Fast and Furious 'Flawed From the Start': An Interview With Rep. Paul Gosar


by A.W.R. Hawkins


08/18/2011


For nearly two years, Operation Fast and Furious largely took place under the radar. And it’s arguable that it would still be unknown to the majority of Americans had not Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry been gunned down with a weapon traceable to Fast and Furious on December 14, 2010. That death changed the complexion of everything by drawing attention to the fact that there are indeed weapons at large that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) allowed straw purchasers to buy and distribute among the criminal element in our society and throughout Mexico.

Following Terry’s death, questions about Fast and Furious hit critical mass, prompting Rep. Darrell Issa (R.-Calif.) to investigate the operation under the auspices of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, of which he is chairman. A number of hearings have been held before that committee, and at least two more hearings are already scheduled to take place once Congress reconvenes following summer break.

I recently spoke with Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona’s 1st District​. He serves on the oversight committee and in that capacity is one of the congressional members taking part in investigating Fast and Furious:

HUMAN EVENTS (HE): To begin with, what went wrong with Fast and Furious?

Gosar: The government knowingly put forth a flawed process in Fast and Furious that placed Border Patrol agents like Brian Terry in harm’s way: That placed every American in harm’s way, and particularly those in Arizona. Because of the implementation of Fast and Furious, there are hundreds upon hundreds of guns that we’ll only find when they show up at a crime scene.

HE: How, to your knowledge, were the weapons moved across the border?


Gosar: We don’t know. But we do know that many of the gun dealers selling the guns to the “straw purchasersâ€