M14 Forum

GARRARD · February 2nd, 2012, 08:44 AM

Quote:

By Richard A. Serrano, Washington Bureau

February 1, 2012, 8:50 p.m.

Reporting from Washington— The family of slain U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry charged Wednesday that the top federal prosecutor in Phoenix lied to them about the guns found at the crime scene in an attempt to hide the weapons' connection to the ATF's failed Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation.

Terry was killed in December 2010, allegedly by Mexican bandits carrying at least two AK-47 semiautomatic rifles that had been purchased in Arizona as part of Fast and Furious. The operation was intended to catch drug lords using illegal weapons, but the ATF immediately lost track of 1,700 firearms.

The Terry family alleged that then-U.S. Atty. Dennis K. Burke told them last March that the two weapons came from a store in Texas and were not part of Fast and Furious.

The family made their allegations in a "notice of claim" stating that they intend to sue the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Justice Department for $25 million. They called the gun-tracking operation "abominable, reckless, nonsensical."

Burke has resigned and has declined to discuss Fast and Furious. But the family's claim notice strongly suggests that the federal government initially sought to keep Fast and Furious under wraps and hoped it would not be linked to the slaying.

Fast and Furious, run by the ATF's Phoenix field office, allowed illegal gun purchases in Arizona in hopes of tracking the weapons to Mexican drug cartels. Capitol Hill became aware of the operation in January 2011 — the month after Terry's slaying — but the program did not become publicly known until early March.

"The Terry family had received lots of conflicting and confusing information about exactly how Brian came to be shot in the back and killed," the claim notice says. "None of it made any sense."

After a memorial service in Tucson in January 2011, the family met with Border Patrol, FBI and Justice Department officials in a hotel conference room. "But the officials gave them almost no information and wouldn't answer the family's questions," the notice says. Two family members walked out.

"The federal officials were obviously covering something up, and their actions only added to the family's grief," the notice says.

In March, Burke met with the family in Michigan, where they live. "But this meeting went even worse," the notice says. "Burke hemmed and hawed, bobbed and weaved, refused to give straight answers, and flat-out lied about what he knew about Brian's death and Operation Fast and Furious."

The notice quotes Burke as saying the fatal bullet would never be found, even though it had already been located during an autopsy. And he told them the AK-47s were "bought from a gun store in Texas and were not linked to Operation Fast and Furious."

In fact, the notice says, "Burke actually knew within hours of Brian's murder that they were purchased from a Phoenix gun shop under ATF surveillance the previous January" — a fact borne out by Burke's emails.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,6431783.story

nSquid · February 2nd, 2012, 10:15 AM

Color me so surprised.

"alleged" mexican drug trafficers, meaning "we really are now sure who they were" but in the same breath, the guns were "known" to have come from Texas." Don't know the shooters but know the guns?

I've got this really nice alpine ski lodge in the Sahara Desert for sale....

conditionone · February 2nd, 2012, 11:02 AM

as more information comes to light I think we will get more and more disgusted with the actions of Fast and Furious. The blame certainly lies at the top.

dragon6097 · February 2nd, 2012, 11:07 AM

Hope they get every dime and more

GARRARD · February 2nd, 2012, 11:16 AM

If anyone wants to read about that POS Holder "testifying" on the Hill today, you can check it out here: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012...sial-fast-and/

Bringing
Arms
To
Foreign
Enemies

Mindfield · February 2nd, 2012, 03:50 PM

F&F was nothing more than an attempt to create a warzone on the border so Obama et al could usher in new Gun Control in the name of safety on the border, PERIOD

The blame lies soley w/ the Feds, their plan, their op, their discusting attempt to violate the Constitution and BoR for their agenda

Swamp Rat · February 2nd, 2012, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GARRARD

If anyone wants to read about that POS Holder "testifying" on the Hill today, you can check it out here: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012...sial-fast-and/

Bringing
Arms
To
Foreign
Enemies

I watched some of it and the gist of what he said was the usual "din doo nufins" even though there is no doubt that he knew.

Thor · February 2nd, 2012, 03:56 PM

Typical DC Operation- "Pass The Blame".

honer · February 2nd, 2012, 04:28 PM

Can anyone recall a televised event where Obama is asked a question concerning guns/the gun problem and his reply was something to the effect of ," we are working on something ..." This was after he was elected and prior to the Arizona gun running operation being made public. I remember it clearly, but am looking for an eact date. He was answering a question from the crowd and was moving from right to left. The question came from his r/h side. As I said, this was several months ago, over a year.

Thanks,

Honer

FPrice · February 2nd, 2012, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by conditionone

as more information comes to light I think we will get more and more disgusted with the actions of Fast and Furious. The blame certainly lies at the top.

I find it difficult to beleive that we can get any more disgusted about this adminstration than we are by now.

conditionone · February 3rd, 2012, 07:35 AM

"There's no attempt at any kind of cover-up,"

"We're not going to be hiding behind any kind of privileges or anything,"

"These are not the droids you're looking for."

And the kicker, you can't lose what you never had, crapbag.

"I don't think the American people have lost trust in me. ... This has become political, I get that," he said.

GARRARD · February 3rd, 2012, 08:46 AM

Here's some more about US attorney Burke. The title of the story is "Burke of Fast and Furious had anti-gun history."

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepu...#ixzz1lL1Tld9F

Quote:

Burke's political downfall may have been shocking, but an Arizona Republic analysis of his career suggests that the cause -- firearm politics -- has been a pet theme through most of his 23 years in government.

The end came after federal records and testimony revealed that Burke last year pressed colleagues and superiors to deny that the Justice Department knowingly allowed guns to be smuggled into Mexico under his watch, and that two of those weapons wound up at the murder scene of a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

In e-mail exchanges with DOJ officials, Burke incorrectly described allegations about Fast and Furious by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, as "categorically false." He also reviled congressional investigators as "stooges" for gun-rights zealots.

Burke finally quit his post after testifying in secret to congressional investigators about the case.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepu...#ixzz1lL0u1dge

adrbe · February 3rd, 2012, 09:38 AM

Holder is the head of the Department of Justice, and is ultimately responsible for all operations they conduct. To claim he didn't know, is to claim incompetence or negligence. I don't understand how that defense has any validity.

Here's how the first hearing should have proceeded:

"Mr. Holder, your department broke the law, and is guilty of treason. What was going on here?"

"Gee, I don't know."

"Okay, case closed. You're out. Bailiff!"

stoky · February 4th, 2012, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FPrice

I find it difficult to beleive that we can get any more disgusted about this adminstration than we are by now.

FPrice · February 4th, 2012, 07:22 AM

Okay, that did it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by stoky