Thread: OPERATION GUNWALKER & Fast and Furious Information Collection Information News

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U.S. Attorney's Office Rejects Family of Murdered Border Patrol Agent as Crime Victims

By William La Jeunesse
Published August 11, 2011
| FoxNews.com

In a surprise move in a controversial case, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona is opposing a routine motion by the family of murdered Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry to qualify as crime victims in the eyes of the court.

The family asked to intervene as victims in the case against Jamie Avila, the 23-year-old Phoenix man who purchased the guns allegedly used to kill Terry. Such motions are routinely approved by prosecutors, but may be opposed by defense attorneys.

However in this case, U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke argues because the family was not "directly or proximately harmed" by the illegal purchase of the murder weapon, it does not meet the definition of "crime victim" in the Avila case. Burke claims the victim of the Avila's gun purchases, "is not any particular person, but society in general."

Prominent litigator and the former U.S. Attorney in Florida, Kendall Coffey disagrees.

"The government apparently is saying they're not victims, even though it was a federal crime that put the murder weapon in the hands of the killer of Brian Terry," says Coffey. "They are simply rights of respect, rights of communication and the right to be heard."

Coffey and others wonder if Burke has a conflict. It was his office that led Operation Fast and Furious. The operation, while executed by agents for the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, was managed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory Hurley. Hurley drafted the response to the family's motion. It was signed by Burke.

Congressional investigators are expected to subpoena both to appear before the House Government and Oversight Committee next month to answer questions about the flawed operation that put some 2,000 weapons in the hands of the Sinaloa cartel.

"The government leaders responsible for the tragic mistakes of Operation Fast and Furious have a lot of explaining to do before Congress. But at the same time, they still have a duty under federal law to give answers, to consult and extend respect to the family," said Coffey.

Under the federal Crime Victims Rights Act, the Terry family would have the right to confer with prosecutors and speak at Avila's sentencing. Some speculate that the U.S. Attorney's Office may cut a deal with Avila in exchange for information to be used against his associates. That deal could mean little or no jail time, and a controversial sentencing day in the courtroom. Having the Terry family fight that deal, could further embarrass and complicate Burke's case.

Burke may also be trying to protect the federal government. The family may pursue a wrongful death claim against federal agents, including Burke himself.

"If the evidence shows Brian's death was proximately caused by the negligence of government, there may be a cause of action," said Paul Charlton, the family's attorney.

Coffey says that puts Burke in a tough spot.

"The government's already been put on notice that they might be facing a wrongful death action by the family. And you have to wonder if the government's efforts to deny the family the status of 'crime victims' is part of a strategy to avoid legal responsibility for some of the tragic mistakes of Operation Fast and Furious," he said.

Burke refused comment when asked why he opposed the family’s motion and his possible conflict of interest.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/08 ... z1VfcPIjIw

Obama smuggling guns and registering yours

Chuck Norris
Posted: August 21, 2011
9:00 pm Eastern





President Obama wants you to believe America's founders were in error when they gave citizens the right to bear arms.

The administration and even their Mexican counterparts have manipulated public opinion to believe that the cartel drug wars are being fueled largely by American guns. In support of that spin, they are now trying to impose a new rule and regulation that requires licensed firearms dealers in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California to report to the federal government whenever someone buys from them more than one semiautomatic rifle with certain characteristics.


Obama's Department of Justice is essentially amending the Second Amendment by changing the rules for border-state gun sales. While working under the guise of stopping illegal contraband and fighting drug cartels, the White House is in reality further imposing its gun-control agenda on the American public through back-door rule-making. This is just one more example of the feds exceeding their powers and averting congressional permission. It is also another complete disregard of the Constitution.

Based upon those illegalities, my friend and the NRA EVP and CEO, Wayne LaPierre, disclosed on Fox News recently that the NRA filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, or BATFE, to issue an injunction barring enforcement of the rule. And with NRA support, the U.S. House has also voted to withhold funding for the enforcement of the new regulation.

As LaPierre wrote in his weekly commentary last week, "The cartels run a $40 billion industry … and the [Obama] administration wants the public to believe that it's going to disarm cartels with a form? Who is the president kidding?"

Doesn't Obama know that restricting the right to bear arms primarily ties the hands of good guys, while the bad guys purchase them from a host of other illegal sources? And what part of "shall not be infringed" in the Second Amendment do the feds not understand?

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said the Justice Department will "vigorously oppose" the NRA lawsuit.

The facts are, as Wayne LaPierre points out, that cartels get their machine guns, grenades, missile launchers and tanks from Central and South America, Russia, China, international black markets and defections from the Mexican army. State Department cables, released by WikiLeaks, support those facts.

On the one hand, Fox News reported that, in 2009-10, more than 20,000 guns recovered in Mexico came from U.S. manufacturers. On the other hand, 75 percent of guns submitted to the U.S. could not be traced to a licensed gun store. But there is one place more than 2,000 crime guns could be traced: the federal government.





The winner of the largest-American-supplier-of-guns-to-Mexico award is actually the Obama administration via the Fast and Furious program – a botched, foiled and disastrous sting operation by the agency's Phoenix division to uncover a large network of cartel-linked gunrunners. During 2009-2011, through Operation Fast & Furious, the ATF facilitated the sale of 2,020 firearms to suspected smugglers over 15 months!

Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican and chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, have been researching information on the Fast and Furious program for months. Grassley and Issa recently blew the whistle that to date "hundreds of these weapons have already been recovered at crime scenes in Mexico." (Your tax dollars hard at work!)

Among the tragic consequences was the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, gunned down in the Arizona desert last December. Two AK-47 semi-automatic rifles found at the scene traced directly to the Fast & Furious sting.

As far as the Obama administration's culpability confession, Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a former Texas attorney general, recently told the Washington Times, "Acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson told congressional investigators the agency's senior leadership would have preferred to cooperate more with the congressional investigation of the operation, but Justice Department officials directed ATF not to respond and took full control of replying to briefing and document requests from Congress."

To add insult to injury, the ATF recently promoted three key supervisors of the Fast and Furious sting operation, who allowed firearms to be illegally trafficked across the U.S. border into Mexico, to new management jobs in Washington!

The truth is that the Obama administration is involved right now in a monumental cover-up regarding its criminal activity to hand over thousands of firearms to gun runners and smugglers. And to duck and dodge their responsibility of those illegalities by now coming across as the vanguard of gun control by cracking down on the sales of two guns sold to Americans at one time is preposterous hypocrisy.

Moreover, to unilaterally mandate this new federal rule so close to the Fast and Furious debacle is more than coincidental, especially in light of the fact that the administration tabled the proposed regulation in January of this year because it was "not an emergency." The only thing that has changed is the embarrassing revelation of the ATF disaster.

The Obama administration is not only trying to eliminate our Second Amendment rights but also demonize good, law-abiding American gun dealers and citizens in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. They are not only smuggling their guns but also trying to take ours. And I, for one, am not going to sit back and just watch it happen.

God, guns and guts made America. Let's keep all three.



http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.vi ... z1Vjcq26l7

RELATED

Shake-up follows flawed ATF anti-cartel project

WASHINGTON – The acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was reassigned Tuesday and Arizona's top federal prosecutor resigned in the midst of ongoing inquiries into a controversial gun-trafficking investigation that allowed hundreds of firearms to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartel enforcers and U.S. criminals.



Attorney General Eric Holder said B. Todd Jones, the chief federal prosecutor in Minnesota, would replace Kenneth Melson as acting director of the ATF. Holder said Melson will become senior adviser on forensic science in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy.

Arizona U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke, whose office is overseeing pending prosecutions in the gun investigation known as Operation Fast and Furious, resigned. Emory Hurley, an assistant federal prosecutor directly assigned to the gun prosecutions, was reassigned within the Phoenix office.

BLOG: ATF chief ousted amid trafficking probes

The shake-up represents the Obama administration's first major response to allegations that the flawed gun investigation, aimed at tracking guns to drug cartel leaders, may have been responsible for arming drug organizations in deadly encounters with Mexican and U.S. officials.

The operation was shut down last December following the killing of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in a Arizona shootout. Two weapons recovered at the scene of Terry's killing were purchased as part of the federal sting operation. It has not been determined whether either of the weapons were used to kill Terry.

Prior to Terry's killing, ATF officials allowed about 2,000 guns to be purchased by alleged cartel associates, known as straw buyers, hoping that the trail of weapons would lead to cartel leaders and their ultimate prosecutions.

The attorney general, who offered no criticism of the departing leaders, said Jones would bring a "wealth of experience" to the top job at ATF.

"I have great confidence that he will be a strong and steady influence guiding ATF in fulfilling its mission of combating violent crime by enforcing federal criminal laws and regulations in the firearms and explosives industries," Holder said.

Like Melson, Jones will hold the title of acting director for an embattled agency that has been without a permanent director for five years. Holder also said Jones would continue to serve as the chief federal prosecutor in Minnesota.

The Justice Department announcements prompted mixed reactions from Congress where the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating the ATF's Phoenix-based operation. The Justice Department's inspector general is conducting a separate review.

Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif. said the operation's "reckless disregard for safety" merited a change in leadership. But he said the panel would continue "to ensure that blame isn't offloaded on just a few individuals."

"There are still many questions to be answered about what happened in 'Operation Fast and Furious' and who else bears responsibility," Issa said. "These changes are warranted and offer an opportunity for the Justice Department to explain the role other officials and offices played in the infamous efforts to allow weapons to flow to Mexican drug cartels."

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who is assisting the congressional inquiry, said the personnel moves were "a step in the right direction."

"Today's announcement is an admission by the Obama administration that serious mistakes were made," he said. "There's a lot of blame to go around. As our investigation moves forward, and we get to the bottom of this policy, I wouldn't be surprised to see more fall out beyond the resignations and new assignments announced today."

Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House panel, said Melson and Burke both acknowledged in interviews with committee investigators that "mistakes were made and that Operation Fast and Furious lacked adequate protections for public safety."

Cummings said that in interviews with congressional investigators Melson said he was not aware of specific details about the operation until they were publicly disclosed in news accounts earlier this year.

When he later learned of the number of weapons actually involved, Melson told investigators that his stomach was "in knots."

"Fresh leadership will allow ATF to move forward and focus on its vital mission of enforcing our nation's gun laws," Cummings said.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Melson said that he would "miss" working at the agency.

"ATF employees are hard working and dedicated to the mission of protecting the public every day, and in my time here I have seen firsthand their extraordinary commitment to stopping violent crime," he said.
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Posted 21h 47m ago | Updated 9h 45m ago

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington ... 50192398/1

RELATED

Deadlier Than Irene
http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-1262964.html#1262964

The Obama administration, so proud of its "contingency planning" for Hurricane Irene, appears blind to the growing "drug storm" already overwhelming our southern neighbors. The U.S. Justice Department, paralyzed by allegations of complicity in allowing thousands of firearms to be "gunwalked" into Mexico, is busy trying to deflect blame for an "operation" gone terribly wrong. We can only hope that the O-Team looks south to the darkness on the horizon.

RELATED

Evidence Suggests Cover-Up in ATF Scandal, More Guns Appear
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-249035-shakeup.html

Just hours after the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, federal officials tried to cover up evidence that the gun that killed Terry was one the government intentionally helped sell to the Mexican cartels in a weapons trafficking program known as Operation Fast and Furious.

The revelation comes just days after a huge shake-up of government officials who oversaw the failed anti-gun trafficking program and Congress renewed its demand for more answers.

RELATED

Gun-running Holder /Obama guilty of perjury & manslaughter
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-249105.html

Many people think that Holder, Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich, and ATF Supervisor William Newell have already perjured themselves in their testimony before the Oversight Committee. For example, Holder claimed in May that he had only learned about Fast and Furious a few weeks before.

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavli ... nd_furious

Fast and Furious: US officials resign over gun sting
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-248734-shakeup.html

U.S. names new ATF chief after Mexican arms scandal
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-248703-shakeup.html

GOVERNMENT GUNRUNNERS By Chuck Baldwin
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-248848-shakeup.html

RELATED

GOP lawmakers: Coverup attempted in death of Border Patrol agent
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-249015-shakeup.html

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona tried to cover up a link between a government operation and the December 2010 death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, two Republican members of Congress are telling CBS News.

Two assault rifles that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had allegedly allowed onto the street were found at the scene of Terry's death on the Arizona side of the border



Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa and Rep. Darrell Issa of California say there's evidence that officials at ATF and the U.S. Attorney's Office sought to hide the link, CBS reports.

The two lawmakers say in a Sept. 1 letter to the Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office that Emory Hurley, the lead prosecutor on the "Fast and Furious" program that allowed illegal guns on the streets, learned almost immediately that firearms involved in the program had been recovered at the scene, according to CBS.

In the hours after Terry died, Hurley "contemplated the connection between the two cases and sought to prevent the connection from being disclosed," CBS reports.

Hurley could not be reached. The Justice Department had no comment.

RELATED

Did President Barack Obama Authorize Gun Running into Mexico?
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-249231.html

Was it the intent of the Obama Administration to escalate gun violence caused by the Mexican drug cartels, to then trace the guns used in the violence to gun shops in the United States, and ultimately to use this information as an excuse to infringe on legal gun sales and constitutionally guaranteed gun ownership in the United States?