Operation Fast and Furious and
the subsequent “fury” that the operation has caused in certain circles in Congress is not new. However, the operation has become a full-blown scandal in recent weeks, with 17 Democrats joining Republicans voting to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in Contempt of Congress. In the meantime, something else has come to light: that all of the charges of “gunwalking” are completely fabricated.
That’s right. Its the phrase you’ve heard over and over again. Gunwalking. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives knowingly allowed guns sold in Arizona to end up across the border as an operational tactic. Unanimously it seems, reporters, relying heavily on the testimony from the GOP-lead Congressional inquiry, got it wrong. One reporter got it right. Katherine Eban, reporting for Fortune, finally set the record straight after an exhaustive six month investigation. ATF agents did not allow guns to be trafficked to Mexico and they did not “lose” guns, as has been widely reported. Phoenix Group VII agents were actually powerless in many cases to intervene and seize guns from straw purchasers due to conflicts with Arizona statutes regarding the “transfer of arms,” a “lack of adequate tools,” cautious senior prosecutors, and a new agency-wide focus on bringing down gun running conspiracies, rather than focusing on low-level straw purchasers. Much of the mass media misreporting on Operation Fast and Furious revolves around three big lies:
the subsequent “fury” that the operation has caused in certain circles in Congress is not new. However, the operation has become a full-blown scandal in recent weeks, with 17 Democrats joining Republicans voting to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in Contempt of Congress. In the meantime, something else has come to light: that all of the charges of “gunwalking” are completely fabricated.
That’s right. Its the phrase you’ve heard over and over again. Gunwalking. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives knowingly allowed guns sold in Arizona to end up across the border as an operational tactic. Unanimously it seems, reporters, relying heavily on the testimony from the GOP-lead Congressional inquiry, got it wrong. One reporter got it right. Katherine Eban, reporting for Fortune, finally set the record straight after an exhaustive six month investigation. ATF agents did not allow guns to be trafficked to Mexico and they did not “lose” guns, as has been widely reported. Phoenix Group VII agents were actually powerless in many cases to intervene and seize guns from straw purchasers due to conflicts with Arizona statutes regarding the “transfer of arms,” a “lack of adequate tools,” cautious senior prosecutors, and a new agency-wide focus on bringing down gun running conspiracies, rather than focusing on low-level straw purchasers. Much of the mass media misreporting on Operation Fast and Furious revolves around three big lies:
- The ATF Knowingly or willingly allowed “gunwalking,” resulting in “losing” some 2,000 guns.
- The Justice Department lied to Congress about the details of the program.
- The operation was a ploy by the Obama Administration to scare the public into approving an assault weapons ban.
