{"id":4078,"date":"2011-06-20T16:27:58","date_gmt":"2011-06-20T20:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=4078"},"modified":"2011-06-21T18:27:44","modified_gmt":"2011-06-21T22:27:44","slug":"acting-atf-director-likely-to-be-ousted-over-gunwalker-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2011\/06\/20\/acting-atf-director-likely-to-be-ousted-over-gunwalker-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"Acting ATF Director Likely To Be Ousted Over Gunwalker Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>From <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2011\/POLITICS\/06\/20\/us.fast.and.furious\/index.html?hpt=hp_t2\" target=\"_blank\">CNN<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Kenneth Melson, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,  Firearms and Explosives, is expected to resign under pressure, perhaps  in the next day or two, in the wake of the ongoing controversy over  Operation Fast and Furious, two senior federal law enforcement sources  said Monday.<\/p>\n<p>In the operation, straw buyers were allowed to  illegally purchase large numbers of weapons, some of which ended up in  the hands of cartels in Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>Attorney General Eric Holder will  meet Tuesday with Andrew Traver, head of the ATF field office in  Chicago, about potentially serving as acting director of the agency,  according to the sources.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I haven&#8217;t been following all the twists and turns in the Gunwalker Scandal, but I think it&#8217;s safe to say Ken Melson is about to become the designated fall guy. Gunwalker, or Operation Fast and Furious as it was officially known was an ATF investigation that sought to track firearms purchased by straw purchasers in the United States and then smuggled to criminals in Mexico. The investigation fell apart after two of the weapons allowed to &#8220;walk&#8221; into the hands of criminals were used in a shoot-out that killed a US border patrol agent, Brian Terry.<\/p>\n<p>The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/exposed-the-secret-guns-sting-that-backfired-on-the-us-2297924.html\" target=\"_blank\">currently investigating the actions of the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives<\/a> in Operation Fast and Furious&#8230; So far the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/exposed-the-secret-guns-sting-that-backfired-on-the-us-2297924.html\" target=\"_blank\">testimony<\/a> from whistle-blowers inside the ATF has been damning, but what I want to know is why is the Department of Justice <a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/2011\/05\/04\/friction-grows-lawmakers-doj-project-gunrunner-probe\/\" target=\"_blank\">refusing to cooperate<\/a> with Congressional investigators?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424052702303823104576391794276380486.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop\" target=\"_blank\">A Drug-War Plan Goes Awry<\/a> &#8211; Gail O&#8217;Grady, Wall Street Jounal<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=1341&amp;Itemid=29\" target=\"_blank\">Report: Four ATF Agents Working on Controversial Operation \u2018Fast and Furious\u2019 Tell their Story<\/a> &#8211; House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/pajamasmedia.com\/blog\/the-definitive-scandal-gunwalker-much-worse-than-iran-contra\/?singlepage=true\" target=\"_blank\">The Definitive Scandal: \u2018Gunwalker\u2019 Much Worse Than \u2018Iran-Contra\u2019<\/a> &#8211; Bob Owens, Pajamas Media<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/spectator.org\/archives\/2011\/06\/21\/fast-and-spurious#\" target=\"_blank\">Operation Fast and Spurious<\/a> &#8211; W. James Antle,  III, The America Spectator<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsmax.com\/Headline\/Obama-NRF-AndrewTraver-KennethMelson\/2011\/06\/20\/id\/400723\" target=\"_blank\">Obama Eyeing Anti-Gun Backer to Run ATF<\/a> &#8211; Newsmax<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From CNN: Kenneth Melson, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, is expected to resign under pressure, perhaps in the next day or two, in the wake of the ongoing controversy over Operation Fast and Furious, two senior federal law enforcement sources said Monday. In the operation, straw buyers were allowed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[68,7],"tags":[1135,890,1187,574,1189,1188,1191,1190,462],"class_list":["post-4078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-crime","category-politics","tag-atf","tag-darrell-issa","tag-department-of-justice","tag-eric-holder","tag-fast-and-furious","tag-gunwalker","tag-house-committee-on-oversight-and-government-reform","tag-kenneth-melson","tag-obama-administration","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfpI7-13M","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3843,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2011\/03\/05\/weekend-briefing-%e2%80%93-saturday-march-5-2011\/","url_meta":{"origin":4078,"position":0},"title":"Weekend Briefing \u2013 Saturday, March 5, 2011","author":"Jeff","date":"March 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm feeling a bit under the weather today and don't feel much like writing, but here's few must read articles from my stack of stuff: Greenspan Says Government \u2018Activism\u2019 Hampering U.S. Recovery - Bloomberg News Connecticut bill seeks to unconstitutionally restrict political and religious speech by employers - Washington Examiner\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Immigration&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Immigration","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/immigration\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4905,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2013\/04\/07\/gun-dealers-license-revocation-unrelated-to-newtown-shootings\/","url_meta":{"origin":4078,"position":1},"title":"Gun Dealer&#8217;s License Revocation Unrelated to Newtown Shootings","author":"Jeff","date":"April 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm sure you've seen news reports over the last few days saying the license of the gun shop were Sandy Hook gunman Adam Lanza's mother Nancy bought two of the guns found at Sandy Hook Elementary School after the massacre. While it's true that store's Federal Firearms License (FFL) has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Media&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Media","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/media\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5896,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2017\/10\/06\/politics-bump-stocks-and-the-nra\/","url_meta":{"origin":4078,"position":2},"title":"Politics, Bump Stocks and the NRA","author":"Jeff","date":"October 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Since the NRA released its statement on bump stocks and national reciprocity yesterday I've been hearing a lot of grumbling from gun owners and second amendment supporters. They're not happy. \"In the aftermath of the evil and senseless attack in Las Vegas, the American people are looking for answers as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Guns&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Guns","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/guns\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4545,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2012\/07\/27\/bill-oreilly-pinhead\/","url_meta":{"origin":4078,"position":3},"title":"Bill O&#8217;Reilly: Pinhead","author":"Jeff","date":"July 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Yeah, I said it, and I mean it... Bill O'Reilly is a pinhead. I'm a little late getting to this, but I can't let this ill-informed rant by Mr. O'Reilly pass without comment. Look I'm not a Bill O'Reilly fan, I think he's the worst kind of self-important, self-righteous, populist\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1860,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/04\/01\/holder-overrules-doj-ruling-saying-dc-vote-bill-is-unconstitutional\/","url_meta":{"origin":4078,"position":4},"title":"Holder Overrules DOJ Ruling Saying D.C. Vote Bill Is Unconstitutional","author":"Jeff","date":"April 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Washington Post reports in today's edition that Attorney General Eric Holder overruled lawyers in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel who ruled that the DC voting rights bill violates the Constitution: Justice Department lawyers concluded in an unpublished opinion earlier this year that the historic D.C. voting rights\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Law&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Law","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/law\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1974,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/04\/21\/rep-harman-seeks-release-of-aipac-transcripts\/","url_meta":{"origin":4078,"position":5},"title":"Rep. Harman Seeks Release of AIPAC Transcripts","author":"Jeff","date":"April 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to release transcripts of her recorded phone conversations: WASHINGTON \u2013 Rep. Jane Harman asked the Justice Department to release transcripts of her recorded conversations following published reports she was caught on tape agreeing to seek leniency for two pro-Israeli lobbyists\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4078\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}