![]() ![]() The congressional leaders also noted the pressure Melson has felt to resign, and they warned Holder not to make Melson the sole ‘fall guy’ in Fast and Furious. ![]() Sources said investigators had ‘very real indications from several sources’ that some of the cartel leaders the ATF was trying to identify through Fast and Furious were ‘already known’ to the other agencies and apparently had ‘been paid as informants.’įinally, Melson said, ATF agents along the U.S.-Mexico border realized that the FBI and DEA were running separate operations and that it ‘could have a material impact on Fast and Furious.’ Melson said he notified his superiors of this problem in April. ![]() informants are tied to other ‘sensitive’ government investigations that are ‘ongoing.’ In other words, the FBI and DEA might still have contact with paid informants inside Mexico’s violent drug cartels. What is known is that the Justice Department has already suggested that such U.S. As a result, the investigation has now expanded, a source told Serrano, but few other details on the informants have emerged. Melson told congressional investigators in closed-door meetings last weekend about cartel suspects revealed to be DEA and FBI informants, Richard Serrano reports in The Times. In late June, testimony revealed that ATF weapons were also traced to the torture and killing of a prominent Mexican attorney, Mario Gonzalez Rodriguez, a sibling to a former attorney general in violence-plagued Chihuahua state. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, killed in a gun battle in Arizona in December, is one of many such victims. Some have been linked to trafficking-related homicides on both sides of the border. and Mexican governments who share serial code numbers. might be involved in the ongoing drug war in Mexico.Īs many as 1,700 ATF-traced weapons were lost in ‘Operation Fast and Furious,’ according to U.S. But perhaps more significantly, the revelations are offering a peek into how deeply the U.S. Melson’s attorney, however, said the agency’s embattled acting chief wants only to cooperate fully with the congressional probes. Holder’s Justice Department wanted to position Melson as the ‘ fall guy’ over the gun-running program, the lawmakers investigating the program have said, by pressuring him to resign. Democrats, meanwhile, are using the episode to push for tougher gun-control laws. They also seek to weaken an agency that is harshly disliked by the gun-rights lobby. Republicans appear eager to shame top officials in the Obama administration with their investigations. In recent months, both sides of the partisan aisle have sought political gain with the scandal. (Watch this video of a testy exchange between Holder and Issa on May 3.) He’s also a confidant of President Obama. Holder heads the Justice Department, which oversees the ATF. A prime target of their attacks in hearings is Atty. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) are leading investigations into Fast and Furious on Capitol Hill. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |