About those BATF guns that went to drug cartels / Clinton
WEAPONS OF CHOICE
About those BATF guns that went to drug cartels
Congressman pushes for full disclosure by Hillary Clinton
Posted: March 31, 2011
8:29 pm Eastern
By Michael Carl
© 2011 WorldNetDaily
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At least one member of Congress is getting testy over the decision by the Obama administration to refuse to respond to requests by Sen. Charles Grassley for information from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about Operation "Fast and Furious," in which the government apparently authorized the sale of hundreds of weapons to gunrunners who promptly put them into action on behalf of drug lords in Mexico.
It appears that the death toll includes at least one member of the U.S. Border Patrol, possibly more.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., is sending a letter to Clinton, demanding that her office stop stonewalling the investigation of what's become known as "Project Gunrunner."
"Grassley wrote to you requesting basic information about the connection between Operation 'Fast and Furious' …. and the December 14, 2010, firefight that claimed the life of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry … I understand you have yet to respond and are likely to refuse Senator Grassley's request …. This refusal is mystifying," the letter says.
"More explicably, your refusal stands in stark contradiction to the promise of transparency promoted by President Obama," the letter said. "Given the gravity of this matter, this refusal is simply unacceptable."
The letter also demands the release of all records relating to last summer's Mexico City meeting between then-U. S. Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, Lanny Breuer's deputy and other unnamed officials.
"Fast and Furious" was run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and reportedly allowed guns purchased in the United States to be smuggled into Mexico for the purpose of tracking them to high-ranking members of Mexico's drug cartels.
Spokesman Seamus Kraft of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said the committee wants answers and the documents. http://oversight.house.gov/
"Documents relating to what U.S. and Mexican officials discussed with regard to Project Gunrunner and Operation Fast and Furious last summer are vital to the committee's investigation because knowing when and what was communicated about this program to Mexican officials by State and Justice will aid our understanding about who in the Justice Department's senior leadership structure blessed this reckless program; and why," Kraft stated.
Issa's letter gives Clinton a deadline of April 12 to get the documents to the House Oversight Committee and presents the rule giving Issa's committee the standing to enter the investigation.
"The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal oversight committee of the House of Representatives and may at 'any time' investigate 'any matter' as set forth in House Rule X," Issa also wrote.
Kraft says Issa fully expects Clinton's office to comply. However, when asked if Issa really believes Clinton's office will produce the documents, Kraft added that their expectations have limits.
"The answers to both of your questions lay with the administration. We cannot speak to what they have not yet done vis-a-vis Chairman Issa's inquiries," Kraft said.
Clinton's office did not respond to requests for comment on the letter.
But the Department of State website reports the U. S. government is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of the killer of ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the attempted murder of ICE agent Victor Avila. The press release doesn't mention the murder of immigration agent Brian Terry. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2011/03/159356.htm
Issa's letter to Clinton comes at the same time that ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson has declined to be a part of a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee hearing on the narcotics smuggling in the Western Hemisphere. http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-s ... ng-as-well
Angered by the deaths of about 150 Mexican citizens, Mexican Senator Luis Alberto Villarreal has called for hearings on Project Gunrunner. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110311/ap_ ... co_us_guns
WND previously has reported that Chamber of Deputies Justice Committee Chairman Humberto Benitez Trevino is also demanding an investigation into the ATF operation. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=274449
So far, attempts to contact the Mexican Senate for a comment on their investigation have been declined.
Issa earlier confirmed he has assigned four investigators to look into the escapade, in which the government allegedly allowed and encouraged gun shops to sell guns to questionable customers so the weapons could be tracked into Mexico. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=276413
WND reported recently that at least one of the gun shops that cooperated with the ATF operation became a target for a federal investigation for "illegal gun sales."
That shop was Houston-based Carter's Country, whose managers were notified by Houston's U.S. attorney that they were the subjects of an investigation.
Houston defense attorney Dick DeGuerin said that it took several court appearances and a mediation session to clear Carter's Country of any charges of wrongdoing.
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