A Chronology of Operation Fast and Furious 2012-2013 |
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Go to the December 2010-2011 Chronology | |
April 2013 | [April 24th] Politico: Judge Skeptical of Obama in Executive Privillege Fight: A federal judge gave a skeptical reception Wednesday to the Obama administration’s arguments that the courts should stay out of the dispute over the Justice Department’s refusal to turn over some Operation Fast and Furious-related documents to a House committee. Last June, the fight led President Barack Obama to assert executive privilege over the records of the controversial gun trafficking investigation, and to House votes finding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson spent most of an hour-and-a-half hearing Wednesday sharply questioning Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ian Gershengorn about the administration’s assertion that a lawsuit the House panel filed last year should be dismissed and the legislative and executive branches of government left to work out their differences by themselves.Jackson, an Obama appointee, repeatedly suggested that Gershengorn was giving the judiciary short shrift. “You keep talking about the two [branches] as if the third one isn’t there,” she said. [April 9th] The House Government Oversight and Reform Committee has posted a pdf document showing which government officials knew about Operation Fast and Furious and the timeline of when they learned about it. We have posted that document on this Website for your information. |
March 2013 | [Mar. 22nd] The Hill: ICE Slammed over Fast and Furious by Top House Leaders from both parties: Top House lawmakers criticized a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Friday for its role in the failed gun tracking operation "Fast and Furious," after a new report detailed the agency’s involvement. At the urging of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), officials with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit did not pursue leads on potential weapons smugglers, according to the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) inspector general report released on Friday. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-TX) and Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said the 84-page report was “troubling.”"This report once again demonstrates the obvious flaws in the Fast and Furious Operation,” said McCaul. “While it makes clear that the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement leadership were initially unaware of the operation, it is troubling that those ICE and DHS personnel in Arizona who knew of the problems did not take immediate action.” [Mar. 16th] FoxNews: House panel tells judge: Justice's offer in Fast & Furious settlement a 'grave disappointment': "The parties are very, very far apart," lawyers for the GOP-led committee wrote. "Indeed, they are not even conceptually on the same page. After nearly four months of negotiating in good faith, the committee reluctantly has concluded -- principally as a result of the department's settlement document -- that the attorney general is not serious about settlement." The committee added that it didn't think court-ordered mediation would help. |
January 2013 | [Jan. 21] FoxNews: [Opinion Piece] The Ship of State Obama is sailing forward Monday on the next leg of its journey amidst battles over guns, immigration, debt and pretty much everything else. The big question is whether the media will continue to serve as crew for another four years. For the first four years it didn’t matter whether it was taxes, Libya, Fast & Furious or gun control (er, “gun violence”), the media have followed Obama like he is their personal master and commander-in-chief. [Jan. 17] ABC News: A Mexican national claims to be the man who shot and killed U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, whose death is tied to the "Fast and Furious" gun-walking scandal. Gustavo Cruz-Lozano, who says he killed Terry, turned himself in on Wednesday on charges related to a separate incident where he threatened to kill Hidalgo County, Texas Sheriff Lupe Treviño. But before he surrendered himself, Cruz-Lozano said in an exclusive interview with Univision News' daily news magazine show "Primer Impacto" that he murdered Terry during a firefight on Dec. 14, 2010, while the agent was on patrol near the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona. Two AK-47 rifles found at the scene were linked to the botched Operation Fast and Furious in which the U.S. government sought to track firearms sales to violent drug cartels. But it remains unclear whether those weapons were used to kill Terry. [Jan. 15] The Hill: Fast and Furious shows gun control should start with administration: Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said Tuesday that if the President Obama wants to impose new restrictions on gun ownership, he should start with his own administration, given how it handled the Fast and Furious gun-walking operation. "We have a president who makes speeches and an attorney general that makes speeches about how they're going to go after illegal gun sales, and yet there is blood on the hands of people in this administration, and we can't even find out who they are," Gohmert said on the House floor Tuesday night. [Jan 15] The Daily Caller publishes an editorial on Operation Fast and Furious and Gun Control: Let’s get this straight: Guns are too dangerous to be left in the hands of ordinary Americans. But guns in the hands of unknown rebels, who may turn out to be violent extremists, are just fine. There is no evidence of a connection. But what happened in Benghazi seems like a good reason to refrain from encouraging the distribution of weapons without knowing where they will end up or who will start firing them. |
Oct - Dec. 2012
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[Dec. 28th] The Washington Times: Chairman Darrell Issa of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee praised the proposed House rules package for the 113th Congress that will keep in place the legal obligations on Attorney General Eric Holder and others at the Department of Justice. This action will keep in place the subpoena that requires the Department of Justice to produce Fast and Furious documents. Attorney General Holder's refusal to turn over these documents is also the basis for the House of Representatives Contempt of Congress civil suit. [Dec. 20th] The Los Angeles Times: Two of the weapons found after a drug cartel gunfight last month in Sinaloa, Mexico, that killed five people have been traced back to the U.S. — one lost during the ATF's Operation Fast and Furious, the other originally purchased by a supervisory ATF agent who helped oversee the botched gun-tracking operation. [Dec. 19th] Fox News: How did a gun belonging to a former assistant special agent in charge at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives end up at a crime scene in Mexico where five died, including a Mexican beauty queen? [Nov. 27th] Business Week: Justice Department is seeking a settlement of the Contempt of Congress Citation against Holder as it negotiates with House Republicans. [2nd] Breitbart.com: Report: Operation Fast and Furious was part of a DOJ "deliberate strategy" [29th] The Daily Caller: Congressional Fast and furious report places blame on high ranking Just Department officials. [25th] Politico: Judge Speeds Contempt Lawsuit over Operation Fast and Furious [2nd] FrontPageMag.com: Operation Fast and Furious and the Massacre of Mexican Children [1st] FoxNews: Finally, the media is showing the staggering human cost of Operation Fast & Furious. But the news broadcast wasn’t in English [1st] The Blaze: Five things you did not know about Operation Fast and Furious [be warned this has graphic images] |
Sep. 2012
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[22nd] Daily Caller: Atlantic Columnist, '60 Minutes' Analyst: IG Report Proves Eric Holder Must Resign over Fast and Furious. [19th] Fox News: Representative Issa interviewed by Fox News about the DOJ Inspector General's report on Fast and Furious. Said report faults Justice for bad judgment and management. [19th] Washington Post: Republicans hail DOJ Inspector General's report as a huge step forward. [18th] Fox News: Tax exempt Media Matters closely involved with Holder's Justice Department to "spin" stories on Fast and Furious, the Daily Caller reports. Sixty nine pages of email reveal released by the Department of Justice under a Freedom of Information Act request sheds light on the connection between DOJ and the taxpayer funded Media Matters. [18th] Terra.com:Relatives of a U.S. Border Patrol agent whose murder in the line of duty was linked to a botched U.S. operation to track guns smuggled to Mexico on Monday called for accountability for the government officials who approved the program [11th] FoxNews: Long awaited Inspector Generals report is expected to blame ATF and the Justice Department for the botched Fast and Furious operation |
Aug. 2012 | [21st] Washington Post and FoxNews: It just gets more fast and more furious! Congressional sources reveal that a high level ATF official who was involved with Operation Fast and Furious and is on paid administrative leave has been reveiving two full time salaries. One from the Government and the other from the investment bank J.P. Morgan.
[13th] TPM and FoxNews: Congressional Committee files lawsuit against Attorney General Holder for failure to release documents to Congress. [7th] Washington Times: ATF settles case with whistleblower in case where ATF was accused of taking revenge against a person who blew the whistle on the Fast and Furious operation. [7th] Daily Caller: Drug cartel operatives used weapons from Operation Fast and Furious in a failed attempt to assassinate a high-ranking Mexican law enforcement official, the El Paso Times reports [3rd] New York Times: William Hoover, top ATF official resigns after involvement with Operation Fast and Furious and after subsequent reassignment within ATF [2nd] The Foundry: The Buck for Operation Fast and Furious stops... well... somewhere else! [1st] The Examiner: Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Tuesday announced the release of the first of three new reports laying out the facts about what Issa termed the reckless Obama/Holder program commonly known as Operation Fast and Furious [Congressional Report] [1st] Daily Caller: A new Congressional report explores how Operation Fast and Furious, appears to have had its “genesis” in the offices of Attorney General Eric Holder’s top deputies.
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Jul. 2012 | [30th] FoxNews: Congressional report blames five AFT employees for Fast and Furious debalce. More reports about higher level officals yet to come.
[26th] FoxNews: New ATF Head tries to clarify his video to employees that Members of Congress viewed as threatening Whistle Blowers. [25th] Washington Times: Report that the new DOJ Inspector General will release his report on Operation Fast and Furious within weeks instead of months. Members on the Hill are withholding judgement on the report until they receive it. [25th] Heritage Foundation: Operation Fast and Furious: How a Botched Justice Department Operation Led to a Standoff over Executive Privilege [19th] FOXNEWS: Leaders on Capitol Hill fire off a letter to AFT director Jones in what is termed a possible threatening video to Whistle Blowers within the agency and asking Jones to clarify his statements. [18th] Washington Examiner: Whistle blowers blew the lid off Operation Fast and Furious, but the new head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) warned staff that they would face “consequences” if they did not “find appropriate ways to raise [their] concerns to [their] leadership.”“[I]f you don’t respect the chain of command, if you don’t find the appropriate ways to raise your concerns to your leadership, there will be consequences,” said Acting ATF director Todd Jones, who was appointed in the wake of Operation Fast and Furious. [17th] Houston Chronicle: Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney lashed out Tuesday at President Obama for a lack of “transparency’’ in invoking executive privilege to withhold Operation Fast and Furious documents. [12th] FoxNews | Dobbs Report: Complaint filed with the D.C. Bar Association to disbar Holder for failure to comply with the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate requests for documents. [10th] KUHF.FM: Holder speaks to NAACP in Houston. Talks about how the Texas Voter (photo) ID law will disenfranchise voters but guess what? Members of the NAACP who wanted to hear Holder speak had to show a photo ID to get in the door! This seems to be just another example of how things are in Washington, DC! [Not a Fast and Furious item but since Holder was involved we have included it here.] [9th] The Hill: Report on whether Whistle Blower agents are safe from retaliation. In a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), made public on Monday, IG Michael Horowitz said he was investigating their concerns that two federal officials could be at risk of retaliatory action for speaking out against the botched gun-tracking operation. [7th] Examiner.com: Report of AFT retribution against Whistle Blowers within the agency. In addition, article links to CleanUpATF.org, a site for anonymous postings by ATF agents who are the subjects of this abuse [6th] Washington Times: Chief of major (undercover) operations in the DEA outlines what is required in order to get approval to conduct operations such as Fast and Furious including approval from main Justice. [3rd] Roll Call: The day before the Justice Department broadly, and falsely, denied that guns had “walked” as part of the botched “Fast and Furious” gun-smuggling operation, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told supervisors in a memo that he had expressed his concerns about the operation to Congressional investigators. In a July 3 letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) questioned whether the memo should have raised red flags at the Justice Department. [1st] Fox News: Boehner says the House will file suit within the next few weeks to get the documents being withheld by AG Holder |
Jun. 2012 | [30th] Washington Post/SF Gate: Administration refuses to prosecute Holder for Contempt of Congress
[29th] Roll Call reports Chairman Issa drops a "bombshell" letter into the Congressional Record detailing the request for wiretaps that included signatures from high level personnel in the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. According to the report, the wiretap applications contained a startling amount of detail about the operation, which would have tipped off anyone who read them closely about what tactics were being used. [29th] While Holder has been found in Contempt of Congress and the President has asserted Executive Privilege" of the release of documents, Holder apparently does not believe that the same executive privilege extends to State governments. His Department is in litigation with Texas over its new voter ID law. After the Justice Department objected to this common-sense election reform on the erroneous claim that it is discriminatory and violates Section 5 of the Voting Rights Acts, Texas filed suit in federal district court in the District of Columbia. That case goes to trial next month. [Source/Report] [29th] Fox News reports the Justice Dept. has moved to shield Holder from prosecution after the vote to hold him in Contempt of Congress [29th] CBS News reports the Fast and Furious whistle blowers are now supervised by an AFT manager who allegedly threatened to "take them down!" [28th] Fox News video on House vote to hold Attorney General in Contempt of Congress. [27th] Sonoran News reports it is likely that Holder, Obama, and Napolitano knew about the Fast and Furious gun running operation as early as 2009 and perhaps earlier than that. [26th] Fox News reports Obama administration officials and House Republican staff members failed to resolve a document dispute that could lead to a precedent-setting contempt of Congress vote against Attorney General Eric Holder [25th] The Daily Caller reports a single internal e-mail may be the smoking-gun document if it contains what Congressional investigators say it does. [see report above] [24th] The Arizona Daily Star: Editorial -
Obama's Claims of Executive Privilege fall flat for two reasons [22nd] The Chicago Tribune says in an editorial "The White House could spare all of us a distracting and damaging battle over executive privilege — a murky principle not defined in the Constitution — if Holder would share these documents with the American people." [21st] Fox News video: Executive Privilege does not apply the documents requested, Rep. Issa. Rep Gowdy says if executive privilege did apply then it should have been tendered much earlier. [20th] LA Times report (and CBS video) on House Committee reporting a Contempt of Congress resolution to the Full House of Representatives. [15th] Fox News Huckabee interviews Trey Gowdy (R-SC) on Holder withholding documents. [11th] Fox News: House Committee scheduled vote on Holder Contempt of Congress resolution [8th] Fox News: Is Attorney General Holder lying to Congress? [5th] CBS News: Fast and Furious wiretap information provided to Congress |
May 2012 | [9th] Fox News | Second Report : GOP wants to cut Justice Department payroll in order to get documents [8th] Fox News: Holder, you can still avoid Contempt of Congress if you just produce the Documents, says Issa. [8th] Washington Examiner: Fast and Furious agency is to get a $1 million funding increase [3rd] Wall Street Journal | Fox News: Issa has drafted a Contempt of Congress Resolution against Holder [1st] El Paso Times Report: Guns in Mexico lawyers murder came from Fast and Furious [1st] Fox News: Obama's Justice Department seems more partisan than ever? [Stonewalling Congress, failure to enforce immigration laws, and trying to overturn voter ID bills] |
Apr. 2012 | [30th] Fox News: What happens if Congress finds Holder in Contempt of Congress? [27th] CBS News: Government's response to CBS News "Fast and Furious" document request is mainly blank pages [27th] Fox News Video: Issa, Chaffetz confirm contempt plans for Holder over Fast and Furious. Issa says his committee was lied to and wants information as to why and how it happened. [10th] Fox News Video: Obama stonewalling, keeping Kevin O'Reilly, former administration official, from testifying on Capitol Hill. [6th] The Daily Caller: The Obama administration is stonewalling two lawmakers’ requests to interview a former member of the National Security staff who wanted to testify in connection with Operation Fast and Furious [5th] World Net Daily: Mr. Obama, tear down that wall! Jeff Knox won't let White House get away with Fast & Furious smokescreen |
Mar. 2012 | [29th] Fox News: Issa: Why is the White House ordering former aide to not speak to the Oversight Committee. Former aide willing to testify but being told not to. [28th] Chicago Tribune: Family of slain agent 'sickened' Feds didn't share information [26th] Fox News Video: Internal memo shows ATF rank and file don't trust the brass. [24th] Fox News: The investigation of Operation Fast and Furious escalated this past week as Fox News learned a leak at the Justice Department is providing documents to the Congressional investigators. [20th] Washington Times: Congressman Darrell Issa, California Republican, and Senator Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican, sent a joint letter to Attorney General Holder on Monday demanding answers about a gun trafficking suspect, involved in the 2010 fast and furious operation, who was caught, released, and arrested almost one year later. [19th] Fox News Video: New twist in Fast and Furious - ATF releases federal gun-running suspect. [19th] Examiner.com: Holder anti-gun video: Is this the "smoking gun" of Fast and Furious? [16th] The Daily Caller: Issa sees similarities between Fast and Furious, sale of Texas guns that killed ICE agent. [12th] Yahoo News/Daily Caller: Now over 120 Members of Congress calling for Holder to resign [8th] Salem-News: Over 100 Congressman now demanding AG Holder resignation. [1ST] Washington Times: Grassley and Issa: Where is the Administration's report on Fast and Furious? They say the Justice Department investigation into the botched “Fast and Furious” gunrunning operation has taken “an awfully long time to finish” and, as a result, “should meet the highest standards of accuracy and independence.” |
Feb. 2012 | [27th] Examiner.Com reports Issa and Grassley push Holder for answers in agent Jamie Zapata's slaying. [23rd] Human Events reports one of the weapons found at the crime scene where Immigration and Customs (ICE) agent Jaime Zapata was killed was from Operation Fast and Furious. [14th] Newsmax: Issa sends "scathing" letter to Holder claiming he is stonewalled the Fast and Furious probe at every turn. [10th] CNN: Holder granted extra time to turn over Fast and Furious documents. [10th] Fox News Video Report: Is Operation Fast and Furious the biggest cover up since Water Gate? An attempt to further the cause for gun control? [5th] Fox News Video Report: AG Holder on the hot seat -- Interview with Texas Congressman Farenthold [4th] Fox News Video Report: Is DOJ withholding Fast and Furious information? Chairman Issa says over two thirds of the documents requested have not been provided. [2nd] Fox News | C-Span: Holder testifies before House Oversight Committee [1st] Memo from Issa/Grassley to majority members of the House Oversight Committee. Very detailed and in the concluding paragraph it states "As the former ATF Acting Director testified in July 2011, it appears very clearly that the Department is circling the wagons to protect its political appointees." [1st] CBS News: Family of Boarder Patrol agent Brian Terry sues the U.S. government |
Jan. 2012 | [31st] Fox News: Chairman Issa threatens Contempt of Congress proceedings against AG Holder if Justice fails to comply with Fast and Furious subpoenas. [29th] Fox News: Newly released Justice Department emails sent to Capitol Hill for a congressional inquiry into a gun-smuggling operation indicate that the head of the department's criminal division suggested letting some illicit "straw" weapons buyers in the U.S. transport their guns across the border into Mexico where they could be arrested. [Includes interesting interview/video coverage] [25th] Fox News: Chairman Issa cries foul after Cunningham refuses to testify. Issa calls the decision a "startling development" and in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder wrote that the refusal to testify implies that "Mr. Cunningham may have engaged in criminal conduct with respect to Fast and Furious is a major escalation of the department's culpability." [20th] Fox News | The Hill: Federal official Patrick Cunningham, Chief of the U.S. Attorney's Criminal Division in Phoenix, Arizona, refuses to testify about Fast and Furious, takes the 5th. [5TH] Washington Times: House hearings to resume next month. A major focus of the hearing is expected to include what Mr. Issa has described as the Justice Department’s “steadfast refusal” to disclose information following a Feb. 4 letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican, which the department has since withdrawn because it contained false information denying accusations made by whistle-blowers about Fast and Furious. [5th] Examiner.com: William Heuisler reports on an April 2009 speech Holder made in Mexico in which he said "Last week, our administration launched a major new effort to break the backs of the cartels. My department is committing 100 new ATF personnel to the Southwest border in the next 100 days to supplement our ongoing Project Gunrunner." and thus proving he had knowledge of the operation long before he has now admitted he learned of it. [4TH] National Geographic on YouTube: Expose on drugs and guns. 15:15 into the clip they show a stash of guns made in America that had been seized, then about a minute later William Newell of the ATF field office in Arizona comes on talking about how they are trying to stop the flow of guns to Mexico. |