Monday, September 19, 2011

More from CBS: Dealer and ATF frankly discuss maintaining cover-up from disruption by Senator Grassley.


Interior shot of Lone Wolf Trading Co.

Dealer on Leahy: "He's an arrogant bastard." ATF agent: "So is Grassley though."

WASHINGTON - "Watch your back," the gun dealer warns the ATF Agent in an audio recording obtained by CBS News.

The secretly recorded conversations are between the primary gun dealer cooperating with ATF in its "Fast and Furious" operation, Andre Howard, and lead case ATF agent Hope MacAllister.

Howard owns Lone Wolf Trading Company in Glendale, Arizona.

(Scroll down to hear the audio recordings)

Secret recordings rais new questions in AFT 'Gunwalker' case

As CBS News first reported last February, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allegedly allowed thousands of weapons to "walk" onto the streets without interdiction into the hands of suspected traffickers for Mexican drug cartels in its operation "Fast and Furious."

In the following audio excerpts, the gun dealer Howard and ATF Agent MacAllister discuss possible involvement in the investigation into Fast and Furious by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). They also mention Attorney General Eric Holder.

Read text of the audio excerpts below.

EXCERPT 1

Dealer: Question: do your people have any confidence that you can forestall subpoena? Or is it still up in the air?

Agent: No, my understanding is person, the only people that can request a congressional hearing has to be a majority party. Grassley is a Republican.

Dealer: I know.

Agent: And as of right now...

Dealer: In the Senate right.

Agent: Yeh. And as of right now we don't have any interest from anybody in the majority party to the extent that he's shown interest. So even if you wanted to at this point unless he gets CUTS OUT somebody from the majority party to jump on board, he can't...

Dealer: Not on his own no but you know Leahy and rest of 'em these people are snakes, they'll do anything they can...

Agent: My understanding also is that the Attorney General's office is supposed to come out little bit stronger...um...

Dealer: I understand that.

Agent: position...which may or may not, um, you know, help.

Dealer: I'll tell you what I'll give him that, he's got f---ing b---s making that statement. I don't wanna even go there.

EXCERPT 2

Dealer: Until something else happens they're not stupid, Hope, they connect the dots.

Agent: No and you know and all that's fine if Senator Grassley wants to come in and tell us show us how to work these cases more efficiently more effectively by all means.

Dealer: Don't think Grassley, think Leahy.

Agent: Well, him too. I... I welcome him to come down and work...

Dealer: He's an arrogant b-----d

Agent: So is Grassley though

Dealer: Chuck probably and I don't know a thing about him other than from somebody else I've heard seems to be just somebody who's hitching his wagon to any star to.. for his own aggrandizement.

Agent: Yeh

Dealer: You know that. He's an arrogant

Agent: Yeh

Dealer: individual. Look he's a United States senator there it is right there.

EXCERPT 3

Agent: That's kind of what my suggestion but nobody thought that was funny like if I were a P.I. I'd put him on Grassley, I'm sure there's a lot would go away. Actually my one suggestion was just tell him in a registered Republican. I'm sure if he knew that everything would be fine, they didn't like that either.

Dealer: Well.

Agent: Alright.

Dealer: You gotta be, watch your back. I don't trust these people around you one bit. You've been very lucky so far.

Agent: Again I'll be more than happy to talk to somebody, they won't let me, but more than happy to talk to anybody about the decisions we made.

Dealer: Hope, stay off the screen. You don' t need this sh--. Neither does your husband.

Agent: Believe me I have...

Dealer: You gotta have a f-----g life man.

Agent: I have a file and...

Dealer: shhh

Agent: It's all, it's all public stuff I dont' care.

Dealer: Well don't even convey it in that. I'm sure you do. Hopefully this thing will subside...

Agent: You keep saying that but ?

Dealer: I know.

Dealer: You and I both know how bad it's gonna get I won't bull---t you you don't bull---t me

Agent: Ha ha.

Dealer: my a-- is up here and yours is here here but you're covered I'm out in the open

Agent: Ha ha.

Dealer: God.


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

So Andre Howard of Lone Wolf Trading is part of the cover-up.

With "friends like these, who needs enemies?"

Anonymous said...

Ha! It's damning evidence of a cover-up, much like the Watergate tapes. It provides ample grounds for Grassley to demand that Leahy issue subpoenas.

MALTHUS

Anonymous said...

OK, we got Hope on tape...now how about Change? ;)

III N TN

Longbow said...

It sounds to me like Mr. Howard is acting all chummy with the ATF agent (Ms. MacAllister).

But, who leaked the audio?

Mike, Mr. Howard's conversation with one of those brave street agents, only sustains my comments on your earlier blog post. There is nary a word about right and wrong, only about CYA.

"Really good guys (and gals)", and all that...

1911A1 said...

Not so fast. Who exactly is making the recordings? Sounds like Howard is chumming the waters trying to get exculpatory statements from the agent to get his own ass out of the trick bag.

Who, if anybody, authorized the wire?

Anonymous said...

God that dealer is an idiot. Trying to make a king cobra your friend never works out the way you want it to. You always get bit, usually more than once.

This is what it's come to in America today. Kiss government's ass in hopes of being left alone or becoming the last dealer standing.

Boy I would have missed the similarities to other totalitarian police states if I hadn't read that history book. The differences are now a matter of degree only,

The pebbles are rattling in the can.

Anonymous said...

This is clear complicity in continuing criminal activity. Howard is happily and completely on board with that agent. Who the hell is on who's payroll here? Frag 'em all.

Mark Matis said...

For Anonymous at 3:28 AM:

I would submit that EVERY gun dealer in this country knows that very well. As does every ISP. But they ALSO understand that, if you do NOT do exactly WHAT they tell you to do, WHEN they tell you to do it - no matter HOW illegal and immoral it may be - "Law Enforcement" will find ways to destroy you. And so I curse those damnable bastards straight to hell every day for what they have done to this country.