ATF gunwalking scandal
2011
#### 2011

On January 27, 2011, Grassley wrote a letter to ATF Acting Director [Kenneth E. Melson](/wiki/Kenneth_E._Melson "Kenneth E. Melson") requesting information about the ATF\-sanctioned sale of hundreds of firearms to [straw purchasers](/wiki/Straw_purchase "Straw purchase"). The letter mentioned a number of allegations that walked guns were used in the fight that killed [Border Patrol](/wiki/United_States_Border_Patrol "United States Border Patrol") Agent Brian Terry. A second letter from Grassley on January 31 accused the ATF of targeting [whistleblowers](/wiki/Whistleblower "Whistleblower").

On February 4, 2011, after review and comment from dozens of officials in the Justice Department Criminal Division, the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix, and ATF Headquarters, [Assistant Attorney General](/wiki/United_States_Assistant_Attorney_General "United States Assistant Attorney General") [Ronald Weich](/wiki/Ronald_Weich "Ronald Weich") sent a response to Grassley regarding his two letters. Weich said claims "...that (the) ATF 'sanctioned' or otherwise knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons to a straw purchaser who then transported them to Mexico \[are] false. ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation to Mexico." On February 28, [Attorney General](/wiki/United_States_Attorney_General "United States Attorney General") [Eric Holder](/wiki/Eric_Holder "Eric Holder") requested that the [Department of Justice](/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Justice "United States Department of Justice")'s [Inspector General](/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Justice_Office_of_the_Inspector_General "United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General") begin an investigation of Fast and Furious.

On March 22, 2011, President [Barack Obama](/wiki/Barack_Obama "Barack Obama") appeared on [Univision](/wiki/Univision "Univision") and spoke about the gunwalking controversy. He said that neither he nor Attorney General Holder authorized Fast and Furious. He also stated, "There may be a situation here in which a serious mistake was made, and if that's the case then we'll find out and we'll hold somebody accountable."

On May 3, 2011, Attorney General Holder testified to the House Judiciary Committee that he did not know who approved Fast and Furious, but that it was being investigated. He also stated that he "probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks,"[Attorney General Eric Holder Testimony Before the House Judiciary Committee](http://www.c-spanvideo.org/event/193481) ; [C\-SPAN](/wiki/C-SPAN "C-SPAN"); May 3, 2011\. a claim which would later be questioned as explained below.

In June, ATF Agent Vince Cefalu, who helped to publicize Fast and Furious, was served with termination papers, in a move by the agency he described as politically motivated retaliation. He had been at odds with ATF management since he filed a complaint over tactics in an unrelated case in 2005\. The ATF denied that the firing was retaliation, and Cefalu's termination letter noted that he leaked documents to the Internet and showed a "lack of candor" in other operations.

On June 14, 2011, a preliminary joint staff report was released by Representative Issa and Senator Grassley. Among the findings: agents were told to stand down rather than interdict weapons, they complained about the strategy and were ignored, and Fast and Furious led to increased violence and death in Mexico. Agents were panicked, certain that "someone was going to die".

Representative Issa continued to hold hearings in June and July where ATF officials based in Phoenix and Mexico, and at headquarters in Washington, testified before the committee. ATF agent John Dodson stated that he and other agents were ordered to observe the activities of gun smugglers but not to intervene. He testified:

A second joint staff report was released by the Republicans on July 26\.

In August, three important Fast and Furious supervisors were transferred to new management positions at ATF headquarters in Washington: William Newell and David Voth, field supervisors who oversaw the program from Phoenix, and William McMahon, an ATF deputy director of operations. The transfers were initially reported as promotions by the *Los Angeles Times*, but the ATF stated that they did not receive raises or take on greater responsibilities. In late August, it was announced that Acting ATF Director Melson had been reassigned to the Justice Department, and U.S. Attorney Burke announced his resignation after being questioned by Congressional investigators earlier that month.

In October, documents showing that Attorney General Holder's office had been sent briefings on Fast and Furious as early as July 2010, prompted questions about his May statement that he wasn't sure of the exact date, but had known about it for only a few weeks. The briefings were from the [National Drug Intelligence Center](/wiki/National_Drug_Intelligence_Center "National Drug Intelligence Center") and [Assistant Attorney General](/wiki/United_States_Assistant_Attorney_General "United States Assistant Attorney General") [Lanny Breuer](/wiki/Lanny_Breuer "Lanny Breuer"). The Justice Department said that those briefings were about a different case started before Holder became Attorney General, and that while he had known about Fast and Furious, he didn't know the details of the tactics being used.

On October 31, 2011, after the release of subpoenaed documents, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer stated he found out about gunwalking in Operation Wide Receiver in April 2010, and that he wished he had alerted the deputy or the attorney general at the time.[Carrie Johnson, "Official Admits 'Mistake' In Gun\-Trafficking Case"](https://www.npr.org/2011/11/01/141891064/official-admits-mistake-in-gun-trafficking-case)  NPR, November 1, 2011\. The following day, in testimony before the Senate Judicial Committee in a hearing on International Organized Crime, when asked if he had reviewed the letter before it was sent to Senator Charles Grassley on February 4, 2011, denying gunwalking, Breuer replied, "I cannot say for sure whether I saw a draft of the letter that was sent to you. What I can tell you, Senator, is that at that time I was in Mexico dealing with the very real issues that we're all so committed to."

On November 8, 2011, Holder stated for the first time in Congressional testimony that gunwalking was used in Fast and Furious. He remarked that the tactic is unacceptable, and that the operation was "flawed in its concept and flawed in its execution". He further stated that his office had inaccurately described the program in previous letters sent to Congress, but that this was unintentional. Reiterating previous testimony, he said that he and other top officials had been unaware that the gunwalking tactic was being used. Holder stated that his staff had not shown him memos about the program, noting, "There is nothing in any of those memos that indicates any of those inappropriate tactics that are of concern. Those things were not brought to my attention, and my staff, I think, made the correct decision in that regard."

That same month, ex\-US Attorney Burke admitted to leaking sensitive documents about ATF agent and whistleblower Dodson. Senator Grassley expressed concern that the Justice Department was using Burke as a scapegoat to protect higher officials and vowed to continue his probe.[Dennis Wagner, "Ex\-U.S. Attorney Burke admits to leaking whistle\-blower's records"](http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/11/09/20111109burke-admits-leaking-whistle-blowers-records.html)  The Arizona Republic, November 10, 2011\.

On December 2, 2011, the Justice Department formally withdrew its statement of February 4, 2011, denying gunwalking, due to inaccuracies.[Carrie Johnson, "Justice Withdraws Inaccurate 'Fast And Furious' Letter It Sent To Congress"](https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/12/02/143067851/justice-withdraws-inaccurate-fast-and-furious-letter-it-sent-to-congress)  NPR, December 2, 2011\.

Later that month, documents showed that some ATF agents discussed using Fast and Furious to provide anecdotal cases to support controversial new rules about gun sales. The regulation, called Demand Letter 3, would require 8,500 firearms dealers in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas that "have a significant number of crime guns traced back to them from Mexico" to report multiple rifle sales.[Sharyl Attkisson, "Documents: ATF used "Fast and Furious" to make the case for gun regulations"](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-57338546-10391695/documents-atf-used-fast-and-furious-to-make-the-case-for-gun-regulations/) , CBS News, December 7, 2011\.


What was stated to be the reason for the inaccuracies in previous letters regarding Fast and Furious?