Month: April 2011

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Rep. Darrell Issa Explains Supoena Sent To ATF

April 1, 2011 by 3 Comments

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) released a video interview explaining why a supoena was sent to ATF. As David Codrea reports, Issa’s spokesman Seamus Kraft says the video answers the following questions.

In the video, Chairman Issa answers the following questions:

  • What are BATF’s “Project Gunrunner” and “Operation Fast and Furious”?
  • Why did you initiate an Oversight Committee Investigation into ATF’s “Project Gunrunner”?
  • Since ATF refused to provide the information you and Senator Grassley requested, what are you doing today?
  • What are the terms of the subpoena you’ve issued to Acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson?
  • Did you consult with Oversight Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings before issuing the subpoena?
  • What is Ranking Member Cummings’ stance towards the investigation of “Project Gunrunner”?
  • Are you still working with Senator Grassley on the investigation of “Project Gunrunner”?
  • Do you expect the State Department will comply with your request for information on its involvement with “Project Gunrunner”?
  • Do you have a message for the families affected by “Project Gunrunner”?

UPDATE: Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)welcomes Issa’s efforts to get the documents in this statement. Grassley also includes links to all the letters he has sent to the various government agencies involved.

“I first wrote to seek information about these allegations in January. It’s now April. Despite repeated requests and mounting evidence that the allegations are credible, the administration failed to voluntarily provide even a single page of the internal documents I requested. After this history of stonewalling, the Justice Department is now faced with a subpoena from the House. The department must provide these documents and I expect them to be delivered simultaneously to me at the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“I welcome Chairman Issa joining my efforts to uncover the facts about how this reckless policy was approved.”

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I Wish It Were A Joke

April 1, 2011 by

Sometimes you are sent stories that you think must be a joke. That is especially true if they arrive on April 1st.

So if you got sent a news story with a headline that reads “Black Lawmakers Sue to Dissolve Cities that Are Too ‘White’”, most people would think it was a joke. A bit off color and maybe racist but a joke nonetheless.

It’s true.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus filed a lawsuit Monday against the state of Georgia seeking to dissolve the city charters of Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Johns Creek, Milton and Chattahoochee Hills. Further, the lawmakers, joined by civil rights leader the Rev. Joseph Lowery, aim to dash any hopes of a Milton County.

The lawsuit, filed in a North Georgia U.S. District Court Monday, claims that the state circumvented the normal legislative process and set aside its own criteria when creating the “super-majority white ” cities within Fulton and DeKalb counties. The result, it argues, is to dilute minority votes in those areas, violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution.

Before I read this story, I literally went into Pacer.gov to see if such a case had been filed and it was. You can read the case here. The case is entitled Lowery et al v. Deal. The cities in question were created between 2005 and 2008.

I guess the truth is stranger than fiction.

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Disturbing To Whom?

April 1, 2011 by

As noted here on Wednesday, HB 111 passed the North Carolina House. This bill would allow concealed carry in restaurants and eating establishments that serve alcohol as well in state and local parks (in most areas.)

Rep. Ray Rapp (D-Madison) represents the 118th District and is one of the five Minority Whips in the North Carolina House. I live in the 118th District. I had written to him last week in support of the bill and he didn’t commit to supporting the bill in his response to me.

Today, I received his weekly email newsletter, Ray’s Raleigh Report, discussing legislation, visitors to his office, etc. Here is what he had to say about HB 111.

Perhaps the most disturbing bill to be enacted this week was House Bill 111, “an act to allow persons with concealed handgun permits to protect themselves and their families in restaurants (and bars).” Thanks to Rep. David Guice of Brevard, the bill was amended to allow local authorities to enact ordinances to prohibit carrying concealed handguns at playgrounds, athletic fields, swimming pools and athletic facilities and I supported this amendment. I was one of 42 to vote against the bill which passed with 74 in favor on third reading. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Disturbing to whom? Criminals? The Brady Campaign? Lisa Price’s NCGV? Some Democrats?

The bill extends where a concealed carry holder may carry legally in North Carolina. In my opinion, this is a good thing. It allows people to protect themselves when they are out and about in the world. It does not allow one to drink and carry concealed. So what is the problem?

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Melson Crosses Line In The Sand

April 1, 2011 by 1 Comment

Wednesday, March 30th, was the deadline for ATF to produce requested documents to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. That deadline was ignored.

Today, Rep. Darrell Issa announced that the Committee is issuing a supoena for the requested documents. He didn’t take being blown off by Kenneth Melson as business as usual. And unlike Senator Chuck Grassley who has done great work to bring out the details of Operation Gunrunner, Rep. Issa has the power to make his displeasure felt.

Chairman Issa Subpoenas ATF for ‘Project Gunrunner’ Documents
Subpoena comes after ATF fails to meet earlier deadline

WASHINGTON. D.C. – Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today announced the issuance of a subpoena to the Department of Justices’ Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) for documents related to the highly controversial “Project Gunrunner.”

“The unwillingness of this Administration – most specifically the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms – to answer questions about this deadly serious matter is deeply troubling,” said Chairman Issa. “Allegations surrounding this program are serious and the ability of the Justice Department to conduct an impartial investigation is in question. Congressional oversight is necessary to get the truth about what is really happening.”

On March 16, 2011, Chairman Issa wrote a letter to Acting Director Kenneth Melson of the ATF requesting specific documents related to Project Gunrunner, its “Fast and Furious” component, and records related to the death of Border Agent Brian Terry. ATF failed to meet the March 30th deadline for producing these documents and furthermore refused to voluntarily commit to any date for producing them.

Media reports have raised questions about the handling of operations involving gun trafficking into Mexico – specifically the allegation that ATF has had a policy of permitting – and even encouraging – the movement of guns into Mexico by straw purchasers. This practice may have contributed to the deaths of hundreds on both sides of the border, including federal law enforcement agents. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), who has also been pursuing the matter, recently stated, “I’m still asking questions and we’re still getting the runaround from the Justice Department, [t]hey’re stonewalling.”

President Obama recently stated that neither he nor Attorney General Holder authorized this operation. His statement did not specify whether Attorney General Holder was aware of this policy or who did authorize it. The Committee’s investigation seeks answers to these questions and the true nature of Project Gunrunner.

Documents subpoenaed and due to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform by April 13, 2011, include:

1.Documents and communications relating to the genesis of Project Gunrunner and Operation Fast and Furious, and any memoranda or reports involving any changes to either program at or near the time of the release of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General report about Project Gunrunner in November 2010.

2.Documents and communications relating to individuals responsible for authorizing the decision to “walk” guns to Mexico in order to follow them and capture a “bigger fish.”

3.Documents and communications relating to any investigations conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) or any other DOJ component following the fatal shooting of Agent Brian Terry, including information pertaining to two guns found at the crime scene that may have been connected to Project Gunrunner.

4.Documents and communications relating to any weapons recovered at the crime scene or during the investigation into the death of Agent Brian Terry.

5.Documents and communications between ATF and the Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) who sold weapons to Jaime Avila, including any Report of Investigation (ROI) or other records relating to a December 17, 2009 meeting “to discuss his role as an FFL during this investigation.”

6.A copy of the presentation, approximately 200 pages long, that the Group 7 Supervisor made to officials at ATF headquarters in the spring of 2010.

7.Documents and communications relating to Operation Fast and Furious between and among ATF headquarters and Special Agent in Charge William D. Newell, Assistant Special Agents in Charge Jim Needles and George Gillette, Group Supervisor David Voth, or any Case Agent from November 1, 2009 to the present. The response to this component of the subpoena shall include a memorandum, approximately 30 pages long, from SAC Newell to ATF headquarters following the arrest of Jaime Avila and the death of Agent Brian Terry.

8.Documents and communications relating to complaints or objections by ATF agents about: (1) encouraging, sanctioning, or otherwise allowing FFLs to sell firearms to known or suspected straw buyers, (2) failure to maintain surveillance on known or suspected straw buyers, (3) failure to maintain operational control over weapons purchased by known or suspected straw buyers, or (4) letting known or suspected straw buyers with American guns enter Mexico.

Ticklethewire.com got this comment from an ATF spokesman prior to the issuing of the supoena.

Drew Wade, an ATF spokesman, said Friday morning shortly before the subpoena was announced: “We aren’t going to discuss matters of ongoing investigations.” He could not immediately be reached for a follow up comment.