November 4, 2011, 6:30 AM ET.

Lawmakers Seek Information on ‘Fast And Furious’ Leaks.

By Evan Perez
Lawmakers investigating a botched federal gun probe are pressing the Justice Department to provide information about media leaks discrediting a whistleblower who alerted Congress to investigative tactics that allowed firearms to be smuggled to Mexico.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Sen. Charles Grassley (R., Iowa), are investigating Operation Fast and Furious, an Arizona gun trafficking probe. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives agents, using a tactic called gun-walking, allowed suspected traffickers to buy about 2,000 firearms with the idea of tracing them. Instead, many of the guns have turned up at crime scenes in the U.S. and Mexico, including at the scene of a December shootout in Arizona that killed a border patrol agent.

In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the lawmakers sought information on media leaks, which are the subject of investigations by the Justice inspector general’s office and Office of Professional Regulation. The letter says the department forced out an employee as a result of a media leak.
Letter At:
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/ ... Holder.pdf

The Justice Department is reviewing the letter.

The lawmakers focused on the leak of a document that they said “contained information protected under the Privacy Act regarding ATF whistleblower John Dodson’s participation in an undercover law enforcement operation. This document, given to the press, was not even produced to the Committees, instead being made available only for in camera review. This leaked document was also accompanied by a set of talking points designed to undermine Agent Dodson’s credibility as a whistleblower. This egregious violation of the Privacy Act, and attempted retaliation for protected disclosures to Congress, is unacceptable.â€