Michael Isikoff, one of the early reporters interested in the Gunwalker Scandal without writing a word, finds more important stuff to occupy his time.

Probing Bachmann, Palin, and Gingrich, NBC's Investigative Unit Ignores Obama's ATF Debacle

The NBC News Investigative Unit has devoted considerable resources to uncovering "scandals" ranging from Marcus Bachmann's health clinic to Newt Gingrich's credit line at Tiffany to the Sarah Palin document dump, but continues to ignore a botched Justice Department operation that contributed to the death of a U.S. border agent.

Examining the trove of reports filed by NBC News national investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff over the last few months reveals a fixation on investigations involving Republican politicians and an aversion to probes concerning the Obama administration, even as other media outlets expose the controversial ATF practice of letting guns purchased in America slip across the U.S.-Mexico border in hopes the trail would lead federal agents to drug kingpins.

Just days before Rep. Darrell Issa's (R-Calif.) investigation into operation "Fast and Furious" went unreported on the NBC "Nightly News," Isikoff flew to Juneau, Alaska to aimlessly scour newly-released emails during Sarah Palin's time as governor. Even MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews described Isikoff as "feverishly pouring over those documents."

As it turned out, the documents produced no scandals, forcing Isikoff to admit his Al Capone's vault moment: "So far, I don't think anybody's found any bombshells here." So uninteresting, the Palin investigation never even made it into the correspondent's online archive, dubbed the "Isikoff Files."

Something else that won't be found in Isikoff's tome of probes is a thorough investigation into the role the ATF's gun-walking practices played in the slaying of U.S. Border Agent Brian Terry, who was killed in a firefight with Mexican drug cartel members in December. As CBS reported, two of the guns found at the crime scene were part of thousands the ATF allegedly allowed gunrunners to purchase and smuggle into Mexico.

It's not like Isikoff is unaware of the Gunwalker Scandal. In fact, he was one of the early "authorized journalists" who sought out the whistleblowers through David and me.

On 3 February, responding to my post entitled, "So where are the "authorized journalists" asking sharp questions of the State Dept. about the violation of treaty & protocol in Project Gunwalker?" I received the following email from Isikoff:

-----Original Message-----
From: Isikoff, Michael (NBC Universal) (NBC Universal)
To: georgemason1776
Sent: Thu, Feb 3, 2011 3:41 pm
Subject: RE: So where are the "authorized journalists" asking sharp questions of the State Dept. about the violation of treaty & protocol in Project Gunwalker?

so where are the whistleblowers I can talk to that can verify these claims? I am eager to talk to them, but I cant make accusations without evidence.

To which I replied:

-----Original Message-----
From: georgemason1776
To: Michael.Isikoff
Sent: Thu, Feb 3, 2011 3:55 pm
Subject: Re: So where are the "authorized journalists" asking sharp questions of the State Dept. about the violation of treaty & protocol in Project Gunwalker?

I will pass your request on. I am tempted to say that other reporters are managing to find some of their own, but then, you might take that as an insult, so I won't. If any of mine are willing to talk to you I will let you know soonest.

Mike Vanderboegh

Later that evening, after we spoke on the phone:

From: georgemason1776@aol.com [mailto:georgemason1776@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2011 6:06 PM
To: Isikoff, Michael (NBC Universal)
Subject: Whistleblowers and getting lucky..

I have been instructed to tell you to call (REDACTED). He represents at least one. Let me know how it comes out either way (on background, of course).

Isikoff fired back:

-----Original Message-----
From: Isikoff, Michael (NBC Universal) (NBC Universal)
To: georgemason1776
Sent: Thu, Feb 3, 2011 6:08 pm
Subject: RE: Whistleblowers and getting lucky..

sure you know where he is?

To which I replied:

No. But the clue is the clue. It is what he gave us. He's actually David Codrea's initial contact. I am copying David on this. We try to cooperate and it has worked real well so far.

Mike Vanderboegh

Ultimately Isikoff contacted at least one of the whistleblowers. Isikoff did not pursue the story and the whistleblower I talked to was, shall I paraphrase, unimpressed with Isikoff.

There were a number of "authorized journalists" who pursued this story early on, but who came to the story with the attitude of, "OK, the big boys are here now. You just give us the name of your whistleblowers and we'll decide if you're lying or not."

Isikoff was one of those.

Of course we could not. All we would promise is that we would forward their contact information to the whistleblowers, some of whom we had no idea exactly who they were, and that the whistleblowers, if they so chose, would get in touch with them.

Sharyl Attkisson of CBS on the other hand was not like that. She was experienced with the security concerns of whistleblowers, worked with them, etc. That is why she got the early scoops and guys like Isikoff did not.

Isikoff did not return to the story after these initial probes, and NBC has yet, to my knowledge, to do even one Gunwalker Scandal story.

Doesn't fit with the meme, don't you know?

NBC has been the most consistent black hole of Gunwalker News. It may get into their agenda-driven processes, but it doesn't get out.

Mike Vanderboegh

Of Fast and Furious and Sipsey Street Irregulars in Sharyl Attkisson's new book, Stonewalled.

Sharyl didn't send me a pre-pub copy for review of her new book Stonewalled but -- overcome with curiosity -- I went to Books-A-Million and, gritting my teeth at the expense, I bought a copy.

Here are some relevant excerpts from her chapter on Fast and Furious.

I first heard about the story when someone anonymously sent my producer a copy of the letter that Senator Charles Grassley had written to the Justice Department outlining the alleged facts and asking about the controversy. . .

(Long-time readers will recall that Grassley was handed the information by the out-going ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, my own Senator Jeff Sessions, whose office had to be dragged kicking and screaming into checking out the whistleblower's allegations over a period of two weeks by yours truly. With the whiistlerblower's safety hanging in the balance, it was the longest two weeks of my life.)

We found that a lot of the background regarding this emerging controversy was anonymously posted by ATF insiders on the blogs of gun rights activists Mike Vanderboegh of Sipsey Street Irregulars and David Codrea of Examiner.com. So my producer and I contacted Vanderboegh and Codrea, who were in direct contact with some of the principal players. We asked the bloggers to pass along my name and number in hopes that their sources would be willing to talk to me. After a few days passed with no luck, I registered with the forums of the blogs and posted a public notice. It said that I was interested in pursuing a possible story for CBS News and needed insiders to contact me. It worked. . .

(That is a true statement, and accurate as far as it goes, but it is not the whole story, as this screenshot of David's email at the time makes plain. We passed down the request through the email "Desert Telegraph" with our recommendation that the whistleblowers talk to Sharyl.)

(One of the reasons that we endorsed Sharyl's request was that she seemed extremely sensitive about protecting the whistleblowers' identities. You could not say that about every so-called journalist.)

The importance of handling sources delicately should become clear when i tell you that, while I may have broken a lot of Fast and Furious news, I wasn't actually the first network news reporter following the trail. Early on when my producer and i contacted the bloggers Vanderboegh and Codrea, they told us that an investigative reporter from NBC had already called them. But he ticked them off.

(It's never been much of secret that the guy she's referring to was Michael Isikoff of NBC and Newsweek, although Sharyl is discreet enough not to mention his name in her book.)

"He's an asshole," Vanderboegh told me more than once. "He demanded our contacts' names and phone numbers. Hell no, we're not handing over names and phone numbers to some asshole, pardon my French!"

(Isikoff's attitude could be summed up as "OK, the professionals are here now. You give us what you know and we'll figure out where you're lying." Knowing Isikoff's political biases, I was skeptical of his motives from the beginning but we dutifully passed his request down the Desert Telegraph. And it wasn't me who first characterized Isikoff as an "asshole," it was one of the whistleblowers. He let us know, after speaking with Isikoff: "Don't send any more shit to us from that arrogant asshole. . . He's probably working for DOJ.")

I realize that the blogger's could well be saying the same thing about me pretty soon. The gun rights crowd is, by nature, mistrustful or reporters. So are the ATF agents whose confidence I need to gain. You can't lie to them. You can't mislead them. They can smell insincerity a mile off. And you most certainly can't cold-call them and demand names and numbers of their confidential contacts. But if you do your research and show that you genuinely want to understand the facts, and if you're blessed with a liitle bit of luck, you might end up with the goods. . .

(Attkisson spends the next pages talking about her direct contacts with John Dodson and, after her first story appeared, the White House's attempts to steer her away from the story.)

Along with (White House damage control press flack) Schultz, Media Matters is in touch with me about Fast and Furious and things start out friendly enough. They recently received a $1 million donation from George Soros, the multibillionaire funder of left-wing causes. On one occasion, they cal to peddle the idea of a story that discredits Fast and Furious blogger Vanderboegh for his militia ties and other perceived transgressions. It's a propaganda campaign to divert from the damaging facts: controversialize critics to try to turn the focus on personalities instead of the evidence.

Media Matters emails me the summary of an extensive investigation their researchers have done on Vanderboegh's personal life. It's pretty impressive for the time and effort they've put into it. Propaganda groups know that if they do all the work and make it easy, some writers will print a version of their story. With Media Matters' proposed Vanderboegh story, all a writer really needs is a few comments from relevant players and it's ready to go.

But it's not journalism and it's not how I operate.

It's not that I mind getting the idea. Good ideas can come from almost anywhere. Special interests can contribute valuable information for a story. But they shouldn't be researching and writing it for you. The Huffington Post and Mother Jones are among those who ultimately do publish stories about Vanderboegh. I wonder if it's because of a spark planted by Media Matters. Maybe it's just coincidence.

When I prove to be noncompliant, and continue covering stories considered potentially damaging too the Obama administration, Media Matters will strike me from their list of valuable media contacts -- and make me a target of their aggressive campaign to smear and controversialize with false information. If one were to believe the liberal blog, in an overnight transformation, I went from being a trysted journalist whom they wanted on their side, to a shoddy reporter. Fortunately, few are swayed by the narrative.

(I'll have more when I review the entire book.)

The art of the non-denial denial and the demand for the names of our sources.

Non-denial denial is a statement that seems direct, clearcut and unambiguous at first hearing, but when carefully parsed is revealed not to be a denial at all, and is thus not untruthful. It is a case in which words that are literally true are used to convey a false impression. -- Wikipedia.

Today we have this gem from NRA courtesy of ARFcom:

Thank you for contacting NRA-ILA regarding recent negotiations between the National Rifle Association and the BATFE.

The NRA-ILA is not sure where this internet rumor started or by whom, but it is completely untrue. I have attached the NRA-ILA sign up for legislative alerts. This is the best way to stay informed of the legislative activity within the NRA-ILA. We will continue to fight for your 2nd Amendment rights day in and day out.

NRA-ILA Alert Sign Up

Respectfully,

Nick C

NRA-ILA Grassroots

Now let's go back to my original story for the statement of fact gleaned from my own sources:

Last week, a secret deal involving the National Rifle Association lobbying arm and brokered by politicians of both national political parties was struck in Washington DC that would save the ATF from the political and legal consequences of its own regulatory errors.

Does this say that this is "recent negotiations between the National Rifle Association and the BATFE"? No. It does not say that the NRA and the ATF are in direct negotiations. This is itself a non-denial denial.

Let's recap with my best understanding of the way this "deal" happened.

The ATF, caught in a testicular vise of their own construction on the pistol grip shotgun "destructive device" definition, went crying to their mommas and poppas on the Democrat side of the Congress for help. The Democrat politicos did what they usually do and tasked the Congressional Research Service to research the subject, to include the National Firearms Act and, among other things, the "sporting purpose" language in the 1968 Gun Control Act. According to my sources, and the reason I wrote it as I did as detailed above, the Dems then approached the GOP about getting the ATF's ass (and those of millions of pistol-grip shotgun owners) out of this crack and, oh by the way, you get the credit and we get this itty-bitty ban on "specialty" ammunition. It is certain that the GOP would not agree to anything like this, which my sources say that they did, without first running it by someone in the NRA leadership.

Now, it is POSSIBLE that Chris Cox didn't know about this? Unlikely but possible. If so, where else could it have come from? LaPierre? Only the NRA can answer this question. But to think that the GOP seriously entertained changing any legal language having to do with firearms and the ATF WITHOUT the input stretches the bounds of incredulity.

Then we have this remarkable statement: "The NRA-ILA is not sure where this internet rumor started or by whom."

REALLY? Maybe he should have asked his boss, Chris Cox, for he has absolutely no doubt who wrote it and where the story came from.

Finally, we also have trolls in all the usual places calling me a pathological liar and demanding my sources. This is a familiar pattern, most notable in the early days of Fast and Furious when both the administration and the media were trying to discredit the story and to learn the names of the whistleblowers and other sources used in our stories.

I recall one phone conversation at the time with Michael Isikoff quite vividly. Boiled down, its meaning was: "Okay, the professionals are here now. Give us your sources and we'll figure out where you're lying." Although I passed Isikoff's request for interview down the email chain to the whistleblowers, it was rejected with the comment that "this prick is working for DOJ."

We go to great lengths to protect our sources, and in my case at least, with some unconventional techniques. Readers may recall that during my Benedict Arnold period I was a trained communist cadre. I was taught the fieldcraft of the dead drop and how to shake a tail.

Most of the folks at the NRA national meeting (never say "convention," it is a faux pas) who had access to the conversations of the NRA leadership were frankly reluctant to be seen talking to me. Perfectly understandable since I had announced myself in the press room that early Friday morning with printed copies of David's initial story. It wasn't like the NRA leadership didn't know what story I was working on. That is why some of those conversations took place in restrooms, elevators, outside the venue and in one case (yes, shades of Deep Throat) in a parking garage. I struck out more often than not, but between Nashville and DC I got the story that I ultimately ran with. If you can't be sensitive to needs of the folks who can give you the story then you won't get the story. It is a matter of common sense and trust.

Indeed, the only reason that folks within various agencies communicated with David and me on Fast and Furious was that we had developed a prior track record of reliability and they knew that we would die before we would give up a source. That remains our policy. And if we wouldn't give up our sources to the armed minions of the federal leviathan, we're sure as hell not going to give them up at the demand of the Internet trollweenies of the NRA.

Again, I repeat what I told Chris Cox to his face: I stand by my story (and my sources) and if he feels he has been libeled he is free to sue me any time he feels froggy. They are welcome to doubt my sanity, my probity and my ancestry as they choose, but don't doubt that I have sources that I trust for what I write.

Sipsey Street Exclusive: "Meetings, Part 1." Why the ATF scheduled a National Violent Crime and Firearms Trafficking Summit on 30 June 2009 in NM.

"It is essential that our efforts support the strategies and policies of the President and the Attorney General and where possible, complement the strategies of other agencies." -- "Project Gunrunner: A Cartel Focused Strategy," internal ATF report, September 2010, Page 2.

An Obama meeting.

"Things like this happen because of meetings. People sit in meetings and they decide what they want to happen. And then they take decisions, make policy and implement that policy to achieve those ends." He added, "That's why State is so nervous. They signed off on this. In a meeting."

Gunrunner, I pointed out to him, predated the Obama administration. "Yes, but 'walking guns' didn't." I told him it seemed to me that given the dates on the documents that the meetings crafting this policy must have taken place sometime in mid-2009. "And who took power in January, 2009?" he replied.

He continued, summing up this way. The gun issue was known to be radioactive. Every time the Democrats embraced it they got killed at the polls the next election cycle. What was needed, in Rahm Emanuel's parlance, was a good crisis to exploit, something to change the paradigm. The gun confiscationists had always danced in the blood (my term, not his) of every mass shooting and gotten nowhere, to their chagrin and frustration. What was needed was a game changer. Something that fit the meme of "we've got to tighten up on American gunowners, gun stores and gun shows because they are feeding the slaughter." Mexico was perfect. The ATF controlled the reporting of the statistics, the headlines were lurid and if the rest of us gunnies knew that you don't get automatic weapons, hand grenades and RPGs from gun shows and gun stores, most of the American people were too ignorant of the issue to care about the distinction. But the fact was, as the IG report and other sources concluded, the amount of weapons from those legitimate American sources did not meet the allegation. More importantly the statistics didn't meet the policy need. So, how to "fix" that? Project Gunwalker. If there weren't enough semi-auto "assault rifles" in Mexico, the ATF could fix that. And the murders would follow, justifying the policy change of cracking down on "assault rifles," gun shows and the like.

"So," I said, "you're saying that this was a deliberate attempt by policymakers at the highest levels of the Obama administration to subvert the Second Amendment and further diminish the free exercise of firearm rights of honest citizens?"

"You got it. Sucks, huh?" He laughed bitterly.

I thought of Zed in "Men in Black."

He added, "Of course the meeting transcripts won't reflect the truth so plainly, but then neither did the Wannsee Conference. These bastards always talk in riddles about what they're really after. Watch what they do, not what they say." -- "The blame shifting & leaping to illogical exculpatory conclusions begins, but Obama's Gunwalker was a deliberate conspiracy vs. the 2nd Amendment," Sipsey Street, 8 March 2011.

One thing is certain, now after three hearings and hundreds of leaked documents and press revelations. The Gunwalker Scandal did not begin in Phoenix, Arizona. William "Gunwalker Bill" Newell did not arise from his bed one fine morning in late 2009 and decide, after brushing his teeth, "Today I'm going to start my own foreign policy, facilitate the smuggling of weapons to Mexico and commit numerous acts of war on a sovereign nation."

In a bureaucracy -- especially the current federal law enforcement bureaucracy -- policies, and demand for actions to carry out those policies, come from above. Where, then, did Gunwalker come from? Or, specifically, from what meetings?

Regular readers will recall my story from 14 May drawing attention to The Official ATF Field Manual of the Gunwalker Scandal, which included the comment from a long-time DC insider "This report might as well be the outline for Gunwalker hearing questions."

The "field manual" referred to, which had been hiding in plain sight thanks to an ATF leak to Michael Isikoff, was intended to exculpate the ATF from the criticisms in the OIG's 2009 Interim Report on Project Gunrunner failings, and especially to try to influence the language in the final report.

Isikoff's September 2010 article was entitled "ATF targets gun dealers to stem sales to Mexican cartels. New strategy comes in wake of stinging criticism of current interdiction effort." He wrote:

The new strategy was prepared in recent weeks by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF)’s Office of Field Operations, in the wake of stinging criticism of current ATF efforts to stem the flow of weapons to the cartels by the Justice Department’s inspector general.

The strategy appears to accept many of the criticisms in the Justice Department inspector general’s report, especially the ATF’s past emphasis on targeting low-level “straw buyers” hired by cartel operatives to buy weapons at U.S. gun stores. It notes that straw purchasers are easily replaced and often are selected by higher level traffickers because they have no serious criminal records, making them undesirable candidates for prosecution.

“Straw purchasers must be held accountable for their conduct and made ineligible to purchase or possess firearms in the future,” the report states. “However, straw purchasers should more frequently be viewed as persons whose conduct should be investigated as part of a larger conspiracy and as persons whose information, cooperation and assistance should be exposed to the extent possible in further of the ultimate goal of identifying key members of the trafficking enterprise.”

It also calls for ATF agents to work more closely with other federal agencies, particularly the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) run by local U.S. Attorney’s offices and involving all federal law enforcement agencies. The draft inspector general report had sharply criticized ATF agents for not sharing intelligence and working more cooperatively with other federal agencies, especially the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.)

The OIG's report of its investigation of Gunrunner was issued in September of 2009. The final report wasn't issued until November, 2010, the following year. But the investigation had begun in May 2009:

In the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) and in fiscal year (FY) 2009 appropriations, ATF received $21.9 million in funding to support and expand Project Gunrunner. In May 2009, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) opened an evaluation of Project Gunrunner, which is ongoing. We are issuing this interim report on Project Gunrunner plans as ATF is expanding the project. -- OIG Interim Report.

Obviously, ATF management was aware the OIG investigation from the beginning. ATF management jumped on this threat to their bureaucratic careers at once. Says the "field manual":

On April 27, 2009, the Department of Justice released guidelines for the consideration of OCDETF designation in firearms related cases involving Mexican cartels. The memorandum identified firearms trafficking from the United States to Mexico as contributing to the escalating levels of cartel-related violence and as a particular concern for law enforcement on both sides of the border. The memorandum emphasized the important role that the OCDETF program plays in connection with the United States' government-wide efforts to stem the southbound smuggling of arms to Mexican drug trafficking organizations and stated that investigations principally targeting firearms trafficking are eligible for OCDETF designation if there is a sufficient nexus between the firearms and a major Mexican drug trafficking organization. It is not necessary that every OCDETF prosecution include specific drug charges, but every OCDETF prosecution must be drug-related. The specific charges may be firearms, explosives, or other non-drug violations as long as the targets have been identified as major drug violators and otherwise meet OCDETF standards.

In June 2009, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) released its National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy. The strategy represents another key contribution to the U.S. response to the threat along the Southwest border. The strategy acknowledges the close link between drug trafficking and firearms trafficking and the increasing powerful nature and sophistication of the firearms acquired and used by Mexican drug trafficking organizations. In fact, Chapter 7 of the strategy is devoted to weapons and contains significant language pertaining to ATF investigative responsibilities and enforcement programs. The strategy includes the goals of improving intelligence and information sharing relating to weapons trafficking among Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement partners; increasing interdiction of illegal weapons shipments destined for Mexico; enhancing cooperation with international partners in weapons investigations; strengthening domestic coordination on weapons investigations and increasing the likelihood of successful Federal prosecution of weapons cases.

On June 25, 2009, ATF released a memorandum detailing a revised national firearms trafficking enforcement strategy focusing on among other things the identification and investigation of specific domestic trafficking corridors. While not a Southwest border focused document, the national firearms trafficking enforcement plan makes reference to Project Gunrunner and firearms trafficking cases with an international nexus. The document is referenced here since it provides guidance for conducting firearms trafficking investigations generally and may include information pertaining to investigative, technical, and preventive tactics that may be applicable when investigating matters related to the Southwest border.

The memorandum "detailing a revised national firearms trafficking enforcement strategy" was only part of a concerted ATF effort to do what their executive branch masters wanted them to do, consistent with the National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy.

The "field manual" continues:

On January 7, 2010, the Department of Justice reemphasized its commitment to combating firearms trafficking to Mexican cartels and the use of the OCDETF program as a means of disrupting the cartels by releasing its own strategy. The strategy is premised on the notion that a significant share of the violence, drug trafficking and corruption along the Southwest border is perpetrated by a relatively small number of hierarchical criminal organizations. The DOJ strategy concludes that “the most effective mechanism to attack those organizations is the use of intelligence-based, prosecutor-led multi-agency task forces that attack all levels of, and all criminal activities of, the operations of the organizations.” A significant component of the DOJ strategy pertains to attacking the southbound flow of firearms. The strategy states that “given the national scope of this issue, merely seizing firearms through interdiction will not stop firearms trafficking to Mexico. We must identify, investigate, and eliminate the sources of illegally trafficked firearms and the networks that transport them.” The DOJ strategy calls for closer collaboration between ATF and the efforts of multi-agency drug task forces along the border, including OCDETF strike forces. All ATF field divisions with an OCDETF strike force must consider assigning a complement of special agents to the multi-agency strike force and/or establishing a collocated ATF-led OCDETF group within the strike force.

Lastly, ATF’s 2010-2016 Strategic Plan provides broad direction intended to guide ATF operations over the next few years and includes information regarding ATF’s efforts to combat firearms trafficking, to include trafficking along and across the Southwest border. The document reiterates that one of ATF’s fundamental responsibilities is addressing the threat posed by firearms violence associated with drug trafficking and specifically the threat posed by Mexican based drug trafficking organizations that acquire firearms from the United States. The document summarizes a wide variety of ATF capabilities useful in suppressing firearms trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Additionally, in June 2009, ATF and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiated a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) intended to address areas of mutual concern and responsibility. To the extent possible, this revised cartel focused strategy will conform to agreements between ATF and ICE and other law enforcement partners that may exist.

Ah, yes, the MOU with ICE. When I wrote the May story on the "field manual," I did not pay enough attention to when and where that was signed. It was the occasion of much hoopla and was just a part of something the ATF dubbed: the "National Violent Crime and Firearms Trafficking Summit."

The press release:

DOJ Officials to Speak at National Violent Crime and Firearms Trafficking Summit
Mon Jun 29, 2009 6:00pm EDT

WASHINGTON, June 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Officials from the U.S.Department of Justice (DOJ) will join Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials, U.S. Attorneys, states attorneys, local prosecutors and law enforcement executives to discuss national policy development and strategies at the Violent Crime and Firearms Trafficking Summit in Albuquerque, N.M. Also at the Summit, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) formalizing a partnership to combat firearms trafficking.

Media are invited to attend the opening session Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 8:00 a.m. MDT and the separate signing event at 9:30 a.m. MDT. For media not able to attend the signing event, a national news teleconference will be hosted at 10:15 a.m. MDT.

WHO:
David W. Ogden, Deputy Attorney General, DOJ
Lanny A. Breuer, Assistant Attorney General, DOJ Criminal Division
H. Marshall Jarrett, Director, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys
Kenneth E. Melson, Acting Director, ATF
John Morton, Asst. Secretary, ICE, DHS

WHAT:
Violent Crime and Firearms Trafficking Summit (Opening Session)
ATF, ICE MOU Signing Ceremony, Question and Answer Session

WHEN:
Tuesday, June 30, 2009, 9:00 a.m. MDT - Opening Session
9:30 a.m. MDT - Signing Ceremony
10:15 a.m. MDT - National News Teleconference Begins

Conference Call-in #: 1-888-469-3045 (call will be moderated; media encouraged to dial-in up to 15 minutes in advance)

WHERE:
Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown Hotel 2600 Louisiana Blvd, NE Albuquerque, N.M. 87110

Note: Media attending the opening session of the summit and/or the MOU signing ceremony will need to present valid media credentials. Media should be set by 7:45 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom for the opening session and pre-set by 9:15 a.m. in Baldwin Room for the signing event. Any inquiries concerning DOJ officials should be directed to the Office of Public Affairs at (202)514-2007. Any inquiries concerning the Summit should be directed to John Hageman at (609) 743-2987.
SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, +1-202-514-2007, TDD+1-202-514-1888

This was a big deal. In addition to speeches by Deputy Attorney General Ogden, and Assitant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, ATF Acting Director spoke, as did NM U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman and H. Marshall Jarrett, Director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys. Even Andrew Traver was there, as was, according to my sources, Phoenix ATF Field Division SAC William Newell, aka now as "Gunwalker Bill."

John Morton's speech does not seem to have been posted on the net, the careful man.

Lanny Breuer makes it clear where the new effort and energy on firearms trafficking came from:

You just heard from my partner at ICE John Morton; we are all in great hands over there. John and I worked briefly together in the Criminal Division, where John was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General before becoming Assistant Secretary at ICE. He's a spectacular public servant. It's my privilege to share a podium with John and all my distinguished colleagues from DHS and DOJ, including the Deputy Attorney General from whom you will soon hear.

As many of you know, a little over two months ago, the Attorney General stood on Mexican soil with his law enforcement counterparts from the Mexican government. At that time, the Attorney General announced a firm commitment by the U.S. government to work with Mexico to attack the plague of gun trafficking and related violence that has infected the U.S./Mexico border and regions deep in Mexico itself.

Since the Attorney General's visit to Cuernavaca, the Justice Department, under the leadership of the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, has taken a number of positive steps to address the southwest border issues, including increasing the resources that are focused on the southwest border and, specifically, firearms trafficking.

(Coming later: "Meetings, Part 2." David Ogden's speech and "Who is H. Marshall Jarrett?")

I fully and completely retract the previous post based on an old story I should have recognized.

In re the commentary previously posted a few minutes ago in this slot (and now deleted):

Someone forwarded me a copy of an old story from last year as if it were new (I thought) under the title "Scathing report on Project GunRunner/Walker". My new analysis of an old story thus was completely wrong and I abjectly apologize to Mr. Isikoff for the error. While I am still waiting for Mr. Isikoff to notice fully the Gunwalker scandal, he does not deserve my caustic derision. I must say, though, that this is the first time I have been sandbagged in this whole affair. It will not happen again.

Mike Vanderboegh

"Irony that could choke a donkey." & "A document so potentially damaging that Chait may be faced with only 2 options: take the fall or start singing."

Mark Chait's new favorite website?

Over at Andrew Breitbart's BigPeace.com, WKTM 1400's Ben Barrack asks the question: "Did MSNBC Produce Project Gunrunner’s Smoking Gun?"

Imagine a scenario in which the media outlet most afflicted with Barack Obama Sycophancy Syndrome (BOSS) – the place Chris ‘thrill up my leg’ Matthews calls home – presented a ’smoking gun’ that could implicate the Obama White House in a cover-up akin to that of Watergate but with the added scarlet letter of murder. The notion of such a thing would be like Woodward and Bernstein ignoring Deep Throat. Impossible, right? Yes, unless it did so unintentionally.

It looks like that honor may just go to none other than Michael Isikoff who, in September of 2010, wrote about an ATF strategy that involved targeting gun dealers in the United States as a means to prevent weapons from ending up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels. Included in Isikoff’s article is a link to what Mike Vandergoegh of Sipsey Street Irregulars – who unearthed this amazing find – refers to as the “field manual” of the Project Gunrunner scandal that led to the murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry last December. . .

I especially liked this paragraph:

When this “field manual” is viewed through the prism of the Gunwalker scandal, the verbiage in it could implicate not just the ATF or Eric Holder’s Justice Department but the White House itself. The “field manual” was ostensibly written by ATF Assistant Director for Field Operations, Mark Chait. It is a document so potentially damaging that Chait may be faced with only two options: take the fall or start singing.

Barrack calls it, "Irony that could choke a donkey."

Yes it is.

And yes it will.

Updated Summary, Narrative, Condensed Timeline and Document Sources of the “Project Gunwalker” Scandal.

Customs and Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry

Summary, Narrative, Condensed Timeline and Document Sources of the “Project Gunwalker” Scandal

16 February 2011

by Mike Vanderboegh
PO Box 926
Pinson, AL 35126
GeorgeMason1776@aol.com
http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com

David Codrea of The National Gun Rights Examiner, the War on Guns blog, and Guns Magazine columnist, may be contacted at dcodrea@hotmail.com

Summary

There are now five separate but connected accusations against ATF and DOJ officials in what has been dubbed “Project Gunwalker“:

First, that they intentionally allowed to perhaps as many as 3,000 firearms "walked" across the U.S. border into Mexico. Second, that they instructed U.S. gun dealers to proceed with questionable and illegal sales of firearms to suspected gunrunners. Third, that they intentionally withheld information about U.S.-sanctioned gun smuggling from the Mexican government. Fourth, that one of the guns ATF allowed or helped to be smuggled into Mexico was involved in the death of CBP Agent Brian Terry. Fifth, that they are, now in tandem with the FBI, involved in covering up ATF and DOJ culpability in items One through Four.

Narrative and Condensed Timeline

For many months throughout 2010, the ATF's "Project Gunrunner" initiative was under fire for poor management, exaggerated statistics, etc. The agency was floundering to carry out an agenda that wasn't entirely covered by the law, stung by poor publicity and especially by an Inspector General's report which Michael Isikoff first reported leaks from on 21 September presaging the official report which was finally made public in November. Isikoff’s story said in part:

"A major Justice Department program aimed at intercepting the flow of U.S. weapons to Mexico’s drug cartels is misfiring due to bureaucratic turf battles and a failure to share critical intelligence about illegal firearms purchases, according to an internal department report."

The IG report excoriated ATF’s Project Gunrunner performance. It is now alleged by ATF's own agents that sometime in late 2009 or early 2010, the Phoenix office of ATF began to implement a policy of "walking" semi-automatic rifles south of the border -- at first with a wink and a nod, later, according to one agent:

“The agency was) not only looking the other way but actually facilitating trafficking, threatening and punishing agents who voiced objections, covering up trace information, the truth about the gun that killed BPA Terry, what I.C.E. knew, it goes on and on."

My own sources tell me that this was done at the direction of the "highest levels of Main Justice and the West Wing."

During this time, it is alleged by an experienced ATF street agent, the ATF deliberately did not inform the Mexican authorities that this was going on:

"Darren Gil, former attache to Mexico is an honest and honorable guy. He was forcefully removed from Mexico w o warning in Nov in large part because he wouldn't sit silent on these matters. He will tell the truth if asked by competent authority. He retired Dec 31 because of all this."

Also during this time, gun stores along the border were calling ATF and reporting multiple sales, only to be told to allow the sales to go through, and in some cases, follow the purchasers out into the parking lot to get license numbers. The case of Carter's Country in Houston (see below) is but one example. There are other firearm dealers who are willing to come forward and detail their similar experiences to the Congress if asked under oath. They are reluctant to do so without Congressional protection because their livelihoods are at the mercy of ATF regulation.

All of this, it is alleged, was done in order to boost the numbers of seized semi-automatic "assault weapons" in Mexico to justify continued, or expanded, Project Gunrunner funding.

On 12 December 2010, the Washington Post ran an article based on a leak from ATF headquarters claiming that Carter's Country gun store outlets in Houston area were guilty of flagrant straw-man sales. This storyline was attacked the next day by celebrated Texas criminal defense attorney Dick Deguerin, representing Carter's Country, who said:

“Let me tell you something about Carter's Country. They have been co-operating with ATF from the get go.” Deguerin says the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms asked Carter's Country to complete transactions, even when sales people strongly suspected the weapons were headed to Mexican drug gangs. "They were told to go through with what they considered to be questionable sales. They were told to go through with sales of three or more assault rifles at the same time or five or more 9 millimeter guns at the same time or a young Hispanic male paying in cash. It's all profiling, but they went through with it," said Deguerin.

A month later I discover the story and link it as corroborative of the ATF whistleblower’s narrative.

On 14 December 2010, Customs and Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed with a semi-automatic rifle in the hands of a smuggler. It is alleged by ATF street agents that this weapon was one of the "walked" rifles. An FBI murder investigation is proceeding, as is an internal ATF investigation, although the FBI has made precious few public statements and the ATF denies that they are investigating themselves. In the opinion of some ATF agents, these investigations have been used by ATF management to extort silence from agents in the furtherance of a cover-up of the complicity of ATF and Justice Department senior management in the death of BPA Terry.

What is known is that an unknown but significant number of ATF agents with personal knowledge and documents of this scandal, which has been dubbed "Project Gunwalker" by blogger and Guns Magazine columnist David Codrea, were willing to tell their story to any Senator who asked them. Although I had heard rumors of the circumstances of Brian Terry’s death from my own sources within and without the ATF and was trying to verify them as early as Christmas 2010, the first mention of these rumors in a public venue came out in postings by disaffected ATF street agents writing comments at their own website, CleanUpATF.org. I broke this story on 28 December 2010.

When David Codrea and I each became aware that there were a number of these agents who had spoken up within the agency and who were willing to tell their stories to “competent authority” -- meaning the United States Senate or House of Representatives -- we were also aware that the Congress needed to approach the agents, not the other way around. Having established round-about contact with some of these agents, we began to try to vector the proper “competent authorities” into contact with the agents.

It took some time, but we finally contacted the right person in Senator Jeff Sessions office, who put us in touch with Senator Grassley’s office. Thus it was the Senators who contacted the agents, not the other way around as has been reported.

Early on 25 January, I reported that my sources had told me that a press conference was scheduled for 10:00 AM in Phoenix. This was the announcement of the “Fast and Furious” bust which included (although the ATF did not admit the linkage at the time) the straw purchaser who bought the weapons which were recovered at the Brian Terry murder scene. Documents released as part of this press conference were later analyzed by an ATF whistleblower with damning results and published on my blog on 7 February.

The contacts with the whistleblowers and the 25 January press conference in Phoenix led to Senator Grassley’s first letter to ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson on 27 January 2011, laying out the whistleblower‘s allegation and requesting information.

Senator Grassley also warned of the curious timing of the Fast and Furious case:

On Tuesday, according to press reports, the ATF arrested 17 suspects in a Project Gunrunner bust. William Newell, the Special Agent in Charge of the ATF's Phoenix Field Office was quoted as saying, "We strongly believe we took down the entire organization from top to bottom that operated out of the Phoenix area." However, if the 17 individuals were merely straw purchasers of whom the ATF had been previously aware before Agent Terry's death, then that raises a host of serious questions that the ATF needs to address immediately.

On 31 January 2011, pursuant to reports that the Phoenix ATF management was threatening reprisals against agents who talked about the Terry case, Senator Grassley sent another letter to Acting Director Melson, reminding him strongly of the whistleblower protection laws.

David and I were the first to post these letters on the Internet.

On 4 February, Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich sent a reply to Senator Grassley which was both preemptory and insulting to his character. David and I again were the first to post this letter.

On 7 February we published a damning “Open Source Analysis of ‘Fast & Furious‘ Bust” by one of the whistleblowers which confirmed it as an integral part of the Project Gunwalker cover-up using documents and court papers from the public record.

Also on 7 February, an ATF agent writing on CleanUpATF.org proposed this witness list and questions for Senator Grassley:

Melson, Carter, Hoover, Chait - did you know of these strategies and did you approve them? Who from DOJ and the White House helped you develop your plan? Explain.

ATF Chief Counsel Attorneys - what was your role in developing this investigative stratagy? Explain.

McMahon, Newell, Gillett - what EXACTLY did you do or not do in the management of this investigation? How closely were you monitoring this significant case? Explain.

Gil, Canino, Ortiz, Kumar, Rowley - did you protest the actions being taken in this investigation and what was the result of your complaints?

Case Agents and Supervisors - who, to the best of you knowledge, was approving and supporting this investigative path? What was your plan?

ATF Phoenix Division Agents - is there a track record of retaliation, mismanagement, reprisal, hostile work environment, cover-up, lying and blind defense of such in your job? By whom? Explain.

In retrospect I’m sure the Justice Department considered the 4 February letter ill-advised, because on 9 February Senator Grassley fired back a blistering three-page salvo directly to Attorney General Holder with attached documents he obviously obtained from whistleblowers that strongly supported their allegations. Once again, David and I scooped the rest of the media by posting the letter and the documents under the name “Rosetta Stone.“ Senator Grassley concluded this letter:

The Terry family deserves answers. The whistleblowers have expressed a desire to honor Agent Terry’s memory by disclosing this information. The Justice Department should work to do the same. The best way to honor his memory is to come clean.

The Senator in his letter again suggested a meeting with ATF. That meeting happened on 10 February, and according to an internal ATF source of mine, the briefing was done by James E. McDermond, Assistant Director of ATF’s Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information. McDermond was quoted as saying he thought the meeting went well.

Today, 16 February, Senator Grassley disabused the ATF, the FBI, Customs and Border Patrol and the Department of Justice of that optimistic notion with a detailed, two-page demand to AG Eric Holder for specific documents in the “Project Gunwalker” Scandal. The “dog and pony show” of 10 February apparently did not impress Senator Grassley.

The scandal, it seems, is here to stay for a while.

Mike Vanderboegh


Important Source Documents for “Project Gunwalker”


David Codrea’s Comprehensive Journalist’s Guide to “Project Gunwalker”

Can be found here: http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/a-journalist-s-guide-to-project-gunwalker


Background:

Michael Isikoff’s story of 21 September 2010 can be found here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39282887/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

Documentation and discussion of the disputation of ATF statistics used to justify Project Gunrunner can be had by contacting David Codrea, of the National Gun Rights Examiner column. Email: dcodrea@hotmail.com.

The November 2010 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Inspector General report, "Review of ATF's Project Gunrunner" which excoriates ATF performance can be found here: http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/ATF/e1101.pdf

Carter’s Country as example of ATF requests to gun dealers:

The 12 December Washington Post article is here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/12/AR2010121202663.html

The 13 December Post follow-up with some of Deguerin’s remarks is here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/13/AR2010121305395.html

Also on 13 December the local Houston FOX affiliate ran video with more Deguerin quotes: http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/101213-gun-dealer-atf-approved-sales-to-mexican-gun-runners

Open Source Analysis by ATF whistleblower of Fast and Furious bust can be found here: http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2011/02/open-source-analysis-of-fast-furious.html

Grassley/ATF/DOJ Letters:

27 December, Grassley to Melson: http://www.scribd.com/doc/47909152/ATF1-1

31 December, Grassley to Melson: http://www.scribd.com/doc/47909228/ATF2

4 February, Weich to Grassley: http://www.scribd.com/doc/48448953/atf-2

9 February, Grassley to Holder: http://www.scribd.com/doc/48549160/RosettaStone

16 February, Grassley to Holder, et.al.: http://judiciary.senate.gov/resources/documents/upload/021611GrassleyToHolder.pdf

A question of legitimacy and a post that bears repeating. "The Official ATF Field Manual of the Gunwalker Scandal."

In political science, legitimacy is the popular acceptance of a governing law or régime as an authority. Whereas “authority” denotes a specific position in an established government, the term “legitimacy” denotes a system of government — wherein “government” denotes “sphere of influence”. Political legitimacy is considered a basic condition for governing, without which, a government will suffer legislative deadlock(s) and collapse. -- Wikipedia.

Dia de los Muertos -- the Mexican "Day of the Dead" -- the new Obama administration's Gunwalker Scandal logo?

Folks,

I received this email from a federal employee about my Saturday morning post "The Official ATF Field Manual of the Gunwalker Scandal."

PLEASE consider leaving up for at least MONDAY after 6 p.m. before doing another post that shoves this classic down; this NEEDS to sink in, be looked at, copied, linked to, and less than 12 hours isn't good enough for that, with respect.

Others have emailed me with similar wishes. The blogger format is like a river and if your attention is diverted for a day or so, like over a weekend, you'll miss a lot of water and what's being carried along with it.

This is an important piece. Perhaps the most important Gunwalker scandal analysis I've done since I broke the story here on 28 December. I know from friends and correspondents that it has already been forwarded to the offices of Issa, Smith and Grassley, for their in-boxes this bright and shiny Monday morning.

What they do with it is up to them, but, and it is impossible to overstress this point: the entire legitimacy of the federal system, and that of both political parties, and not just the transient hopes of Barack Obama for a second term, hangs on the outcome of this scandal.

History teaches that regimes demonstrated to be illegitimate to their own people are swept away. This is just such a moment. The federal fireman has been caught setting deadly fires. What happens to the arsonists -- and those who gave them the gas, matches and sent them on their bloody way -- will demonstrate to all if this system DESERVES to continue to be tolerated by the victimized people who pay for the entire fire department. In fact, tax receipts will be the least of the system's worries if justice is not done in this monstrous offense to the Constitution and the inalienable, natural and God-given rights and liberties that it merely codifies.

On that cautionary note, I repeat Saturday's story and the reaction to it. Yes, it is that important. If you think so too, please forward it to your Congresscritter, newspaper editor, or anyone else who might be able to help break this scandal out into the public consciousness.

A very great deal hangs on the outcome of the Gunwalker Scandal.

A very great deal.

Mike Vanderboegh
III

PS: I will resume posting this evening.



From Saturday: The Official ATF Field Manual of the Gunwalker Scandal: "This report might as well be the outline for Gunwalker hearing questions."

"It is essential that our efforts support the strategies and policies of the President and the Attorney General and where possible, complement the strategies of other agencies." -- "Project Gunrunner: A Cartel Focused Strategy," internal ATF report, September 2010, Page 2.

(Note to SSI readers: Get yourself a cup of coffee, shut the door and prepare for a long but vitally important read. -- Mike)

I am belatedly trying to finish a time-line of the Gunwalker scandal for Congressional purposes and in doing so I went back over all that is in the public sphere about Project Gunrunner, Fast and Furious, changes in policy early on in the Obama administration, etc. In the course of doing this I discovered an internal document from September 2010 that I had missed, although how I did so is beyond me, for this ATF document is nothing less than an official ATF field manual of the Gunwalker scandal. I forwarded a copy to one of my DC friends, a long-time federal government insider, who commented: "There's so effing much here---this report might as well be the outline for Gunwalker hearing questions. Really. Hiding in plain sight, too. I'm flabbergasted."

This story begins with a story posted on the MSNBC website back on 24 September 2010 by Michael Isikoff: "ATF targets gun dealers to stem sales to Mexican cartels. New strategy comes in wake of stinging criticism of current interdiction effort."

I've written about this story previously, but here are the significant chunks, with some comments interspersed:

U.S. law enforcement officials have devised an aggressive and potentially controversial new strategy to crack down on the illegal gun trade to Mexico by targeting cartel networks inside this country and "corrupt" U.S. firearms dealers, according to internal Justice Department documents obtained by NBC News.

The documents also state that the drug traffickers appear to have expanded efforts to acquire firepower in the U.S. by tapping well-developed supply networks beyond the Southwest border region in order to acquire high-powered assault rifles as well as components for improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The new strategy was prepared in recent weeks by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF)’s Office of Field Operations, in the wake of stinging criticism of current ATF efforts to stem the flow of weapons to the cartels by the Justice Department’s inspector general.

(MBV: The Center for Public Integrity wrote a story on Gunrunner in March, based in part on on an interview with Mark Chait, ATF's Director of Field Operations:

The tactics employed in the Fast and Furious case were part of an evolving change in the strategic direction of firearms investigations, ATF officials told the Center.

Mark Chait, ATF’s assistant director in charge of field operations, told the Center he personally decided to change the strategy in September 2010 after years of futile efforts to interdict guns from small-time straw buyers with little hope of dismantling major drug trafficking organizations in Mexico. The agency’s earlier focus on straw buyers was criticized last fall in a review by the Justice Department’s inspector general of ATF’s border effort, known as Project Gunrunner.

In addition, ATF officials have so far been frustrated in efforts to persuade the White House to implement even a simple change in firearm sales reporting requirements to help detect possible gun-running at the border.

“When we look at the complexities of the organizations working around the border of Mexico, just dealing with the lowest level purchaser, the straw purchaser, doesn’t get you to the organizer, the money people and the key people in that organization to shut that down. We found that if we don’t attack the organization and shut the organization down, they will continue to move guns across the border,” Chait told the Center. “It’s kind of a somewhat common sense approach that if you don’t get to the higher-level folks that are making the calls, then guns will continue to cross the border.”

I covered this story at the time but missed the vital connection. I rightly ridiculed the idea that Chait had come up with this idea in September 2010 when the project had been going on for at least a year prior to that. But we can conclude from Chait's mea culpa statement that he was the author of this report, or, at least, it was produced by his office at ATF. Still, as we will see, this report does not mark the beginning of the policy change that led to the Project Gunwalker scandal, but rather is a policy document, something on the order of a U.S. Army field manual, of lessons learned in the previous year and a half.)

Isikoff continues:

Labeled “law enforcement sensitive,” it calls for ATF agents to put more emphasis on monitoring the activities of U.S. guns stores and other federally licensed firearms dealers who may be assisting or turning a blind eye to gun purchases by drug cartel operatives. The report describes such “corrupt” U.S. firearms dealers as “high value targets” -- a phrase that could rile gun rights groups and their supporters in Congress who charge ATF is already too aggressive in regulating the firearms industry.

The principal thrust of the revised strategy directs that ATF agents focus on taking down the operations of high-level gun traffickers working for specific Mexican cartels rather than simply trying to arrest low-level “straw buyers,” as they have often done in the past. It also calls on agents to use more sophisticated investigative methods, such as analyzing financial and telephone records, routinely used in terrorism and organized crime cases, and to work more closely with other federal agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The new strategy document, entitled “Project Gunrunner; A Cartel Focused Strategy,” appears designed in part to address criticisms of enforcement efforts contained in a recently circulated draft report by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General. That report reviewed the efforts of Gunrunner, an ATF initiative that involves dispatching teams of agents known as Gunrunner Impact Teams (or GRITs) to cities near the border that are believed to be primary sources of weapons for the cartels.

(MBV: Isikoff was right. This report -- if not prepared as a response to the criticism -- seems to me to certainly have been released by Chait to dampen the negative PR created by the DOJ Inspector General's report, "Review of ATF's Project Gunrunner" which although not officially released until November of that year was already well into the draft stage. Chait and the agency were certainly well aware of it when this report was written.)

Isikoff continues:

But, as disclosed this week by NBC News , Justice Department investigators found that Gunrunner was riddled with “significant weaknesses,” including interagency turf fights, failures to share intelligence and a misguided investigative strategy that focused on low-level street buyers rather than the sophisticated criminal organizations employing them.

Some U.S. national security officials believe that the drug-related violence in Mexico is getting increasingly dire. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, recently suggested the threat from Mexico’s drug cartels was beginning to resemble “an insurgency. In a Sept. 8 internal memo accompanying the new strategy, Mark Chait, ATF’s assistant director for field operations, wrote that “perhaps at no time our history has the investigation of firearms trafficking schemes and networks been more important to public safety, and increasingly, to national security, than now.”

Dancing to the master's tune. The ATF's Gunwalker scandal architects at headquarters: Second from left, Acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson, and, on the far right, ATF Assistant Director for Field Operations Mark Chait.

The embarrassing thing to me in retrospect is that, once aware of Isikoff's article, I didn't seek out the report upon which it was based. It is all the more embarrassing since MSNBC posted a pdf of it here. It was, as my DC friend commented, "hiding in plain sight."

It is ironic in the extreme that a report released for the short-term goal of deflecting what in the final analysis was minor criticism from the DOJ's Office of Inspector General will, I believe, prove to be the Gunwalker coverup artists' ultimate downfall. For this report is THE "outline for Gunwalker hearing questions."

Project Gunrunner existed before the Obama administration took power. But the executive summary of this internal report makes plain why and when Gunrunner became Gunwalker.

In response to the increased trafficking of firearms from the United States to Mexico, ATF developed Project Gunrunner, a firearms trafficking and firearms-related border violence strategy designed to deny drug trafficking organizations access to U.S. firearms. Initially implemented in our four primary Southwest border field divisions, Project Gunrunner has evolved into a national strategy as we have seen Mexican cartels reach further into the interior of the United States to acquire firearms in support of their lucrative drug trafficking operations.

It is important to note that this revised strategy does not replace Project Gunrunner. It is intended to complement Project Gunrunner and where appropriate clarify and expand Gunrunner capabilities and tactics. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.)

This document is not intended to provide detailed guidance concerning how to conduct cross border trafficking investigations; but rather is intended to be used by ATF personnel to ensure that investigative activity aligns with ATF strategic goals. Personnel should refer to ATF orders and publications, such as the recently revised Firearms Trafficking Guide, as well as training provided by the Office of Training and Professional Development for specific tactical and investigative guidance.

Since 2006, there has been a significant increase in drug and firearms-related violence in Mexico and increasingly along our Southwest border. Governments on both sides of the border have begun to view the evolution of cartel inspired violence in terms of criminal activity that increasingly threatens the stability of the Mexican state. Impacting this trend along our Southwest border, particularly in the post-9/11 world, requires new energy, vision and creativity. Over the past few years the White House, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security and even the U.S. Northern Command have developed various strategies and policies designed to leverage the full capabilities of the U.S. Government in this effort. It is essential that our efforts support the strategies and policies of the President and the Attorney General and where possible, complement the strategies of other agencies. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.

Read those last three sentences again. "It is essential that our efforts support the strategies and policies of the President and the Attorney General and where possible, complement the strategies of other agencies."

Whatever happened in the Gunwalker scandal, the ATF thought it was dancing to its political master's tune.

The summary continues:

In response to the evolving nature of firearms and explosives trafficking and related violence along and across our Southwest border we have increased our resources along the border and in Mexico and placed greater national emphasis on suppressing the trafficking of firearms and explosives to Mexico. Additionally, we have increased our efforts to partner with the Government of Mexico and other law enforcement and intelligence agencies with shared responsibilities.

As part of this process, we have deemed it necessary to revise both our Gunrunner strategy and the manner in which ATF headquarters monitors and supports certain field investigations.

While our strategy will remain multi-faceted and continue to include the inspection of licensed gun dealers and the targeting and arresting of straw purchasers, our revised approach will place greater emphasis on investigations that target specific cartels and the persons responsible for organizing and directing firearms trafficking operations in the United States. We have come to understand that we can best impact firearms trafficking to Mexico and Southwest border violence by linking our investigations to drug trafficking organizations and where possible to specific Mexican cartels. Our efforts will also be enhanced through increased coordination with our Federal counterparts. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.)

"We have deemed it necessary to revise both our Gunrunner strategy and the manner in which ATF headquarters monitors and supports certain field investigations." Here is the codification of the change, when Gunrunner became Gunwalker. Note, too, that here and throughout this report specific measures are taken to insure greater ATF headquarters involvement in major Gunrunner cases and "increased coordination with (ATF's) Federal counterparts." The "rogue Phoenix office" excuse is just so much bovine scatology. In the next paragraphs, we are told that Houston (can you say "Carter's Country"?) is at least as important as Phoenix.

Through analysis of Mexican crime gun traces and other intelligence data, it has been determined that the Gulf, the Zetas (once aligned with the Gulf Cartel), and the Sinaloa cartels are the criminal organizations most responsible for acquiring firearms in the United States to support their drug trafficking operations and where ATF can potentially have the greatest impact. Therefore, ATF Southwest border enforcement operations will place particular emphasis on the investigation of firearms and explosives trafficking operations organized, directed, and financed by these particular cartels.

Based on the areas in Mexico controlled by the Gulf, Zetas, and Sinaloa cartels; the locations of U.S.-sourced firearm recoveries in Mexico; and the U.S. locations where firearms recovered in Mexico are most often acquired, the Houston and Phoenix Field Divisions will be primarily responsible for investigating trafficking schemes associated with these cartels. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.) However, this strategy is not intended to limit the initiative of any ATF field division and in fact recognizes the increasingly important role played by non-Southwest border field divisions in combating firearms and explosives trafficking to Mexico. As a result, all ATF field divisions are expected to initiate investigations on cartels and/or their surrogates operating in their geographic areas of responsibility; however, investigations pertaining to the Gulf, Zetas, and Sinaloa cartels must be deconflicted and closely coordinated with the Houston and Phoenix Field Divisions.

"Deconflicted and closely coordinated." So much for the Houston SAC's denials that "no weapons were walked" with the knowledge of the HIS office. Jaime Avila could tell you that, were he still alive. The report summary continues:

This approach requires conducting our border-related firearms and explosives investigations in a more creative and comprehensive manner by fully incorporating our agency’s regulatory, investigative, analytical, technical, and legal capabilities and resources, as well as those available from other law enforcement agencies, particularly DEA. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.) At the heart of this increased emphasis on cartel focused investigations is greater use of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program and intelligence capabilities available from the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) and the DEA Special Operations Division. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.) Recent changes to OCDETF program policy encourage the use of OCDETF in firearms trafficking cases provided there is a nexus to high value drug trafficking targets.

Effective implementation (and documentation) of this strategy will enhance public safety and provide essential evidence of performance and accomplishments necessary to the continued growth and reputation of our agency. Although ATF headquarters possesses resources and capabilities necessary to the success of this strategy, success ultimately rests with the vigorous implementation of this strategy by field division and Mexico Country Office personnel at the front line of these operations. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.)

"Vigorous implementation." Well, I guess they got that all right.

I have written of the links between the Gunwalker scandal and OCDETF and EPIC before.

The records of each, and the testimony under oath of principal actors at each, will go a long way to uncovering the Gunwalker scandal coverup.

From the Background section of the report:

While the United States is not the only source of firearms and munitions used by the cartels, it has been established that a significant percentage of their firearms originate from gun stores and other sources in the U.S. Improvised explosive devices, military ordnance, and counterfeit firearms manufactured in clandestine facilities play an increasingly important role in emboldening Mexican cartels. Intelligence indicates these criminal organizations have tasked their money laundering, drug distribution, and transportation infrastructures with reaching into the United States to acquire firearms, ammunition, and the components necessary to modify firearms and/or construct improvised explosive devices. It is also well-established that firearms traffickers often use the same routes as drug traffickers. Increasingly, we find that Mexican cartels transport firearms and munitions into Mexico from Guatemala, situated on Mexico’s southern border. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.)

The analysis of trends based on seizures and human intelligence have provided some meaningful insights into the methods of acquisition and transportation utilized by the Mexican cartels. Furthermore, over the past few months enforcement strategies (and other guidance) that address firearms trafficking to Mexican cartels have been developed and released by the White House and the Department of Justice. It is essential that ATF efforts support strategies promoted by the White House and Department of Justice. An examination of these and other strategies reveals similarities among the strategies, but also suggests that some revisions to ATF’s current strategy are necessary. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.)

"It is essential that ATF efforts support strategies promoted by the White House and Department of Justice." There's those jingles of the master's tune again. The next section explains that in the past ATF has had programs and initiatives but everything has to be revisited because NOW, courtesy of the bright boys at the White House and DOJ, they have a STRATEGY.

ATF has over time initiated a variety of enforcement programs, operations, and initiatives related to our overall efforts to suppress firearms and explosives trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border. However, it is worth noting that these programs, operations, and initiatives are intended to advance the objectives of our Southwest border strategy---they are not in and of themselves strategies.

A recent example of an investigative initiative developed in support of Project Gunrunner (strategy) is the April 2009 Gunrunner Impact Team (GRIT) initiative. The GRIT, largely intelligence driven and investigative in nature, involved the deployment of approximately 100 investigative (special agents and industry operations investigators), analytical, and administrative personnel to Texas to target the persons, groups, and organizations responsible for the trafficking of firearms to Mexico from the Houston Field Division area of responsibility. Other important elements of GRIT included the inspection of numerous Southwest border FFLs and public service announcements designed to discourage the unlawful acquisition of firearms by straw purchasers. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.)

An effective strategy should coordinate and direct all the resources of the organization toward the attainment of one or more specific goals. In this particular case, the goal of our Southwest border strategy is the suppression of firearms and explosives trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border and firearms-related border violence.

"The April 2009 Gunrunner Impact Team (GRIT) initiative." There's Houston again. It would be a profitable area of inquiry to plumb the depths of GRIT, I think, and its specific "lessons learned" that later were applied to what became the Gunwalker scandal.

Under "Purpose and Scope":

The purpose of this document is to reiterate ATF’s commitment to Project Gunrunner while directing a more focused investigative approach. Specifically, with this document ATF will emphasize targeting the drug cartels principally responsible for the illegal acquisition and trafficking of firearms from the United States to Mexico. This document is not intended to replace Project Gunrunner; nor is it intended to provide a comprehensive tactical blueprint for the investigation of cross border firearms trafficking schemes. Project Gunrunner is incorporated into this document in its entirety unless a specific portion is deleted or amended herein. Specific ATF capabilities and/or responsibilities are mentioned to highlight their importance to our efforts to suppress firearms and explosives trafficking to Mexico and to better leverage ATF capabilities.

This revised strategy acknowledges and incorporates an investigative approach already being implemented by several ATF field divisions and reiterates the primary responsibility of the field special agents in charge for effective implementation of the strategy. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.) This document recognizes that Project Gunrunner is both an ATF strategy and a component of a larger U.S. Government counternarcotics strategy. Our success is contingent on the use of all appropriate regulatory, investigative, technical, intelligence, training, liaison, and public/industry outreach capabilities. . .

While our strategy will continue to include targeting persons who acquire firearms in a suspicious and/or unlawful manner, additional ATF investigative resources; improved information sharing and data analysis capabilities; improved interagency cooperation (both domestic and international); and improved technology have resulted in our ability to place greater emphasis on the end users of trafficked firearms in the market area---the cartels and their confederates who organize the trafficking schemes and facilitate the movement of firearms across the U.S. Southwest border.

"This revised strategy acknowledges and incorporates an investigative approach already being implemented by several ATF field divisions." Like I said, this is a Gunwalker field manual based on previous experience. Gunwlaker did not spring forth from Chait's desk in September 2010. Rather, the report is based on a year and a half of previous Gunwalker effort.

Under "Current Cartel and Firearms Trafficking Strategies" the report lays out the bureaucratic origins of Gunwalker:

On April 27, 2009, the Department of Justice released guidelines for the consideration of OCDETF designation in firearms related cases involving Mexican cartels. The memorandum identified firearms trafficking from the United States to Mexico as contributing to the escalating levels of cartel-related violence and as a particular concern for law enforcement on both sides of the border. The memorandum emphasized the important role that the OCDETF program plays in connection with the United States' government-wide efforts to stem the southbound smuggling of arms to Mexican drug trafficking organizations and stated that investigations principally targeting firearms trafficking are eligible for OCDETF designation if there is a sufficient nexus between the firearms and a major Mexican drug trafficking organization. . .

In June 2009, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) released its National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy. (MBV Note: Previously covered at Sipsey Street here.) The strategy represents another key contribution to the U.S. response to the threat along the Southwest border. The strategy acknowledges the close link between drug trafficking and firearms trafficking and the increasing powerful nature and sophistication of the firearms acquired and used by Mexican drug trafficking organizations. . .

On June 25, 2009, ATF released a memorandum detailing a revised national firearms trafficking enforcement strategy focusing on among other things the identification and investigation of specific domestic trafficking corridors. While not a Southwest border focused document, the national firearms trafficking enforcement plan makes reference to Project Gunrunner and firearms trafficking cases with an international nexus. The document is referenced here since it provides guidance for conducting firearms trafficking investigations generally and may include information pertaining to investigative, technical, and preventive tactics that may be applicable when investigating matters related to the Southwest border. (MBV Note: My DC "old hand" states, this "gives us a 'birth certificate' for what turned into the Project Gunwalker abomination.")

On January 7, 2010, the Department of Justice reemphasized its commitment to combating firearms trafficking to Mexican cartels and the use of the OCDETF program as a means of disrupting the cartels by releasing its own strategy. The strategy is premised on the notion that a significant share of the violence, drug trafficking and corruption along the Southwest border is perpetrated by a relatively small number of hierarchical criminal organizations. The DOJ strategy concludes that “the most effective mechanism to attack those organizations is the use of intelligence-based, prosecutor-led multi-agency task forces that attack all levels of, and all criminal activities of, the operations of the organizations.” A significant component of the DOJ strategy pertains to attacking the southbound flow of firearms. The strategy states that “given the national scope of this issue, merely seizing firearms through interdiction will not stop firearms trafficking to Mexico. We must identify, investigate, and eliminate the sources of illegally trafficked firearms and the networks that transport them.” (Emphasis supplied, MBV.) The DOJ strategy calls for closer collaboration between ATF and the efforts of multi-agency drug task forces along the border, including OCDETF strike forces. All ATF field divisions with an OCDETF strike force must consider assigning a complement of special agents to the multi-agency strike force and/or establishing a collocated ATF-led OCDETF group within the strike force.

The DOJ strategy states "merely seizing firearms through interdiction will not stop firearms trafficking to Mexico." And there, boys and girls, is the origin of the misbegotten, stupid and ultimately fatal "strategy" known as "gunwalking."

Regarding "The DOJ strategy calls for closer collaboration between ATF and the efforts of multi-agency drug task forces along the border, including OCDETF strike forces. All ATF field divisions with an OCDETF strike force must consider assigning a complement of special agents to the multi-agency strike force and/or establishing a collocated ATF-led OCDETF group within the strike force," "Old Hand" comments: "Egad. Talk about a shitload of interagency documents! This can't be covered up; too many documents are in too many systems, and disappearing them would be operationally impossible --- well, nothing's impossible, but it would be like trying to relocate the Washington Monument to its correct location without anybody noticing."

Under "A Cartel Focused Strategy," the report states that from now on, straw buyers are merely the means to an end.

Historically, ATF has placed much emphasis on the roles of the straw purchaser and the Federal firearms licensee in identifying and disrupting firearms trafficking schemes. However, straw purchasers by definition lack serious criminal records and therefore are frequently viewed as undesirable targets for criminal prosecution. Straw purchasers are also an easily replaced component of the trafficking scheme and the criminal laws that ATF generally relies upon to investigate and prosecute straw purchasers do not expose these violators to significant criminal penalties. This is particularly true when straw purchaser cases are presented for prosecution individually and not as part of a multi-defendant trafficking conspiracy case; or when there is little or no evidence that their unlawful acquisitions were financed by and intended to support a DTO.

Therefore, to more effectively disrupt firearms trafficking operations and to make our cases more appealing for criminal prosecution, greater emphasis will be placed on targeting the persons with greater responsibility for the trafficking schemes. In furtherance of this goal, we will attempt to conduct investigations focusing greater attention on the cartels that finance and direct these trafficking operations.

Straw purchasers will continue to be investigated and prosecuted according to their overall level of culpability and cooperation. Straw purchasers must be held accountable for their conduct and made ineligible to purchase or possess firearms in the future. However, straw purchasers should more frequently be viewed as persons whose conduct should be investigated as part of a larger conspiracy and as persons whose information, cooperation, and assistance should be exploited to the extent possible in furtherance of the ultimate goal of identifying key members of the trafficking enterprise and disrupting and/or dismantling of the trafficking operation.

And how do you do that? By letting firearms walk without surveillance? Well, I guess you just let them go under the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow theory of criminal investigation:

I shot an Arrow into the air
It fell to earth I know not where,
For so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

Only in this case the "arrows" were found in the bodies of a lot of dead Mexicans and at least two U.S. law enforcement officers.

The next sentences are, in retrospect, perhaps the most cynically ironic in the entire report, given the pleas of the Federal Firearms Licensees who begged the ATF not to let guns "walk" from their establishments.

FFLs remain both an important source of firearms (often unwittingly) to firearms traffickers and an investigative source of information. On occasion, FFLs become targets of criminal investigation and prosecution. When criminal wrongdoing by FFLs is suspected they will be aggressively investigated and recommended for prosecution. Corrupt FFLs constitute high-value targets due to the damage they cause and the special responsibility they hold to ensure that firearms are not illegally diverted from lawful commerce. The potential damage to public safety caused by even one corrupt FFL is difficult to calculate. In the meantime, we will continue to inspect FFLs who serve as a source of firearms to Mexican cartels according to an intelligence driven inspection plan and actively pursue investigative leads developed by industry operations investigators.

Additionally, we must not overlook the fact that firearms traffickers and other violent criminals also obtain firearms from secondary sources. While disrupting and/or dismantling secondary sources of crime guns present unique challenges, we should not overlook the benefits of doing so. Analysis of source location trace data for specific market areas, when adjusted for time-to-crime, may not only reveal actionable investigative leads, but also that secondary sources (e.g., gun shows, thefts and private sales) are a greater source of trafficked crime guns than licensed dealers. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.)

Here we have the entire point of the White House policymakers when they envisioned this back in early 2009. Always, always, they have coveted another "Assault Weapons" Ban and a "Gun Show Loophole" law. Their appetite was politically unattainable. The Obamanoids needed a crisis to justify their conspiracy to subvert the Second Amendment. So they set the ATF the task of aggravating a bad situation into a more bloody crisis that could be exploited, and gave them the additional task of documenting the body count as they did so, attempting to make their case that it was American civilian market firearms that were being used to do all the killing.

After all, what could go wrong? The ATF controlled all the statistics coming out of E-Traces from Mexico, right? What could go wrong? Who could upset that plan? Courageous whistleblowers like John Dodson, that's who. Absent the whistleblowers this bloody conspiracy would still be kicking along, bolstering the demands for law-abiding American firearm owners to give up more of their liberty in the "public good."

Not that ATF headquarters didn't understand the dangers involved:

This strategy will present certain challenges as some of the persons we seek to investigate, indict, and apprehend will reside outside the United States and/or may be priority targets of other U.S. law enforcement agencies. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.) When appropriate, this strategy envisions that ATF will refer information and actionable intelligence to the Government of Mexico and/or other U.S. law enforcement agencies.

There are also practical considerations that may require bringing investigations to a conclusion or dictate a change in investigative tactics prior to the identification of persons directly affiliated with the DTOs. Examples include high volume trafficking investigations in which numerous diverted firearms identifiable with one or more purchasers are being used in violent crimes and recovered by law enforcement, and high volume trafficking investigations in which over an extended period ATF cannot reasonably determine where or to whom such firearms are being trafficked. SACs must closely monitor and approve such investigations, assessing the risks associated with prolonged investigation with limited or delayed interdiction. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.) In some instances, the best answer may be to provide actionable intelligence to other law enforcement agencies and/or the Government of Mexico.

Well, we know from the testimony of Darren Gil that the decision was taken at the highest levels to NOT inform the government of Mexico about "Project Gunwalker." So, knowing the dangers in advance, they did it anyway. What's the legal phrase? "Depraved indifference," I think. Yes, that's the right term.

There's much, much more in this report. I draw your attention particularly to the "Headquarters Oversight and Coordination" section (page 17) that completely blows apart any fragment of a fig leaf that somehow Melson and Co. didn't know about "gunwalking."

Under "The Mexico Country Office," page 19 tells us:

"The controlled movement of firearms, ammunition, explosives, explosives devices, and/or components or non-functional 'props' of such items across the U.S.-Mexico border from the United States shall be coordinated with and approved in advance by Bureau headquarters and the MCO."

"Old Hand" comments, "Does this bear out the ATF whistleblowers, or what? Connect the dots back to DOJ, too."

More on DOJ complicity can be found under "DOJ Assistance and Prosecution Strategy":

Although it is expected that cases investigated as part of this strategy will be prosecuted by the appropriate local United States Attorney, DOJ has shown interest and support of the approach outlined in this document and has designated a Criminal Division attorney to serve as the Department’s liaison to ATF. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.) In some cases, the Criminal Division may become directly involved in the prosecution of OCDETF and cartel focused cases.

The interlocking intelligence gathering and management structures codified in this report in the chapters "Information Collection, Management and Exploitation" (pp. 22-23) and "Performance Goals and Performance Indicators (p. 26) spread Gunwalker scandal knowledge and complicity throughout the entire management of ATF, other agencies, DOJ, and, ultimately, the White House.

So, you see, this document is in fact The Official ATF Field Manual of the Gunwalker Scandal. Ironically the ATF leaked it to Michael Isikoff to deflect the agency from blame. Now it will be the blueprint for the destruction of the Gunwalker scandal coverup by Congressional inquisitors. Like The X-Files promo used to say, "The Truth Is Out There." But whoever suspected it was posted in plain sight on MSNBC?

Not me.

Mike Vanderboegh
Strategic Scandalmonger, First Class and the alleged leader of a merry band of Three Percenters.

LATER PS: If you feel that this is a useful piece of information to help your Senator, Congresscritter, local editor or other interested person advance the Gunwalker Scandal investigation, feel free to circulate it.



From Sunday: Gov't employees comment on "The Official ATF Field Manual of the Gunwalker Scandal." An old spook* calls it: "the Holy Grail of Rosetta Stones."


A jar of slippery eels.

Yesterday's post elicited a number of comments from current and former federal government employees.

From an experienced ATF field agent:

Excellent!

To further point out:

"Prosecutor-led multi-agency task forces" - Unlike HIDTA (DEA), JTTF (FBI), OCDETF (Multi Agency), etc., the Strike Forces are run by DOJ directly. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.) Funds and operations trickle through the various agencies but it is the only entity which has lawyers (not cops/agents) making day to day investigative decisions. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.)

"High volume trafficking investigations in which over an extended period ATF cannot reasonably determine where or to whom such firearms are being trafficked" & "The controlled movement of firearms, ammunition, explosives, explosives devices, and/or components or non-functional 'props' of such items across the U.S.-Mexico border from the United States shall be coordinated with and approved in advance by Bureau headquarters" - How do we have a document which clearly defines and mandates a strategy that both ATF and DOJ have categorically denied was ever practiced? (Emphasis supplied, MBV.)

Furthermore, Holder just testified (under oath) to the Senate Judiciary committee that "we should never allow guns in an uncontrolled fashion to cross the border, or actually to leave any investigation in an uncontrolled way," and "Uncontrolled distribution of guns connected to any kind of investigation that we are doing is something that is not consistent with the policies that I (inaudible) followed in the Department of Justice."

So, according to the Attorney General himself, this new strategy is in direct violation of a long standing DOJ policy.

From a retired member of the intelligence community:

Your best yet. You have written about "Rosetta Stones" when documents surfaced in this scandal before but this really is the Holy Grail of Rosetta Stones. How stupid of the ATF to leak this document to Isikoff. . . Few PR challenges have to be answered by leaking policy documents. . . Chait (if that is who wrote it and/or leaked it) just shot his agency, the DOJ and the Obama administration in the head. The bullet just arrived several months late is all. That's no small trick, to get several targets with one shot.

From a current government employee:

There's no doubt this report can unravel Project Gunrunner/Gunwalker. Just get the Congress to demand some analyses using the performance measures that were required to be institutionalized. I don't see any way to credibly cover them up---i.e., "Are you telling me, Mr. Melson, that ATF has no records of the serial numbers and descriptions of the Project Gunrunner firearms that would enable any other law enforcement agency, domestic or foreign, to identify them in its own data bases as crime guns?" But getting the Congress to ask such questions in a forum in which perjury is an issue is a whole other jar of slippery electric eels.

And that is the billion dollar question, isn't it? Will the Congresscritters act on the damning information contained in this internal ATF report? Word is that Grassley, Issa and even Lamar Smith are serious about fighting this out to the bitter end to get to the truth. We shall see.

Mike
III

*LATER: I received a complaint from the fellow I characterize as "old spook" in the headline. This retired employee of the Christians In Action takes exception at the moniker "old spook" and wishes that I had rather referred to him as "an experienced gentleman adventurer of unconventional mien." As this will not fit in the space allotted for the title, this asterisk will have to do.