Wow. Its déjà vù all over again. The Gunwalker scandal – in which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) stands accused of smuggling guns into Mexico, arming the drug runners that murdered Border Patrol Agent Terry – is one of those seemingly innocent little land mines that blows up big. Contemplating the chain of command that must have authorized this profoundly illegal program, considering the administration’s response to the growing scandal, the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention, and I’m taken back to the decade we called the 70s. Let’s take a closer look at this latter day potentially presidential scandal…
The ATF has long been an “also-ran” federal agency. As RF has pointed out on many occasions, their work overlaps that of the FBI, DEA, DHS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, state and local police and others. Since the ATF’s elevation to federal agency status (July 1, 1972), the ATF has been struggling to justify their existence.
When Mexican President Felipe Calderon took America to task [falsely] for arming the Mexican drug cartels, it was Christmas at the ATF. Finally, they had a reason to live. They secured a “mandate” (read: a fully-funded $160m budget) from the Obama administration to curb the so-called “Iron River” of guns flowing from the U.S. into Mexico. It was the first expansion of the ATF in decades.
Here’s the crux of the problem and the setup for the coverup: there IS no river of guns flowing into Mexico. While a few hundred firearms might cross America’s southern border on a annual basis, the Iron River is but a trickle. Not surprisingly, given the lack of a problem to solve and at least five federal agencies attempting to solve it, the ATF managed to apprehend only a few small time gun smugglers. And…that was it.
In November, The Inspector General issued a report condemning the ATF’s Project Gunrunner program in no uncertain terms. Specifically, the IG excoriated the ATF for bureaucratic inefficiency and failing to nab the gun-smuggling “kingpins.” Well duh. There ARE no kingpins.
The pressure for results increased dramatically. Like a gunfighter under pressure, the ATF turned to its core competency: entrapment. As TTAG has reported numerous times, the ATF has a long and ignoble history of using “sting” operations to catch illegal firearms purchasers. There were a few not-so-notable gun running busts, including an Arizona plumber.
As part of this Project Gunrunner effort, the ATF “allowed” straw purchases headed for Mexico to go through. This information first broke cover when a Houston gun dealer told the world that the ATF had green-lighted illegal rifle sales to [alleged] Mexican gun runners. In and of itself, the practice was both ineffective and reprehensible. If it could be proved that the ATF had actually put the buyers up for the deal, well, nothing. Again, quasi-legal ATF “stings” are background noise.
Only these authorized straw man purchases didn’t really work. Not on the scale that the IG and the ATF’s collective ego demanded. It’s a lot harder to sneak IN to Mexico than it is OUT of Mexico. (A one-way, revolving door. How nice.) And so the main accusation: ATF agents escorted said straw purchasers – and their “assault rifles” – across the Rio Grande and into Mexico.
When Agent Terry was killed by drug smugglers, the net was immediately abuzz with the possibility that he was shot with one of the weapons “eased” into Mexico by the ATF. At first, the notion seemed incredible. But it was soon clear that the feds went into full disaster containment mode over Agent Terry’s murder, giving credence to the rumors.
The intrepid Janet Napolitano, head honcho of Homeland Security and former Arizona Governor, raced to the scene of the crime. Since then it’s been radio silence. The FBI has refused to provide the names of the men arrested for Terry’s murder. They also put a lid on any and all other investigative findings. The Agency “declined” to honor a Freedom of Information Act request to provide information on the weapons found at the crime scene.
Meanwhile, the ATF has already decided on its defense, as illustrated by a story at usatoday.com
Bill Newell, ATF special agent in charge for Arizona, said the five separate cases, all part of Project Gunrunner, demonstrate the corruptive reach of Mexican cartels using straw buyers to acquire guns in Arizona for illegal shipment south.
Asked whether agents purposely allowed firearms to enter Mexico as part of an investigation, Newell answered, “Hell, no.” But, he said, suspects under surveillance sometimes elude agents, which could result in guns winding up in Mexico.
So it was an “accident.” Unless the ATF agents did, in fact, walk the guns into Mexico. In that case, there will be hell to pay.
Let’s pause for a moment and consider the implications. The ATF allowed perhaps even transported weapons into Mexico. Two of those weapons may have been used to murder a federal officer. If true, the head of the ATF knows this. The head of the FBI knows this. The head of the Department of Homeland Security knows this. Did anyone bother to tell the President of the United States? One can only assume so.
So what did President Obama know about Project Gunrunner’s criminal conspiracy to murder and when did he know it?
Enter Sen. Charles Grassley, who, By God, is Going To Get To The Bottom Of This. He’s written a letter to acting ATF head Kenneth Melson. Melson is stonewalling. Meanwhile, Grassley says the ATF has read the riot act to the ATF whistleblower who provided evidence of the connection between Project Gunrunner and Agent Terry’s murder.
The administration hasn’t come clean, and shows no inclination to do so. Their instinct is to circle the wagons, damn the torpedoes and stonewall, stonewall, stonewall. But all that stonewalling leads to wretched excesses, where one question ducked leads to a misinterpretation, never corrected, which festers and boils, until you have a real, honest-to God cover-up on your hands.
I don’t want to come across as a nattering nabob of negativism. I’m deeply skeptical of the idea that the President of the United States knew that the ATF was smuggling guns into Mexico – at least until this scandal broke. I think this was a bottom-up job. Clumsy? Yep. Criminal? Definitely. But Obama’s fault (other than failing to keep a watchful eye on the ATF)? Nope. However…
The cover-up is a genuine concern that could well be laid at the feet of the president. Ask yourself a couple of questions…Why did a cabinet-level chieftain fly down to personally oversee the…the…what, exactly? Investigation? Stonewalling? Cover-up? I dunno.
And nobody else outside of the Administration knows either. If the instructions came from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (and that’s a big IF, at this point), then Houston, we have a problem. If the White House ordered Napolitano to put a lid on this thing, that constitutes obstruction of justice. And that’s a big-time crime.
Now you’d think they’d know better. Something like this happens the first thing Obama should do is go on national TV and say something like “We don’t know what happened – yet. But we will. I am dispatching a team to the scene to get the facts. We will report on our findings every step along the way. And just like we had embedded reporters on the front lines of the war, we will embed reporters here, to make certain that there is no coverup.”
Case closed. Problem solved. The MSM gets their red meat. The damage is controlled, and limited to a black eye or a fat lip. Not a fatal wound. The way they’ve played it, we’ll have to wait and see who gets thrown under the campaign bus to prevent Obama from taking a Humpty-Dumpty-like fall from grace.
This is a really bad time for the Obama administration to have its focus diverted to matters of self-preservation. Egypt’s going up in flames. Obamacare’s been shot down in flames. The President is already facing an uphill climb for a second term. Is Obama fiddling while his administration burns?We shall see.
But as we watch the Gunwalker-gate events unfold in the Senate and on TV, remember that the Watergate scandal that destroyed a presidency started with a piece of duct tape on a door. And never forget that a brave border agent, a former Marine, may have died for the ATF’s sins.
[Click here for RF’s post Gunwalker Scandal Set to Blow]
UPDATE: The LA Times confirms that the drug gang that murdered Agent Terry used ATF-enabled rifles. The ATF is in full damage control mode, blaming low funding for their inability to “monitor” the guns. Click here for more.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/01/AR2011020106366.html
We’ll see if Redford and Hoffman still work at the Post.
Very funny..
Are you kidding? The Post is the ATF’s pocket pool partner. The WaPo based their entire Secret Life of Guns series on info spoon fed to them by the ATF. Part of that series: an entire article devoted to the fact that the NRA has “hamstrung” the brave and virtuous agency. Check this excerpt from your article.
“Court records do not indicate that the agents deliberately allowed weapons to cross the border into Mexico. On at least two occasions, agents stopped and seized arms shipments headed for the border.”
Nope. The Post’s Watergate heyday is behind it.
WaPo has done a 180 in ethos from the days of Watergate. 75% of WaPo’s operating profit (and about60% of gross rev) comes from the for profit Kaplan University. Ya know, the online schools that are currently enlisting to the poor and uninformed to enable WaPo to rape our federal student loan system. But I digress…
Investigative journalism is expensive and by its very nature will offend plutocrats and power brokers. WaPo is now dependent on plutocrats and power brokers to maintain profit margins. They don’t want to piss off the hand that throws them million dollar bills.
So, basing a piece on straight propaganda from BATFE (or any agency) is both cheap, and serves the interests of our new feudal overlords.
Still lots of ifs, but I’ll definitely keep track of this story. Lest we forget, Nixon was a Republican president, which in the eyes of the mainstream media, made him (and everyone around him) a free-fire zone. Barack Obama will of course be treated to much, much tighter rules of engagement. It will be interesting to see if the new media is powerful enough to move this story forward.
Can we PLEASE refrain from adding “gate” to the end of this scandal?! New millenium, new scandal… with a pretty cool name of its own already. Who knows, maybe after this all scandals will be christened with a “walker” at the end.
I doubt this could bring down Obama. Nixon went down because of his obvious and blatant involvement in Watergate. We’ll have see how this all plays out.
Nixon wasn’t involved with Watergate at all. He was unfortunately heavily involved in the cover-up. If his idiotic and dishonorable underlings had taken responsibility for their actions (and if hadn’t allowed himself to get involved) then there wouldn’t have been a scandal. We’ll see how well the analogy holds in this case.
Oh Yes, US Presidents have always been known to take the fall for the mistakes of those that work under them.
What if? If my uncle wore a dress he’d be my aunt. I don’t know who knew what or when. My crystal ball was broken the day they gave it to me ( you know who “they” are). The BATFE wanted to justify their existance this is nothing new.
Obama just doesn’t have the jowls – which made every Tricky Dick TV appearance amusing to watch.
You’re kidding…ELEVEN comments and nobody’s noticed the snarky details in the background of my Photoshop mashup? Puh-leeeeze. You guys are slippin’…
The white shoes are appropriate with a tip o’ the hat to Gerald Celente.
Obviously O’Sotero is NOT a crook, as he flashes gang signs.
Is it too late for the powers-that-be to repent, or do we have to make the hard choices to preserve humanity?
Or were you referring to the skulls on the rotor and the extra stars on the flag? Didn’t O’Sotero refer to all 53 states?
“Take down Obama?” You’re kidding, right? The only people who care about this are people who already oppose Obama.
My prediction: Not only does Obama keep his job, so does everyone in the BATFE.
Gunwalker takes down POTUS? No chance. Now, if Brad can Photoshop a picture of POTUS, Traver and a goat, that might do the trick.
Obama will be one and done as president, he’s got no chance the next time around.
In two words, probably not. I know a bit about this because I’m the guy (along with David Codrea at War on Guns) who broke this story on 28 December, worked behind the scenes to get the Senators to contact the ATF agents (not the other way around as is being reported, and if you have any knowledge of the way the federal system treats whistleblowers you’ll understand why), and first published the Grassley letters (scooping the Associated Press who had been sitting on the first one for days). David and I continue to work this story, using all the sources within and without the agency that we’ve developed over the past couple of years. For a summary and timeline of the how this scandal broke, go here:
http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2011/01/sources-timeline-summary-of-atf-project.html
For David’s latest compilation of posts and timeline, go here:
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/a-journalist-s-guide-to-project-gunwalker
We have both hectored and vectored “authorized journalists” onto this story, gradually convincing them of the story’s credibility. You will see much more of this story in the coming year, but it started, following a single rumor posted by an ATF agent on CleanUpATF.org, with our two little blogs.
Knowing what I know from our sources about this scandal, where it came from and who it leads to, I can say that the author is engaging in irrational exuberance. There are employees of ATF and Main Justice who will certainly be risking federal prison in the coming months, including the top tier of Main Justice. I predict flatly that Holder will not survive this scandal. But Obama?
At this point, very unlikely.
Mike Vanderboegh
The alleged leader of a merry band of Three Percenters
http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com
[email protected]
Why can’t you tell your sources in the ATF to go to WikiLeaks as fast as he can say “Hughes Amendment?”
Just a reminder ~ not only was the WarshPost pushing the BS story on heavy gun exports from the US to Mexico, they had gone to Walter Reed more than a year ago to interview just about everybody in the outpatient psychiatric unit (which made use of that old off post hotel with the nasty plaster job).
What you have seen since is that Dana Priest, the leader reporterette on that piece has LITERALLY disappeared from having a byline at the Post ~ despite getting two Pulitzer Prizes for her plaster and paint scandal.
So, why? Well, it was pretty obvious to me that she and her gang could not possibly have done all those interviews and missed discussion of then Captain Hassan, the crazy Arab who murdered 13 soldiers and a baby at Fort Polk.
So, we have to assume they interviewed him, and missed out on the story of the year just skipping right on by a JIHADI IN THE ARMY. They had him. They screwed up.
Is it the Post ~ is it their quality ~ or, does the Post follow White House dictat regarding JIHADIS.
It’s almost as if Dana is in the federal witness protection program these days.
Expect the same of these guys who did the propaganda pieces for ATF.
Seems to me the state where the agent was killed can INVESTIGATE and BRING CHARGES ~ which they should do.
Same with Major Hassan ~ that case cannot be trusted to the federales. Even if he’s not mentally capable of standing trial, he can just lay there paralyzed while all these witnesses are called in by the prosecution INCLUDING Hassan’s chain of command!
Our US government that is supposed to abide by/enforce the law is not doing so, and has become THE criminal. There is no doubt that the BATF, the US Justice Dept., and certainly the POTUS were privy to the efforts to “walk” weapons into Mexico in a lame scam to connect guns sold in the US to the drug war ongoing in Mexico. A direct an inexcuseable attack on our 2nd amendment. Thus, the government could justify more gun control. With no concern for lives lost, numerous families destroyed, and no concern for anything , especially the US Constitution/Law. A typical destructive liberal agenda. There are a considerable number of people in the Obama Administration who need to go to jail. An act as intentional, cruel and malicious as this must not be swept under the rug. Here is a crime that defines the base character of our Government ‘law enforcement’ agency.
SUGGESTED READING LIST
annotated bibliography
Bari, Judi. TIMBER WARS. Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1994.
The F.B.I. attempted to stop the political activity of Judi Bari and Daryl Cherney by exploding a
bomb under their car. Daryl Cherney and Judi Bari filed a Civil lawsuit
against the FBI and Oakland police. A jury awarded them $4.4 million
dollars in 2003. see http://www.judibari.org
Bowen Roger. INNOCENCE IS NOT ENOUGH: The Life and Death of Herbert Norman
New York USA M.E. Sharpe Inc 1988
Looks at FBI assassination of Herbert Norman, Canadian Ambassador to Egypt.
Buitrago, Ann Mari. F.B.I. FILES. Grove Press, 1981.
Covers the procedures for obtaining and interpreting your F.B.I. file.
Burnham, David. ABOVE THE LAW. Scribner, 1996.
Looks at secret deals and fixing of cases by the Justice Department for corporations.
Burnham was the New York Times reporter who broke the story about New York City cop Serpico and Police corruption.
He was the reporter on route to meet Karen Silkwood when she was found murdered. Read his other book A LAW UNTO ITSELF.
It details how FBI agents collaborate with the IRS to target political activists.
see his important website about the FBI
here http://trac.syr.edu/
Burnham, David A LAW UNTO ITSELF Vintage January 30, 1991 ISBN-10: 0679732837
Exposes FBI agents using the IRS to cripple political activists.
Buttino, Frank. A SPECIAL AGENT. William Morrow, 1993.
Investigates F.B.I. attacks on gay FBI agents .
This book is written by a FBI agent who is gay. It details how other FBI
agents tormented him .
Carson, Clayborne. MALCOLM X: THE F.B.I. FILE. Carroll & Graf, 1991.
Looks at the evidence for the F.B.I. assassination of Malcolm X.
Cashill,Jack, Sanders,James. FIRST STRIKE Thomas Nelson Press, 2003
Overwhelming evidence presented by Dr. Cashill on the downing of TWA
Flight 800 by a missle over Long Island and the ensuing cover-up by FBI
agents.One of my favorite books. see their documentary about the same
subject called SILENCED here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7Nm2Ql1-qk
Charns, Alexander. CLOAK AND GAVEL. University of Illinois Press. 1992.
After reviewing thousands of pages of FBI documents the attorney author
exposes the FBI illegal phone tapping of the Supreme Court and how the
FBI fix court cases and work behind the scenes to get “their man”
appointed to the Supreme Court. Written by a lawyer active in Human
Rights.
Churchill, Ward. AGENTS OF REPRESSION. South End Press, 1988.
Professor Churchill gives first hand accounts of F.B.I. death squad
activities. This book is a classic and is a must read along with THE
COINTELPRO PAPERS
Churchill, Ward. THE COINTELPRO PAPERS. South End Press, 1990.
Explores how the F.B.I. disrupts legitimate political activities and engage in Death Squad activities.
Criley, Richard. THE F.B.I. VS. THE FIRST AMENDMENT. First Amendment Foundation, 1990.
Looks at the destruction of the First Amendment by the F.B.I.
Davis, John. MAFIA KINGFISH: CARLOS MARCELLO AND THE ASSASSINATION OF JOHN F.
KENNEDY. McGraw-Hill, 1989.
A must read book in understanding how the FBI has used the Mafia to carry out the assassination of President Kennedy.
De Camp, John. THE FRANKLIN COVERUP. AWT Publishers, 1992.
A former Republican state senator from Nebraska writes about a
pedophile ring involved in the kidnaping, sexual torture and murder of
children that went all the way to the Bush White House.
Attorney DeCamp discusses the FBI role in the coverup of this case and
the murder of a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the
pedophile ring.This book will keep you awake at night and is an active
barometer for evil indexing how the FBI crime family operates.
Dempsey, James X. and David Cole. TERRORISM AND THE CONSTITUTION: SACRIFICING CIVIL
LIBERTIES IN THE NAME OF NATIONAL SECURITY. Los Angeles, CA: First Amendment
Foundation, 1999. Examines FBI campaign of terror to undermine civil
liberties. Attorney Dempsey worked for Congressman Don Edwards who was
a former FBI agent.
Diamond, Sigmund. COMPROMISED CAMPUS. Oxford University Press, 1992.
Professor Diamond attempts to get F.B.I. files showing collaboration
between F.B.I. agents and professors at universities from 1945-1955.
The FBI created the Patriot Act , in part, because of this book.
Donner, Frank. PROTECTORS OF PRIVILEGE. University of California Press, 1990.
Looks at the death squad collaboration between local police and F.B.I. agents to stifle the Bill of Rights.
Dwyer, James. TWO SECONDS UNDER THE WORLD. Diane publishers 1997.
The most important book you will read on understanding FBI agents Floyd
and Anticev creating the 1993 terrorist act at the World Trade Center.
This book lays out in detail how the FBI engineered
the 1993 World Trade Center explosion.
Emerson, Steven and Brian Duffy. THE FALL OF PAN AM 103. G.B. Putnam’s Sons, 1990.
Oliver Revell was the number 2 man at the F.B.I. until he was demoted
by F.B.I. Director William Sessions to the Dallas Field Office. His son
Chris Revell had tickets for Pan Am 103, but he changed his flight two days before the plane
exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. See Ross Gelbspan’s book, BREAK-INS,
DEATH THREATS AND THE FBI to get a fuller picture of Oliver Revell.
Foerstel, Herbert. SURVEILLANCE IN THE STACKS. Greenwood Press, 1991.
Looks at attempts by the F.B.I. to get librarians to spy on the American public .The FBI created the Library Clauses in the Patriot Act because of this book.
Gallagher, Dorothy. ALL THE RIGHT ENEMIES. Penguin Books, 1988.
The F.B.I. utilized the Mafia to carry out its executions against Presidents and political activists from 1930 through 2000.
Carlos Tresca was one of their victims.
Gelbspan, Ross. BREAK- INS, DEATH THREATS, AND THE F.B.I. South End Press, 1991.
This Pulitzer Prize winning reporter formerly with the Boston Globe,
details the F.B.I. death squad collaboration with the death squads in
El Salvador and their attacks upon American groups opposed to those
death squads.
Glick, Brian. WAR AT HOME. South End Press, 1989.
Attorney Glick details the F.B.I.’s covert war against political activists.
Hoffman, David. THE OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING AND THE POLITICS OF TERROR. Feral
House, 1998.
Contains detailed evidence about the FBI alliance with the terrorist
underworld, and how FBI agent provocateurs are behind many of the
current bombings that have plagued the United States since the fall of
the Berlin Wall. Some current thinking has FBI agents creating these
acts to fill the void caused by the downfall of communism and replacing
communism with the new boogeyman Islam.
Hougan, Jim. SPOOKS. William Morrow, 1978.
Important book detailing the life of former F.B.I. agent Robert Maheux
and his relationship with the Mafia. Groundbreaking book in
understanding FBI collaboration with the Mafia, using it to carry out
assassinations on President Kennedy, Martin Luther King and others.
Maheux was the liason between the Mafia and the FBI when the FBI assassinated President Kennedy and Martin Luther King.
Kaiser, Marty . Odyssey of an Eavesdropper( My Life in electronic
countermeasures and my battle against the FBI) W Carroll & Graf 2005
Author exposes wiretapping crimes committed by FBI agents as well as
Business Fraud. He built the wiretapping devices for FBI agents that
were later used in crimes committed against people like Martin Luther
King and public officials.After exposing FBI agents kickback schemes to
Congress the author became a target of retaliation by tax payer funded
FBI agents. see http://www.martykaiser.com/odyssey2.htm
Keith, Jim. OK BOMB. Illuminate, 1996.
Explores FBI coverup in the Oklahoma City bombing investigation.
Kelly, John F. TAINTING EVIDENCE. The Free Press 1998. The book is
based on testimony of FBI lab Whistleblower Dr. Frederick Whitehurst ,
an employee of the FBI for 17 years. Shows how bad the FBI Lab is run.
Dr. Whitehurst was the chemist who analyzed Timothy McVeigh’s clothes
for traces of ammonium nitrate and was removed from the case when he
did not find any bomb residue.
see
http://www.whistleblowers.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=108
Lehr, Dick & O’Neill, Gerard. BLACK MASS. Public Affairs, 2000.
Looks at the FBI’s collaboration in Boston with the Mafia and Irish Mob
between 1960 and 2001 in which they collaborated in the murder of 21
women,children and men. Important book showing how the FBI uses the
Mafia to commit political and other assassinations .see
http://www.thebrothersbulger.com/
McGhee , Millie WHAT’S DONE IN THE DARK Allen Morris 2005
The author is a afro american relative of FBI Director J Edgar Hoover
who is successful in presenting evidence that FBI Director Hoover is part African-American
and related to her.
The book details the research conducted by Ms McGhee and how FBI agents tried to stop her from writing the book. Photographs show reunion of white and black relatives united by the research in this book. FBI Director J Edgar Hoover was the descendant of Mississippi slaves.
Melanson, Phillip. THE MURKIN CONSPIRACY. Praeger, 1989.
Professor Melanson looks at the F.B.I.’s role in the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Melanson, Phillip. THE ROBERT KENNEDY ASSASSINATION. Shapolsky, 1991.
Professor Melanson was in charge of the Robert Kennedy archives at the University of Massachusetts.
He detailed the F.B.I.’s role as one of the principal architects in the assassination of Robert Kennedy.
Messerschmidt, Jim. THE TRIAL OF LEONARD PELTIER. South End Press, 1983.
Looks at the miscarriage of justice in the F.B.I.’s handling of the Leonard Peltier case.
Morrow, Robert First Hand Knowledge: How I Participated in the CIA-Mafia Murder of President Kennedy (New York: S.P.I. Books, 1992)
Oklahoma City Bombing Investigative Committee. THE FINAL REPORT.2001.
The book providing evidence of FBI involvement in the Oklahoma City
Bombing .
Navasky, Victor. INVESTIGATING THE F.B.I. Doubleday, 1973.
Contains material presented at a major conference at Princeton University in 1971 investigating
crimes committed by the FBI.
Neff, James. MOBBED UP. Dell Publishers 1988.
Important book in understanding FBI collaboration with the Mafia
especially how the Bureau uses the Mafia to carry out its political
assassinations.
Nelson, Jack. THE F.B.I. AND THE BERRIGANS. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1972.
Looks at F.B.I. death squad directed against Nobel Peace Prize nominee Phil Berrigan and his
brother, Jesuit priest Daniel Berrigan.
Olsen, Jack. LAST MAN STANDING: THE TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH OF GERONIMO PRATT.
Doubleday, 2000.
Provides supporting evidence for the idea of the F.B.I. as a death
squad. Examines the F.B.I. acts of genocide against Afro-Americans .
Looks at how FBI agents framed Geronimo Pratt, a Afro American Viet-nam
vet who spent over 25 years in prison before a judge released him
saying he was innocent and framed by FBI agents.
Vermont filmaker has issued a 4 DVD collection of her films
about the Black Panthers. She interviews retired FBI agent
Wesley Swearingen who was part of the FBI Racial Squad in San Fransisco that put Pratt in prison see http://www.newsreel.us/
O’Reilly, Kenneth. RACIAL MATTERS. Free Press, 1989.
Professor O’Reilly looks at a file called Racial Matters that the F.B.I. is keeping on Black America.
Parenti, Michael. DIRTY TRUTHS. City Lights Books, 1996.
Dr. Parenti looks at the evidence for F.B.I. involvement in the
assassination of labor leader Walter Reuther while he was organizing
protests against the Vietnam War. It includes the essay “Why the Left
is Afraid to look at the Assassination of JFK” .
Pepper, William. ORDERS TO KILL. Carroll and Graf, 1995.
Attorney Pepper represented James Earl Ray in his bid for a new trial
and won a landmark case in civil court in December 1999 for the Martin
Luther King Jr. family. The jury in the case concluded hat the F.B.I.
was involved in the assassination of King. His book details our
government’s involvement and provides photographic evidence of the
F.B.I.’s role in this assassination.
Pepper,William. ACT OF STATE: THE EXECUTION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING Verso Press, 2003
The evidence from the 1999 Civil Trial in Memphis brought by the King
family in which the jury concluded FBI agents were principal architects
in the assassination of Martin Luther King. Written by the trial
attorney William Pepper.
Powers, Richard Gid. SECRECY AND POWER. Free Press, 1987.
A biography of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and his quest for power.
Powers, Tyrone. EYES TO MY SOUL. Majority Press, 1996.
Professor Powers an afro-american, talks about his 9 years working as
an F.B.I. agent, and the racism in the FBI . Powers discusses the FBI
FRUHMENSCHEN program set up in the 1920’s thru 2010 to target black
politicians in sting operations without cause because the FBI feels
blacks are incpable of governing. White agents tried to kill him when
he was writing this book by blowing up his FBI issued car with him in
it..
Ranalli, Ralph. DEADLY ALLIANCE. Harper Torch, 2001
Boston Globe reporter Ralph Rannali exposes FBI collaboration with the
Boston Mafia from 1930-2009 where they ran a Murder Inc. President Bush
asserted Executive Privilege in 2002 preventing
Congress from seeing the Federal Prosecutor’s Investigative files on this case.
Robbins, Natalie. ALIEN INK. William Morrow, 1992.
Ms. Robbins acquired the F.B.I. files on the major writers and artists of the 20th century, and examines F.B.I. agents neutralizing them and their freedom of expression.
Schultz, Bud and Ruth. IT DID HAPPEN HERE. University of California Press, 1989.
Contains interviews with human rights activists who survived F.B.I. assassination attempts.
Schultz, Bud and Ruth. THE PRICE OF DISSENT. University of California Press , 2001
The sequel to IT DID HAPPEN HERE with more interviews with civil rights activists , union organizers and anti-war protestors who survived FBI assassination attempts and with family members of people who were murdered.
Seymour, Sheri. COMMITTEE OF THE STATES. Self-published, 1989.
The F.B.I. infiltrated the California Militia 10 years before the Oklahoma City bombing. The book illustrates how easy it was for the F.B.I. to infiltrate the group and get it to make bombs.
Shows how easy it was for FBI agent provocteur to get Timothy McVeigh to make bomb and drive the truck. The exact same scenario
occured in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. google floyd
anticev salem
Sharkey, Joe. ABOVE SUSPICION. Simon & Schuster, 1993.
Looks at the F.B.I. coverup involving one of its own agents Mark Putnam, who murdered his informant after he got her pregnant.
FBI agent Putnam was eventually sentenced to prison for their murder thanks to the dogged work of the Kentucky State Police.
click link and scroll down to obituary of his wife. http://betrayedbylovemovie.blogspot.com/
Suarez, Manuel. REQUIEM ON CERRO MARAVILLA. Waterfront Press, 1987.
Looks at F.B.I. collaboration with local police in the arrest, handcuffing, and death squad execution of two teenagers in Puerto Rico.
Summers, Anthony. OFFICIAL AND CONFIDENTIAL. G.B. Putnam and Sons, 1993.
This is the book on which the PBS Frontline documentary on J. Edgar Hoover and his friendship with the Mafia is based. In my eyes, this PBS program was the turning point in the good fortune the FBI has enjoyed for over 80 years.
Swearingen, Wesley. F.B.I. Secrets: An Agents Expose South End Press 1994
Swearingen is a retired FBI agent currently living in the San Diego area who was a member
of the FBI San Fransisco Office racial Squad.
The FBI has Racial Squads in every major American City. The function of the FBI Racial Squad is to assassinate or neutralize
black politicians and black activists who do not reflect the philosophy of American Corporations. Vermont filmaker Roz Payne has
interviewed Swearingen and he is on her recently released 4 DVD about the Black Panthers see http://www.newsreel.us/
Swearingen,Wesley, To Kill a President: Finally – an Ex-FBI Agent Rips Aside the Veil of Secrecy that Killed JFK 2006
According to Swearingen, Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone in assassinating Kennedy as was claimed by the FBI, the Warren Commission and other investigating bodies. Instead, he argues that rogue CIA agents acting in concert with the mafia and certain Cuban exiles plotted to kill Kennedy. Swearingen contends that the conspiracy was covered up by the FBI, an effort that continues to this day through the agency’s unwillingness to disclose key details about the events surrounding Kennedy’s death. see http://www.lewrockwell.com/pr/new-book-fbi-cia-jfk-killing.html
Theoharis, Athan. THE F.B.I. Garland Publishers, 1994.
Professor Theoharis has compiled a comprehensive listing of books and articles about the F.B.I. up to 1994.
Thomas, Kenn. THE OCTOPUS. Feral House, 1996.
Investigates the F.B.I.’s role in the killing of investigative reporter Danny Casolero while he was investigating the October Surprise.
Turner, William. THE ASSASSINATION OF ROBERT KENNEDY. Thunder Mouth Press, 1993.
Written by a former F.B.I. agent, it looks at the F.B.I.’s involvement in the assassination of Robert Kennedy.
Turner, William. REARVIEW MIRROR foreword by Oliver Stone. Penmarin Books CA 2001.
More updated information on FBI involvement in President Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Assassination written by a former FBI agent.
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. WHO IS GUARDING THE GUARDIANS? A Report on Police
Death Squad activities. 1981.
Wiener, Jon. GIMME SOME TRUTH. University of California Press, 1999.
Professor Wiener looks at the 14 year battle with the F.B.I. to get them to release their files on John Lennon.How many rock stars
has the FBI assassinated?
SUGGESTED WEB SITES AND VIDEOS
http://lasthurrahbookshop.net/mafia.html
http://www.copvcia.com
http://www.mikeruppert.blogspot.com/
http://www.narconews.com
http://www.911pressfortruth.com
http://www.911inquiry.org
http://www.ae911truth.org/
http://www.heatisonline.org
http://www.whistleblowers.org
http://www.zpub.com/notes/fbi-shame.html
VIDEOS:
WACO:RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
SILENCED Jack Cashill
THE GREAT DECEPTION Barry Zwicker
TRUTH&LIES 911 Mike Ruppert
AFTERMATH:UNANSWEREDQUESTIONS
GUN RUNNERS? OR TRAITORS? 7/6/2011
1. Dan az says:
July 6, 2011 at 1:56 pm
OK look I waited all day for you to moderate and now I’m just going to post it.Maybe in the future we could get a little acceptance of sites that we need to share with out going to these such extremes.
Shortly after President Obama took office in January 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched a coordinated effort to pass more gun control laws here in the U.S.. The justification? 90% of military style semi-automatic rifles used in the cartel wars in Mexico were bought in U.S. gun stores and smuggled across the boarder.
There was only one problem: It was all a big lie. We now know that not only did the Justice Department know that the 90% figure was inaccurate, the State Department knew where the bulk of the rifles were actually coming from: Central America and U.S. sales to the Mexican Military.
The current timeline of the scandal provides the strongest support yet for the theory that administration officials first lied about the source of Mexican crime guns and then set about trying to support that lie by increasing the number of guns “going south”.
Early 2009: High ranking members of the administration launch a major campaign to pass a new “Assault Weapons Ban” in the U.S.. Over and over they state that 90% of weapons recovered in Mexico come from U.S. gun shops.
It should be noted that the original 90% figure was developed BY BATFE under the Bush administration, as noted in a Feb 2008 press release. However, it was the Obama administration that used this figure in a ‘full court press” aimed at passing a new “assault weapons” ban.
Almost immediately, the 90% figure is called into question. Eventually it becomes apparent that:
1) 90% of guns reported to the U.S. BATFE for tracing are found to have come from the U.S.. HOWEVER: ONLY ABOUT ONE IN FIVE GUNS RECOVERED IN MEXICO IS SUBMITTED FOR TRACING. Even the left leaning factcheck.org recognizes that the real figure is no more than 18%, not 90%.
2) The administration was also including any firearm come from the U.S. in its’ figures – including firearms sold to the Mexican military and diverted to the cartels. Information revealed by Wikileaks confirms that the State Department was well aware that large numbers of these weapons were ending up in the hands of the cartels – and BATFE would discover this when they ran the trace. Counting these guns as coming from U.S. gun shops was flat out dishonest.
3) Wikileaks now also confirms that at the time the “90% lie” was being sold to the U.S. public, Hillary Clinton’s own State Department knew that the majority of weapons (other than handguns) were actually coming from Central America, not the U.S. This would include the so-called “assault weapons” the administration was seeking to ban.
In short, there is now ample proof that one of the first things the new Obama administration did upon taking office was to use information they absolutely knew was false to attempt to pass new gun control laws.
Sadly, the story does not end there. It appears that the administration may have reacted to the exposure of their lie by trying to make it come true.
Early 2009: At virtually the same time: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) began ordering gun dealers to sell guns to suspected smugglers.
Early 2009 to late 2010: Instead of arresting the smugglers, ATF agents are ordered to watch as the guns are smuggled into Mexico. Over and over they beg for permission to stop the guns from going into Mexico – every time the order is the same; Stand down.
Late 2010: Reports of the policy begin to appear on the insider web forum cleanupatf.org.
December 14th 2010, just after 11:00pm: US Boarder Patrol Agent Brain Terry is killed with an AK-47 smuggled into Mexico with the help of ATF.
December 28th 2010: The first whistle-blowing agent makes contact with gun rights media reporters David Codrea and Mike Vanderboegh. This first agent states that the program’s purpose was to increase the number of US guns recovered in Mexico in order to justify further gun control laws in the US and increase ATF’s budget.
January 22, 2011: World Net Daily becomes the first news outlet outside the “gun rights” media to report the story.
Late January 2011: ATF supervisors begin threatening whistle-blowers in an effort to stop the story.
January 30, 2011: Mexican press begins reporting on the scandal. Over the next two months it becomes and remains front page news throughout the country.. Mexican lawmakers are furious and demand that the US Agents be extradited for trial in Mexico. The US Ambassador is forced to resign. In late March the Mexican Attorney General states that an investigation is under way and that he is willing to bring charges against US Officials.
January 30, 2011: Sen. Charles Grassly offers his protection to whistle-blowers. His staffers begin investigating.
February 2, 2011: Fox News Online carries a story on the scandal.
February 2011: ATF officials try to stonewall Sen Grassly – in doesn’t work. He continues to demand answers. Approximately 12 ATF agents come forward to aid his investigation.
February 15, 2011: The Washington Times begins reporting on the story.
February 23, 2011: Sharyl Attkisson of CBS news becomes the first mainstream broadcast news reporter to report the story. She continues to dig and report for the next 6 weeks, joined belatedly by Fox News. Two brave agents go on camera to confirm the story.
March 4, 2011: Rush Limbaugh discovers the story and shares it with his 20 million listeners.
March 16, 2011: Rep. Darrel Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, calls on the ATF to answer questions and produce documents about “gunwalking” operations where guns were allegedly allowed into Mexico in order to track drug cartels. Issa already has copies of many documents supplied by BATFE whistleblowers. Congressional hearings are now certain.
March 23, 2011: In an interview with the Mexican TV network Univision, Pres. Obama goes on the record stating that neither he, nor Attorney General Eric Holder had knowledge of guns being smuggled into Mexico with the knowledge and aid of ATF.
March 27, 2011: The highest ranking agent yet goes on camera. The now retired agent was head of ATF operations in Mexico during the entire time the guns were going south. He described how he protested the policy over and over. The response was that this operation had been approved at the highest levels of both ATF and the Justice Department.
April 1, 2011 – BATFE refuses to provide requested information to Rep. Issa’s oversight committee. Issa’s committee issues subpoenas.
April 9, 2011 – It is revealed that the Phoenix office Special Assistant Agent in Charge, George Gillett, is cooperating with Senator Charles Grassley’s and Rep. Issa’s investigation into the scandal. The majority of the guns smuggled south with the help of BATFE came from the Phoenix office. CBS Report here.
April 20, 2011 – Rep. Issa warns the acting head of BATFE the if he does not provide the requested information, he will be charged with contempt of congress.
April 26, 2001 – The left wing website Huffington Post reports the story, calling it, “Obama’s Mexicogate”.
May 3-4, 2011 – Eric Holder finally testifies before Congress. He denies that he, or Asst. AG Lanny Breuer had any knowledge of the operation. Fox News reports that his testimony was FALSE.
The new Charges:
1) ATF agents actually BOUGHT THE GUNS that went to cartels
2) U.S. Attorney AZ Dennis Burke knew and approved of the operation
3) As did Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer- Holder is his immediate supervisor
May 4, 2011 – CBS confirms HOLDER”S IMMEDIATE SUBORDINATE KNEW ABOUT THE ROUGE OPERATION. They have copies of documents that directly contradict AG Holder’s congressional testimony.
May 5, 2011 – NPR finally breaks the story – focusing upon ATF letting guns across the border, while repeating the dis-proven 90% lie the operation may have been created to support.
May 16, 2011 – Congressional investigators are back on the ground in Arizona, according to CBS news. They are not only interviewing ATF agents, they are interviewing gun shop owners and employees.
May 17, 2011 – CBS news reports ATF management has appointed a new special agent in charge (SAC) of the Phoenix office, part of a major shake up in that office.
May 17, 2011 – According to an interview the Daily Caller, Rep. Issa, reports that investigators have proof that “Operation Gunwalker” was planned “in Washington”, and key decisions were made administration officials there. Remember that his many sources within ATF have provided hundreds, if not thousands of internal agency documents – and he has the testimony of the former head of the Phoenix office. Rep. Issa is quoted as saying that this scandal is looking more and more like Iran-Contra.
May 19, 2011 – CBS News reports that DEA agents recovered 50-60 AK-47s in a drug raid in Phoenix on April 13th. At least some of these firearms were part of “Operation Fast and Furious”. The local CBS affiliate reports that DEA has refused to turn any of these rifles over to BATFE.
May 22, 2011 – Fox News /William La Jeunesse has interviewed a Federal confidential informant. He states the Following: Drug flow into the US is increasing. Cartels have corrupted federal agents from several agencies. In his opinion, corruption on the US side is worse then on the Mexican side – he cited “operation gunrunner” as an example. He believes that this corruption goes ‘all the way to the top”. He obtained the name and location of Boarder Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s killer, he was told to “ignore that, other agencies are working on that, that information isn’t necessary.” He confirms the Wikileaks information that the cartels are receiving large amounts of weapons from Central America. Weapons are flowing in both directions. Not only are guns going into Mexico, but also military weapons that cannot be purchased legally in the US are flowing north. The informant ultimately decided to quit working for US law enforcement.
May 24, 2011 – World Net Daily, which was the first source outside the “gun media” to report the Gunwalker story, publishes an article entitled: “White House ‘strategy’ on Project Gunrunner documented – Is report the ‘smoking gun’ in controversy over guns-to-Mexico?” In an unclassified September 2010 report obtained and posted on the net by MSNBC the ATF stated, “The analysis of trends based on seizures and human intelligence have provided some meaningful insights into the methods of acquisition and transportation utilized by the Mexican cartels. Furthermore, over the past few months enforcement strategies (and other guidance) that address firearms trafficking to Mexican cartels have been developed and released by the White House and the Department of Justice. It is essential that ATF efforts support strategies promoted by the White House and Department of Justice. An examination of these and other strategies reveals similarities among the strategies, but also suggests that some revisions to ATF’s current strategy are necessary.” The WND article further reported accusations that the motivation for this “stratigy” was to justify gun control in the US.
May 25, 2011 – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is vows to block President Obama’s nominations until he gets detailed answers on the Gunwalker scandal. Additional coverage HERE.
May 31, 2011 – Fox News reporter William La Jeunesse, citing Wikileaks data, reports that the vast majority of guns used in the cartel wars in Mexico are diverted from sales to the Mexican and other governments. Guns sold through US retail channels are a small fraction of the total – not 90% as claimed by the Obama Administration.
June 2, 2011 – A report published today at Examiner.com indicated that a .50 Cal rifle ‘walked” into Mexico under the “Fast and Furious” operation may have been used to shoot down a Mexican government helicopter. In addition to the .50 Cal, it is suspected by the ATF that many other guns from the ill fated program were recovered at the shoot out, in which 11 people were killed. Although Examiner.com is not part of the mainstream press, it should be noted that they were among the first to break the Gunwalker story.
June 5, 2011 – Rep. Issa, Chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, announces in a Fox News interview that he will hold public hearings on the ATF scandal this summer. He also stated that he has evidence that the program was approved at “the highest level”. He made it clear that he believes it is possible that both Eric Holder and President Obama knew of the program. According to Issa, they have had excellent cooperation in the field and zero cooperation in Washington.
June 6, 2011 – CBS News Reports that Issa will hold public hearing beginning June 13th. CBS also reports that 31 House Democrats have joined Republicans in demanding that the administration “promptly provide complete answers to all Congressional inquiries on this issue.” This is the first time any Democrats have brought their pressure to bear.
June 6, 2011 – CBS News confirms that “Gunwalker” guns – illegally bought in the US with the help of the BATFE, and then smuggled into Mexico under their watchful eyes – were used to shoot down a Mexican military helicopter.
Jun 6, 2011 – The Hill reports that Issa’s committee will issue a large number of subpoenas to Washington based administration officials. The Hill also reports that interviews of cooperating witnesses in the BATFE and Justice Department have revealed who authorized the operation.
Jun 7, 2011 – The Daily Caller reports that the first hearings will focus upon possible obstruction of justice by the Obama administration.
Jun 7, 2011 – World Net Daily interviews David Codrea of the Gun Rights Examiner, one of the first reporters to Linkbreak the story. The interview focuses upon Rep. Issa’s strategy for the first congressional hearings.
June 9, 2011 – The Daily Caller Reports that Rep. Issa will hold additional hearings on Wednesday, June 15th. Witnesses will include Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican, ATF agents, Justice Department officials and family members of dead Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.
June 9, 2011 – UPI finally carries a story on the scandal, predictably downplaying the whole issue.
June 9, 2011 – The Wall Street Journal carries a report that Mexican authorities have recovered a large cache of weapons tied to Gunwalker.
June 10, 2011 – Fox News reports that DOJ is in “full panic mode” over next week’s hearings. They report that the hearings will reveal that BATFE “knowingly and deliberately flooded Mexico with assault rifles” over the repeated objections of field agents.
June 10, 2011 – National Review Online Reports that Rep. Darrell Issa is set to issue a number of subpoenas to federal officials who have ties to “Fast and Furious”. The article also notes that the mainstream media is basically ignoring the story. Fox also has an audio recording of an ATF agent instructing a gun dealer to make a sale to a known trafficker, over the objection of the dealer.
June 10, 2011 – The Herald and News reports that the DOJ is “stonewalling” the congressional investigation.
June 10, 2011 – The Pittsburgh Tribute calls for “sunshine” to be applied to the ATF scandal.
June 13, 2011 – Fox news reports that hearings held today will focus on the Obama Administration’s refusal to respond to subpoenas and other requests for documents, as the first step in a process that will eventually compel compliance. Rep. Issa is quoted as saying, “Now the question is will DOJ give us the documents or will law enforcement officials, little by little, as whistleblowers give us what we want to show this problem goes to the highest levels.”
June 13, 2011 – In an opinion piece, World Net Daily – the first non-gun media to carry the story – becomes the first outlet to raise the issue of IMPEACHMENT. Roger Hedgecock, reports that, behind the scenes, Republican Congress members consider the actions of the justice department an act of war against Mexico.
June 13, 2011 – In a Fox news interview, Rep. Issa accuses the Administration of a systematic cover up. He also links Gunwalker to a coordinated effort between DOJ and gun control groups.
June 13, 2011 – Rep. Issa’s opening statement from today’s hearing, detailing the Administration’s cover up.
June 13, 2011 – Sharyl Attkisson reports on today’s hearings.
June 13, 2011 – Video and transcripts from today’s hearings.
Link
June 14, 2011 – The Tucson Citizen refers to the next day’s hearing as “Custer’s last stand” for the ATF. They publish a witness list which includes Sen. Grassley, Brian Terry’s family, three ATF agents and Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich.
June 14, 2011 – The Hill reports the the Dems are trying to blunt the impact of the hearings by asserting that it will impede ongoing criminal investigations.
June 14, 2011 18:00 ET – Just ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, the House oversight committee releases it’s first report. It confirms the worst of the Gunwalker accusations – including that ATF managers were “giddy” when they heard that both violence in Mexico and “gunwalker” gun recoveries were rising. They showed no concern for the innocent Mexicans who were dying. In an earlier video report, Fox News reported that at least one goal of the program was to blame US gun dealers and provide justification for tighter US gun laws.
June 15, 2011 – C-Span video of today’s hearings. Highlights: ATF has disclosed nothing that was not available on the net or had not be completely blacked out. Agent: There is not one rookie cop in this country who could not have told you this program was not going to work. Agent: The gun dealers are our friends. They were ready to help us. They don’t like being accused of operating in a “grey market”. Question from Rep. Isaa: Is it possible that the real goal of this operation was political?
June 14, 2011 – Fox News Interviews Larry Pratt – Was Motive Behind ‘Operation Gunrunner’ to Help Gun Control Agenda?
June 15, 2011 – Greta Van Susteren interviews Peter Forcelli, ATF Supervisory Agent after his testimony.
June 15, 2011 – NY Times: Top Agency Officials Knew of Disputed Gun Program
June 15, 2011 – SF Chronicle: Federal agents testify on guns smuggled to Mexico
June 15, 2011 – Washington Post: Wayward policy blamed for agent’s slaying
June 15, 2011 – Two LA Times Reports HERE AND HERE
June 15, 2011 -Wall Street Journal – Top Brass Cited in Gun Sting
June 15, 2011 – USA Today: ATF agent calls gun-tracking program a ‘disaster’
June 15, 2011 – CBS News: Congress irate over ATF guns-to-Mexico program
June 15, 2011 – NPR: ATF Agents: Higher-Ups Let Guns Go To Cartels
June 15, 2011 – Newsmax: Issa: ATF Mexican Gun Scandal a Lot Like Iran-Contra
June 16, 2011 – 24hrs later, NBC, ABC and PBS continue IGNORE THE STORY. How many dead does it take?
June 17, 2011 – Approximately 21;00pt – According to Fox News, in a classic “avoid the news cycle move” the Obama administration has leaked word that the current acting head of ATF will be fired. They are also floating the idea that Obama’s choice to head ATF, Andrew Traver, could be named the new acting director. Traver, who is from – you guessed it – Chicago, has a long history of pushing for the very same gun control measures that the Gunwalker operation may have been designed to justify – often by providing misleading information and “demonstrations” to the media. His confirmation has been held up for years by gun rights groups. The Wall Street Journal has a longer report.
June 17, 2011 – Dallas Morning News Editorial: ‘We don’t know’ isn’t good enough from Justice Dept.
June 17, 2011 Fox News story: Two AK-47s Used to Murder Mexican Lawyer Were ‘Fast and Furious’ Guns
June 17, 2011 – CNS News interviews Rep. Issa: Holder ‘Absolutely’ Knew About Fast & Furious Earlier Than He Testified —– Four Minute Report – Ten minute Report
June 18, 2011 World Net Daily Editorial: Did White House approve Project Gunrunner? What the goal to justify more gun control?
June 19, 2011 – The Nevada Appeal publishes an editorial by Jim Bagwell, graduate of the FBI National Academy with 31 years law enforcement experience. In it he states that one objective of Gunwalker was the passage of new federal gun control laws.
June 19, 2011 – Washington Examiner: Don’t make Melson a Fast and Furious scapegoat
June 20, 2011 – The Wall Street Journal publishes another article, entitled A Drug-War Plan Goes Awry.
June 20, 2011 – LA Times reports acting ATF direct to resign. They also report that rank and file agents to not have faith in Traver.
June 20, 2011 – The Huffington Post reports that Melson will resign in one to two days.
June 20, 2011 – CNN reports that Melson will resign, says political damage is major.
June 20, 2011 – ABC News Online finally reports the story SIX MONTHS AFTER AGENT TERRY DIED. Surrounding the text story is a six month old video report on Terry’s death and, you guessed it, links to stories pushing gun control.
June 20, 2011 – USA today reports that acting ATF director Melson is likely to resign. Very little about guns walking other than Terry’s death.
June 20, 2011 – Newsmax reports: Acting ATF Director to Resign Over Gun-Buying Sting
June 20, 2011 – Greta Van Susteren interviews ATF Agent Jay Robbins. He states “fast and furious” was planned in the Attorney General’s Office and was known “at the highest levels of government”.
June 21, 2011 – Rep. Issa is interviewed on Fox News. He states that Eric Holder “should have known” about the program. Fox Video Newsmax Print Story
June 21, 2011 – The Daily Caller, citing an Issa staffer, reports that responsibility for “fast and Furious” goes “much higher” than acting head of ATF Melson.
June 21, 2011 – Main Justice reports Rep. Issa’s call for Melson to resign, also quotes Sen. Grassley as saying that last week’s 70% figure for US gun recoveries in Mexico was intentionally inaccurate and was intended to distract attention from the June 15th hearings.
June 21, 2011 – The Washington Post citing unnamed sources within ATF, reports that Rep. Isaa was fully briefed on “everything he is objecting to now” in April 2010.
June 22, 2011 – Investors Business Daily publishes an editorial demanding accountability for Gunwalker “as high as it goes”. They are critical of Traver as well, questioning why the administration should benefit from a crisis they created. Finally, they strongly imply that Obama himself was behind the program and the motive was the create support for a new assusalt weapons ban.
June 22, 2011 – Main Justice reports the accusation against Issa. However they also report that House Oversight Committee spokesperson Fredrick Hill has denied the accusation – pointing out that the ATF cannot have it both ways. They cannot say that they did not know about guns going to Mexico, but Issa did know because they briefed him on it.
June 22, 2011 – The Huffington Post dutifully echoes the Washington post accusation.
June 22, 2011 – In a report posted to the internet this morning, Anderson Cooper casts profound doubt on Eric Holder’s denial of prior knowledge of “Fast and Furious”.
June 22, 2011 – CBS news reports Rep. Issa’s denial of the Washington Post allegations. He blames “opponents of the investigation” within DOJ for the false reports. Similar reports are carried on June 23rd by The Daily Caller, Main Justice, and The Hill.
June 23, 2011 – Newsmax reports that aides to Rep. Issa state that the Washington Post story alleging that the Congressman was fully briefed on Gunwalker is “an outright lie”. The spokesman further stated that the Justice Department “shopped the story around” the Washington media, and that several outlets refused to print it because they did not find it credible.
June 23, 2011 – The LA Times reports that Kenneth Melson is resisting pressure to step down. He reportedly does not want to be the “fall guy” for the Gunwalker scandal. The article notes that he has an open invitation to appear before Issa’s committee, but has not been give permission to do so by the Justice Department.
June 24, 2011 – Main Justice reports that Rep. Issa has departed for Mexico, where he will meet with government officials in an effort to gather more evidence.
June 24, 2011 – Human Events publishes an article in which they make the case that the Washington Post has inadvertently provided convincing circumstantial evidence that the real adgenda behind “fast and furious”Link was the promotion of gun control in the US.
June 24, 2011 – NPR covers the story again, ending with, “One thing’s for sure: Issa and Grassley say they’re planning more hearings this summer.”
June 26, 2011 – The Washington Post publishes an editorial blaming Gunwalker on the NRA. According to the Post, weak gun laws and the gun rights movement have tied ATF’s hands.
June 27, 2011 – The Weekly Standard responds to the Washington Post editorial. They question the wisdom of giving more power to an agency that is out of control.
June 27, 2011 – The LA times publishes an editorial on Gunwalker, blaming the problem on the “impossible task of enforcing weak gun laws”. No mention of the fact that dealers reported the straw purchases to ATF and never would have sold the guns if they had not been ordered to do so. 2006 congressional investigation into ATF excesses in Virginia is cited as an example of how hard it is to enforce gun laws. No mention of the fact that ATF targeted women and mixed race couples, made felony car stops and seized guns with zero probable cause, or that local PD refused to assist when they saw the tactics.
June 27, 2011 – Fox News reports that BATFE has served one of the “Gunwalker” whistleblowers with a termination notice.
June 27, 2011 – The Daily Beast reports that Senators Charles Grassley and Patrick Leahy have reached an agreement that will give Grassley and fellow Republicans access to ATF acting head Kenneth Melson, as well full access to ATF documents and other key witnesses. In return, Sen. Grassley will release holds on three Obama nominees awaiting confirmation. As a result Melson, who has reportedly stated that he will not “take the fall” for the scandal, will definitely testify before the House, the Senate or both.
June 28, 2011 – The Beaufort Observer calls for the abolition of the ATF and the dismissal of Attorney General Holder.
June 28, 2011 – The Sacramento Bee reprints the LA Times editorial blaming ‘lax guns laws” for the ATF scandal.
June 28, 2011 – CNN confirms the deal that will give Senate investigators access to ATF acting director Kenneth Melson.
June 29, 2011 – President Obama is asked about the ATF scandal at his news conference. He once again denied that Eric Holder, his Attorney General, had authorized the operation. In their report CBS notes that Kenneth Melson, acting head of BATFE, will be interviewed by Senate investigators in mid-July.
June 29, 2011 – Town Hall reports on President Obama’s remarks. Their report includes the following response from Rep. Issa: “”President Obama’s remarks today on Operation Fast and Furious were disappointing. There was no sign of urgency to provide answers or explain why no one at the Justice Department has accepted responsibility for authorizing an illegal gunwalking operation six months after Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s murder. The American people expect more from the President than unsubstantiated assertions that the Attorney General didn’t know about this reckless program and no explanation about who authorized it.”
June 29, 2011 – The Daily Caller reports that lawyers for the defendants in “Gunwalker” are using their discovery rights to conduct their own investigation of BATFE’s actions.
June 30, 2011 – Democrats in Congress, lead by Rep. Elijah Cummings, conduct a “full court press” aimed at changing the subject from BATFE misconduct to “weak gun laws”. In other words, they are trying to use Gunwalker to pass more gun control laws. Wasn’t that the very accusation made by gun rights groups? Articles: Politico – Chron – Washington Post – Wall Street Journal – Baltimore Sun – Newsmax – Main Justice – The Hill
June 30, 2011 – ATF Whistleblower Vince Cefalu appears on the Fox News program the O’Reilly Factor, hosted by Laura Ingraham. We learn that prior to exposing the Gunwalker scandal, Cefalu served in many posts within BATFE and had glowing reviews – yet he was terminated after “blowing the whistle”. Cefalu states that many people high in DOJ were fully aware of Gunwalker. Speaking of why he went public, he said, “I had been exposing what I saw as a deterioration in the senior leadership in ATF to the point where it started crossing pretty huge ethical and legal boundaries. Other agents were coming to me from across the country just because I’m as senior as I am, and I became vocal and open and public about it. The straw that broke the back for me was when one of our own was killed with a gun that we allowed to walk.”
June 30, 2011 – ABC News 15 – a local Phoenix outlet reports that Gunwalker firearms are turning up at crime scenes in the Phoenix area.
June 30, 2011 – John Hayward, writing in Human Events, authors an article entitled: The Gun Walker Pushback – The scandal which can no longer be ignored.
July 1, 2011 – The Blue Ridge Now, the online version of the Hendersonville NC Times becomes the latest news outlet to suggest that the whole point of Gunwalker was to pump guns into Mexico from US retail sources, calling it a “False Flag Operation”.
July 2, 2011 – Newsmax quotes Sen. Charles Grassley as saying, “Many very high up in the Department of Justice” had full knowledge of Gunwalker. Given that the acting ATF director has stated that, “I am not going to take the fall for this” and that he is scheduled to testify later this month, there are not too many people above him in DOJ. Lanny A. Breuer, assistant AG for the criminal division is already linked to the scandal via warrant requests he signed. Above him is the AG, Eric Holder and above Holder is President Obama. Either Lanny Breuar was behind this whole thing, or he is willing to take the fall for someone else, or he will roll over on someone else higher up – and that means Holder and/or Obama. Things are about to get very interesting.
July 5, 2011 – Human Events publishes a background piece calling for reform of the ATF.
July 5, 2011 – The New York Times publishes another article blaming the ATF’s problems on “lax gun laws”.
July 5, 2011 – Fox News reports that calls are growing in Mexico for the extradition of those responsible for smuggling guns into Mexico. Mexican officials want those responsible to be tried in both countries.
Other than the great work done by CBS News and Fox News, the mainstream broadcast media is trying their best to ignore this scandal because it doesn’t fit their agenda. They can only do this for so long before they will have to report on it. Congressional hearings or a contempt charge may very well force their hand. (Note: The dam may have broken after the 6/15/2011 hearings)
Of course, there is another possibility: President Obama could assert executive privilege to avoid handing over documents to the House investigation. The problem with do this is that it screams “cover up” and the many, many witness have provided copies of many documents. Even executive privilege will not stop this investigation.
Given time, we will learn if the Obama administration not only lied in order to promote gun control, but effectively smuggled guns in order to turn their lies into truth – at the cost dozens of Mexican lives and at least one American life. All we have to do is wait.
Posted by Vince Warde at 6:49 PM
Uh, TTAG?
THE CONSTITUTION STILL BELONGS TO “WE THE PEOPLE”, HOWEVER WE MUST ENFORCE THE RULE OF LAW. TAKE A LOOK AT THESE OLD AND USED UP BITS AND PIECES.
definitions.
tyrant
In common usage, the word “tyrant” carries connotations of a harsh and cruel ruler who places his or her own interests or the interests of a small oligarchy over the best interests of the general population, which the tyrant governs or controls.
treason
· Violation of allegiance toward one’s country or sovereign, especially the betrayal of one’s country by waging war against it or by consciously and purposely acting to aid its enemies.
· A betrayal of trust or confidence.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/treason#ixzz1QsLrbdUd
Oran’s Dictionary of the Law (1983) defines treason as “…[a]…citizen’s actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the [parent nation].” In many nations, it is also often considered treason to attempt or conspire to overthrow the government, even if no foreign country is aided or involved by such an endeavour.
sedition In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent (or resistance) to lawful authority. Sedition may include any commotion, though not aimed at direct and open violence against the laws. Seditious words in writing are seditious libel. A seditionist is one who engages in or promotes the interests of sedition.
High crimes and misdemeanors is a phrase from Section 4 of Article Two of the United States Constitution: “The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
“High” in the legal parlance of the 18th century means “against the State”. A high crime is one which seeks the overthrow of the country, which gives aid or comfort to its enemies, or which injures the country to the profit of an individual or group. In democracies and similar societies it also includes crimes which attempt to alter the outcome of elections.
An alien who is present in a country (which is foreign to him/her) unlawfully or without the country’s authorization is known as an illegal alien of that country.[2] An illegal alien commonly refers to a foreign national who resides in another country unlawfully, either by entering that country at a place other than a designated port-of-entry or as result of the expiration of a non-immigrant visa. An enemy alien is an alien who is a national of an enemy country.
Malfeasance the performance by a public official of an act that is legally unjustified, harmful, or contrary to law; wrongdoing (used especially of an act in violation of a public trust).
Nonfeasance is to ignore and take no indicated action – neglect. Misfeasance is to take inappropriate action or give intentionally incorrect advice. Malfeasance is hostile, aggressive action taken to injure the client’s interests.
Example: A company hires a catering company to provide drinks and food for a retirement party. If the catering company doesn’t show up, it’s considered nonfeasance. If the catering company shows up but only provides drinks (and not the food, which was also paid for), it’s considered misfeasance. If the catering company accepts a bribe from its client’s competitor to undercook the meat, thereby giving those present food poisoning, it’s considered malfeasance.
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is a saboteur.
The RICO Act focuses specifically on racketeering, and it allows for the leaders of a syndicate to be tried for the crimes which they ordered others to do or assisted them, closing a perceived loophole that allowed someone who told a man to, for example, murder, to be exempt from the trial because they did not actually do it.
RICO is codified as Chapter 96 of Title 18 of the United States Code, 18 U.S.C. § 1961–1968. While its original use was to prosecute the Mafia as well as others who were actively engaged in organized crime, its application has been more widespread.
It has been speculated that the name and acronym were selected in a sly reference to the movie Little Caesar, which featured a notorious gangster named Rico.
thank you 🙂
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