Fast and Furious Guns to Mexico Scandal Waiting to Burst

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The claim is that the ATF was knowingly allowing Mexican drug cartels to purchase American guns at licensed firearms dealers in the United States and take the guns to Mexico so that they may track the guns, and find the drug lords. What has happened is that those guns are being used by the Mexican drug runners to kill both Mexicans and Americans, and then the Democrats used it as an excuse to push for more gun control laws in the United States, claiming that if we further restricted gun ownership in America, those guns would not have made it into the hands of the criminals south of the border.

Illegal weapons movement for the sake of regulating where they can't legislate.

Republican Representative Darrell Issa claims this scandal is full of cover ups. Information, Issa believes, that is relevant to a congressional investigation, is being covered up purposely by Attorney General Eric Holder, and the Obama administration as a whole.

Issa's evidence includes a letter that Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich, head of the Justice Department’s office of legislative affairs, sent to Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 4, 2011, which Issa characterizes as a “lie.”

Isaa also indicates that the Justice Department has made excessive and unjustifiable redactions in documents it provided to his committee.

Additionally, it is believed that Attorney General Eric Holder lied when he testified in the Judiciary Committee on May 3, when he told Issa (who also serves on that committee) that he had only learned of the gun-running operation “Operation Fast and Furious” a few weeks before that.

The operation allowed about 2,000 guns to be purchased by people suspected as operating as intermediaries for Mexican drug cartels. The operation never intended to stop the gun purchases, or to take the guns away from the buyers after they had purchased them, but to let the guns go to the drug cartels so the U.S. could trace the guns to the possessors, and then uncover the entirety of the criminal organizations.

As a result of the guns being in the hands of the drug cartels, Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered by alleged drug cartel operatives.

Isaa claims that the cover ups include both lies, and purposefully misleading investigators.

President Obama claims he was unaware of the operation, and that he did not authorize the operation. However, the Department of Justice has repeatedly said that fighting criminal activity along the southwest border including the illegal trafficking of guns to Mexico was a priority of his department, which is a part of the Executive Branch.

The president may, or may not, have known about the operation, but the very fact that it happened as a result of one of his own departments raises questions.

The Justice Department’s Inspector General is investigating the matter.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Issa: DOJ Covering Up on Mexican Gun-Running Scandal - CNS News