, the part of your stance that I find amazing; considering you claim to be a cop and a thus a trained observer, is that this whole immigration and gun running thing is only of an interest to the border states.

Wrong, pal. Most of the mid-west is being over-ran with illegals. I doubt that you are dumb enough to have missed it, I think that you're playing an internet "cowboy" persona.
The evidence is around for everyone to see, and plenty are getting tired of it.

Ding,Ding,Ding,Ding,....we have a match !

"Dude, i don't care what is written here about me. The folks i deal with in my job, don't call me for my public service. My public service to my community is to arrest as many of their drug dealing and stealing azz's as i can."



"Clarksville Police arrested a man Friday night for allegedly impersonating a police officer."

On Dec. 29, Jeff Danualt, an off-duty officer, was driving on Wilma Rudolph Boulevard around 1 p.m. when a white Ford Crown Victoria resembling a police car approached him at a high rate of speed and began tailgating him, according to a news
release from Clarksville Police spokesman Officer Jim Knoll.

While Danualt was stopped at a stop light, a man inside the Crown Victoria began making hand gestures and activated what sounded like a PA system in an effort to get Danualt to pull over, the release said.

Officer Danualt got a good look at the car and noticed a Fort Campbell sticker in the windshield and Florida license plates. At that point, he could tell that it was not a police patrol car, the release said.

Danualt called 911, and the man drove away when he saw Danualt on the phone, the release said. Officers responded but could not locate the car. Fort Campbell officials were notified, soon found the car and identified a possible owner, the release said.

The Crown Victoria had police equipment inside, such as a camera system, transport gauge, spotlight, PA system, red reflectors in the front grill, siren and a D.A.R.E plate on the front.

Aaron Richard Will, who gave a 441 Needmore Rd. address, is charged with criminal impersonation. His bond was set at $1,000.

"How come you didn't answer my question on your involvement with your local R-party, you not a member???"

Chit, be careful man,....now you're in "the interrogation room" !

GTC