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News is coming in that B. Todd Jones is stepping down from his position as the Director of the ATF. Jones has been in the job since 2011 when he took over in the aftermath of the Fast and Furious debacle. Among his shining achievements was an attempt to give local sherriffs the ability to ban legal (if NFA regulated) firearms in their jurisdictions, as well as proposing a ban on some of the most popular ammunition in the United States. Rumor has it . . .

that he’s headed to a top spot at the National Football League. It’s too early to tell if the old maxim that the devil you know is better than the one you don’t applies here, but you can bet your bottom samolian that whomever the Obamanauts nominate as a replacement will be no more firearms friendly than was B. Todd. The only potential saving grace is that the Senate, which will confirm any new ATF top dawg, is now in Republican hands. If that means anything.

Watch this space.

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75 COMMENTS

  1. Quick, Nick, buy another Glock!

    (And I forget … Does the recent kerfuffle mean M855 is approved in an anti-air role against airborne feral hogs?)

    • I think we should boycot the NFL if they hire him. Why should some jerk be able to go to Washington and try to take our freedom away, then get a cushy private sector job when it don’t work. Let’s start a campaign to black ball this guy from the NFL maybe the next guy will. Think twice.

      • It’s not cushy. If it’s the NFL – He’s going to work at one of the largest non-profit organizations.

        We should applaud his selflessness.

        • There’s lots of money to be made in that non-profit.

          “This year revenues for the National Football League will be somewhere just north of $9 billion, which means the league remains the most lucrative in the world. But NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, wants more. Much more. He has stated that he wants to reach $25 billion in annual revenues for the league by the year 2027.” – Forbes

          I’m sure all that goes to charity and not to the owners… I mean, members of the non-profit.

        • As I stated below a few days ago it’s all about the $$$$. The NFL out of the kindness of their big non profit heart, created a “job” for this poor soon to be unemployed man.

          “The departure of ATF Director B. Todd Jones this week was “to pursue other opportunities in the private sector,” as the official announcement declared – reportedly to a newly-created senior position with the National Football League (NFL).”

          http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2015/0321/Gun-control-advocates-lose-another-round-with-departure-of-ATF-chief-video

        • Have a refill on your Koolaid.

          “Non-profit” doesn’t mean he’s going to be living in a cardboard box and eating ramen. It just means he’s going to be pulling down a nice mid-6-figure salary to spend other peoples’ money while providing a tax write-off for absurdly rich scumbags.

      • I already boycott the NFL and all other major league sports. I have better things to spend my time and money on. I do, however; try to catch my local minor league baseball team when I can.

      • Well, you should boycott the NFL because football is boring, the treatment of football as a religion is utterly insane, and it’s beyond moronic how much money Americans waste on a child’s game instead of putting it to better use.

        • There’s also the matter of a protected monopoly enjoying nonprofit status and blackmailing local municipalities to build them billion-dollar stadiums out of the public coffer….

      • “Let’s start a campaign to black ball this guy from the NFL…”

        That’s raciss!

        • Well, they gotta have some way to call Congress racist and force them to vote for it. One step closer to the ATF disbanding and the pieces being mailed off to the 4 corners of the country.

        • I’m disappointed that you would deny an equal opportunity to differently-abled transgendered Latinas.

    • Yes,

      Did Obama push him out, or did Congress push him out?

      If Obama did it, it means he is pissed at the ATF for failing His Majesty, and will appoint someone who will do as they are told.

      If Congress did it, it means they are sick of this crap, and are finally willing to do something about it.

      • “If Obama did it, it means he is pissed at the ATF for failing His Majesty, and will appoint someone who will do as they are told.”

        Exactly what I was thinking!

        • Yep. I get tired of supposedly knowledgeable conservatives celebrating every time someone we don’t like resigns, all the while the guy who may very well appoint someone even more statist/collectivist is still in charge. Some folks keep celebrating getting out of the frying pan, only to scream, “D’oh! Owww!” in the fire. I can’t stand Holder, but his proposed replacement may be even worse for the 2A. This is nothing but, “Well, let’s wait and see” news for me.

        • I can imagine him getting the news from Zero: “Why the hell did you think that it was a good idea to put that out for public comment?!!! I thought you would be sneakier than that! Like me!”

      • I have a sneaking suspicion that the whole M855 fiasco was more of an internal display of incompetence by the ATFs senior administration. than they are letting on. It was just so transparent that they were trying to back door gun control.
        I bet the White House got on the phone with Todd and told him to do something to get a quick win and cut down on the availability of AR ammo. Todd looked at the statute and then at the ammo available for sale to the public. M855 had a scary name, it will penetrate a vest, and was very commonly used. I’m betting that Todd has very limited understanding of the technical aspects of firearms and ammunition,so he figured he had this one in bag. On top of that, it will be a real gotcha for all the annoyance they had to put up with because of the Sig brace.
        The arguments that the ATF put forward sounded like they came out of the mouth of Shannon Watts. They were arguments based on flawed logic and a lack of understanding. This leads me to believe that none of the technical staff were involved in this, as they know better, and could have come up with some more rational (although unfounded) arguments to support the ban. I’m guessing it was all senior administration involved and that’s it, and they totally dropped the ball, because they didn’t understand what they were trying to regulate, and it was obvious. This is why he’s moving on. Had he pulled this off he’d still be sitting pretty.

        • “I’m guessing it was all senior administration involved and that’s it, and they totally dropped the ball…”

          If he’s going to the NFL, he MUST be going to Oakland. (chuckle)

    • Weren’t we sans-director for years before Jones, and his appointment’s approval in congress a reaction to Sandy Hook a good-faith measure by majority Republicans? My, how our faith has been rewarded…

  5. Or it could be that he’s an honest man who could no longer stomach the treason of his boss. I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt. It’s likely that Obozo asked him to resign when he did not ban the bullets as he was instructed to.

    • I agree, though Jones may have been looking for a way out for a while.

      I don’t see how most people can endure this Obama Executive Branch for long without being an intimate insider.

      I doubt Jones’ move just happened overnight, so to speak, and the frequency with which administrators leave this Executive Branch speaks for itself.

      • I too suspect that there is possibly something could be going on behind the scenes that we don’t know… ie – He may feel like a pawn being directed to take inane actions he may otherwise not have taken by the Emperor and his crew of cronies and he’s tired of being Obama and Holder’s B*tch. Could be wrong, but I think the most recent action did not originate in his head, and he got made the fool when it failed. Not saying he’s not anti-gun, but suspect this is fallout of being set up and pawned in the 855 fiasco.

    • Mike, I would love to hear that. If it’s true, I hope he broadcasts it at the top of his lungs.

      • Can you elaborate as to how it is that he is a “good guy”? Did he push back on Holder? Did he convey to Congress information on what Holder knew and when he knew it? What did he do to investigate and punish those responsible for F&F?
        Maybe he is a good guy in that he doesn’t kick his dog and drags his feet a little when told to do something illegal. I don’t think he deserves a “good guy” rating for being better than the worst.

  7. What Tom in Oregon said, +1.

    Whereas this clown actually belongs in JAIL for “Fast and Furious” alone.

    Instead he’s been riding the gravy train throughout.

    What a country.

    @craig; Of course. You have to be to get a high post in this regime; or be something else but communist.

  8. Yawwwwn……..So he leaves………only to be replaced by clone. Different name, same boss, same agenda. Nothing transformational here.

  9. Whatever the reason, he needs to take with him that idiot who insists it’s a simple matter to turn airsoft toys into machine guns.

  11. Maybe Jones became weary of being obliged to twist reality in order to push bogus policy, and decided to move on to more suitable environs when the opportunity arose.

  12. I think Jones didn’t want to get pressured into pushing an agenda to the point he got caught up in wrong-doing. He retreated on the M855 when the rules came to light that they had already been published. He had to back off at that point. I am guessing Holder and Barry didn’t care and wanted him to push it anyway.

      • And the more they deny it, the more I believe it. “Accident”, “misprint”, or “mistake”, my sweet butt.

    • This is one of those realizations that further erodes what’s left of my belief that people are basically well-meaning.

      I guess there are limited possibilities for what’s true here:

      The “Loyal Servant” Theory
      Obama and Holder, or others in the Administration, pressured BTJ to ban M855. He dutifully followed orders, possibly after protesting that the law didn’t allow them to do that. (Or: He zealously followed orders. Or: He blindly and incompletely followed orders.) They got caught trying to bypass the rules, and now he’s the fall guy.

      The “Rogue Agency” Theory
      The whole thing was the ATF’s idea, whether BTJ’s or not. They were too aggressive and now the O Administration is making BTJ resign.

      The “Good Intentions But Clueless” Theory
      Along the lines of “never attribute to malice that which can be explained by incompetence”… Nobody in the Obama Administration actually understands firearms, much less ammo, much less terminal ballistics. They truly believe that M855 is a “cop killer” bullet, because they just don’t know any better. They set in motion a plan to save the lives of countless heroic police officers who are threatened by wackos with (mythical) easily obtainable, easily concealable handguns designed to fire ammo that has the sole purpose of piercing tank armor and blasting people into little pieces (and why would anyone need that for deer hunting?)

      The “We’re Lame Ducks So What the Heck” Theory
      BTJ was talking with the NFL all along and had told his bosses of his plans to exit. With both him and Holder on their way out, they decided to try for a parting shot but missed.

      The “Political Chessmaster” Theory
      The whole thing was a brilliantly planned plot by Bloomberg to drum up support at the state level for bans on any ammo that can penetrate common LE body armor. “Failing” at the Federal level because of the influence of the Evil Gun Lobby is only motivation for antis in states to get all hysterical and pass antigun ballot initiatives (of any sort, not just ammo bans). All backed, of course, by a massive, misleading PR blitz funded by Bloomerg bucks.

      I’m leaning toward Clueless or Chessmaster. I don’t really see many other possibilities.

  13. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

    Too bad we’ll wash our hands of one fool only to get saddled with yet another.

  14. The ATF is the problem. Not the director. Jam a Furby in the top seat or one of those NSA Barbies and it’s still the same ATF.

    • Agree. The ATF needs to be defunded and dismantled…every-last-piece-of-it.

      One can dream, after all.

      • Keep Calling & E-Mailing ; Support HB 1329 to ABOLISH the murderous , corrupt ATF.
        Push also HB 1365 to protect ammo in the future , and make your Reps / Senators LINK these bills with other ‘ Must Pass ” legislation.—— OPPOSE LYNCH ALWAYS.

      • Dismantled sounds to me like a process. I like “disbanded”, intended to mean instantaneous. Don’t bother to show up tomorrow except to pick up personal belongings and turn in your gun and ID.

        • I think “disestablished” is the word you’re looking for. It’s what I also informed them when I commented on the M855 ban as well.

          Until such time as they are defunded, disestablished, and maybe a very few of their agents absorbed into other agencies based on actual competence and merit, as opposed to political stunts, the basic problem will remain. Jones is just the head of the snake.

          Tom

  16. This seems the opportunity for a hue and cry to the Senate to refuse to confirm any nominee who lacks a track record of success at cleaning up corrupt government agencies. Nothing has happened yet on Holder’s contempt of Congress charges. Nothing has happened to reform this agency whose reputation is worse than than of the Secret Service. Leaving the agency hobbled by an acting director should be better than to confirm a permanent head chosen by this President.

    • Yeah, I would rather have a new nomination delayed until a potential republican president who might appoint someone that actually recognizes the second amendment.

      This also suggests to me that M855 might be off the table. I think he didn’t want to deal with the gun banning idiots calling him a wuss for bowing down to the gun lobby or whatever.

  19. As others have said, I think there’s a possibility that Obama and Holder wanted him to ‘damn the torpedoes’ and ram the 855 ban down everyone’s throats, despite all of the push back from Congress, potential peril to ATF, the push back from FOP, etc – and he decided it was time to pull the plug. They weren’t happy, so either by his choosing or their urging, he’s outta there. Because if you’re not a blind sycophant willing to do the emperor’s extremist bidding, you’re no good to them. This doesn’t mean he’s not anti-gun, I just don’t think 855 was his idea.

  20. B. Todd is African-American? Oh great. Bring on the “racist gun nuts” chants from the left.

    Tomorrow’s Huff Po headline:

    Black ATF Director Forced to Resign Under Pressure From Gun Owners & the NRA

  21. I have a perfect replacement in mind — Leland Yee. You gotta admit, that man knows his guns, and he’d do a greta job of smuggling arms to the Sinaloa Cartel.

  22. The only thing I can think of to say is the title to an 80’s song by Scandal, “GOODBYE TO YOU”

  23. Somewhere a village is getting their idiot back.

    The Senate MUST stop accepting Obumer’s moronic nominees and approving their own slate. Judge Roy Moore for Atty General.

  26. Think everyone is not considering the main reason he’s leaving. He is going to work for the NFL, sure he’s going to take a pay cut. OK, I’ve stopped LMAO at my own comment. Sure his pay will at least double if not triple. Safe bet that they didn’t call him after hearing about the ammo SNAFU, asking, You want a job? 99% of the time it’s always about the money.

  27. B. Todd B. Under the Bus.

    I don’t care if he was a good guy, (who should have known better), or a bad guy caught being bad (abusing executive authority).

    It just shows the desperation of this POTUS, when he doesnt get his way on gun confiscation.

    And that is good, because it underlines just how desperate this last push by the anti-gun grabbers, in the various faux campaigns, and citizen propositions, and bogus studies, and so on that the progtard echo chambers keep trying to “trade up the chain” for credibility in the Reliable Party Organs.

    Reminding everyone with common-sense how the mask has slipped off the socialist-marxist reality of the Progressive v2.0 Narrative, and the abuse of power at top, in near fascist methods when it comes to a conflict of individual freedoms vs the Tyrrany of the State.

  30. The ATF, which demonstrated its ineptness at WACO and again in this ammunition ban attempt, just needs to be eliminated. The agency has a terrible track record and duplicates the mission of other more capable agencies such as the FBI and Treasury.

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