Gunrunner Update
The L.A. Times reports that a key ATF figure is cooperating with Congressional investigators:
A key leader in the federal law enforcement operation suspected of allowing high-powered assault weapons to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels is now cooperating with congressional investigators, providing a crucial new window into the controversial operation known as Project Gunrunner.
George Gillett Jr., assistant special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ field office in Phoenix, has met with congressional investigators and is expected to provide crucial information about how dozens of U.S. guns may have been transported with the ATF’s knowledge into Mexico. Agents say Gillett provided much of the day-to-day oversight of the Gunrunner operation.
While we await word whether ATF complied with the subpoena (I’ll just tell you right now: they didn’t), and when the contempt hearing will be for their violation, chew on this question.
We keep hearing that two walked guns were found at the scene of Brian Terry’s murder.
But we have never heard that the guns were proven to have actually killed him.
Is that because they did the firearms testing and the guns were eliminated? I doubt it. If that were the case, why haven’t we heard that they were eliminated?
Or has the Government simply not done the tests — or done them and suppressed the results?
Questions, questions.
How awesome would it be if the ATF and Obama administration defended this sloppy negligence by saying “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Better yet, tied the sale of guns to “NAFTA.”
I just can’t be cynical enough to keep up with these bad decisions and @$$-covering.
TimesDisliker (63ddaa) — 4/17/2011 @ 11:10 amWhen the government ignores subpoenas from itself (and it’s happening more and more often it seems), why should regular people have to comply? Kind of like taxes (Turbo-tax Tim?).
Keep up the questions P. They’ll bury the issue if everybody doesn’t keep pushing it.
Stashiu3 (44da70) — 4/17/2011 @ 11:14 am“…allowing high-powered assault weapons to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels…”
Would the poobahs at the Times be more at ease if these were low-powered assault weapons?
AD-RtR/OS! (0d97a0) — 4/17/2011 @ 11:16 amIf this gets bad enough, maybe the Administration will try forcing the media to more accurately describe the weapons.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 4/17/2011 @ 11:37 amSounds a little CONTRA to me!
dfbaskwill (c021f2) — 4/17/2011 @ 11:52 amGreetings:
This issue got a very brief mention last evening on NBC’s “Dateline” program. The program was about the Mexican drug cartels and the evil American dopers who were causing the destruction of that otherwise perfect nation. A former Mexican foreign minister acknowledged the “program” but he was more interested in advancing the Mexico-as-victim narrative.
11B40 (13f6a8) — 4/18/2011 @ 9:44 amCan I send out the “Flee, all is discovered!” emails now?
Bigfoot (8096f2) — 4/18/2011 @ 12:49 pmWhatever side of this “War on Drugs” you might be on, the Mexican drug gangs are only supplying something that is in extremely high demand. We can kill them and more will replace them, we can make busts but still only touch a small percentage of the total drugs available. The only way to eliminate the crime and violence associated with Mexican drug trafficking is to either legalize and regulate (and tax) drugs, or to wage war on the real problem – demand for drugs. If the demand isn’t going to go away, then neither are the drugs and the people who supply them.
Bebe Totaro (430949) — 8/14/2011 @ 8:51 am