BATFE

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Disclosure Is A Problem For David Chipman

August 12, 2021 by

When you are a nominee for a position that requires Senate confirmation, it is incumbent upon you to disclose everything. By everything, I mean everything. You gave a talk to Ms. Miller’s third grade class, you disclose it. You gave a speech to a group of lawyers, you disclose it. You wrote an op-ed that ran in a free paper, you disclose it. You have blogged for years under a pseudonym, you disclose it.

Disclosure just doesn’t seem to be in David Chipman’s wheelhouse and now it is coming back to bite him in the ass.

Andrew Kaczynski and Drew Myers cover politics for CNN. That network is not considered a bastion of support for the Second Amendment. Neither are they the “anonymous bloggers and social media sleuths” that Mrs. Chipman holds in such disregard. Indeed they are as mainstream media as mainstream media gets.

Thus, when they have a story that illustrates the failure of David Chipman to disclose talks he gave and events in which he participated, it is an issue.

From CNN:

In one undisclosed 2019 talk given to a law firm titled “Can the Right to Bear Arms Coexist with Gun Control?,” David Chipman said his views and politics weren’t typical of most at the ATF and in law enforcement because the groups were mostly “a very conservative bunch, primarily of white men.”

The comments are notable because Chipman’s nomination has struggled to gain support – even from some members of the Democratic caucus who have yet to commit to his nomination. Senators have questioned if his past record as an advocate for stricter gun laws would make him a less effective director.

And then there is this interview from a podcast in 2017:

In another undisclosed 2017 interview on Jared Huffman’s “Off the Cuff” podcast, Chipman said the NRA depends on an “un-American” business model that involves making society “less safe.”

“If (the NRA is) no longer selling a lot of guns to sportsmen and hunters and (their) primary business model is you need guns for public safety. Well, then you need an unsafe society to need to buy a gun,” Chipman said. “If your business model depends entirely on people feeling unsafe and scared and need to buy a gun, why would you want to do anything that makes things safer?”

Chipman added he needed to retire from the ATF after 25 years to talk about his views on gun violence “in a way” that would not end him up in jail for speaking to the press without authorization.

These are just two of the previously undisclosed talks and interviews involving Chipman. As the CNN story makes clear, there are more and they give links to them. A thorough search probably will find more.

We know that David Chipman hates us, our organizations, our rights, and our freedom. His nomination needs to be either withdrawn or defeated. I would prefer defeat because it puts the rest of the politicians who hate us on record.

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The Trace: Chipman Nomination Hanging By A Thread

August 11, 2021 by 3 Comments

When even the Bloomberg-funded The Trace says David Chipman’s nomination to head BATFE is in trouble, you know it is in trouble.

The article is an attempt to rally support for Chipman and to put pressure on Sen. Angus King (I-ME), an independent who caucuses with the Democrat. King has said privately he is a “no” on Chipman.

They are now saying Chipman’s confirmation was always “a long shot.”

The Trace is now trying to portray the Chipmans as victims of “anonymous bloggers and social media sleuths”.

Tara Chipman told USA TODAY that she retired to avoid the conflict of working under her husband’s leadership or staying on in the aftermath of a failed nomination.

She cited cases of online harassment, including conspiracy theories tied to her mother, Olivia Cajero-Bedford, a former Democratic state senator in Arizona who proposed a ban on the bump stock devices now banned nationwide.

“The negative attention was more than either of us expected, especially me as a spouse,” Tara Chipman said Wednesday. “I don’t know why anyone would want a Senate-confirmed position in government. 

“I feel kind of powerless because, of course, I want to go after these people, but I don’t want to do anything to endanger David’s nomination.”

It is hard for me to believe that anyone who had been in DC as long as Mrs. Chipman can portray herself as so naive. It is rather disingenuous to say the “negative attention was more than either of us expected.” She would have been piling on to a Republican nominee and his or her spouse if they were affiliated in any sort of way with the firearms industry.

State of Mainers need to keep the pressure on King just as those in Montana and West Virginia need to keep the pressure on Senators Tester and Manchin.

By the way, I am not an “anonymous blogger”. My real name is on every one of the posts I’ve made about David and Tara Chipman. It is not my fault that they have left such a large presence on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

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Chipman Derails Black ATF Agent’s Career With False Accusation

August 11, 2021 by

Stephen Gutowski of The Reload has a story today of how David Chipman derailed a promising black ATF Special Agent’s career with a false accusation of cheating in a promotion assessment. Chipman’s accusation required a two-year investigation into the matter which effectively took this Special Agent out of contention for further promotions even though the agent in question was eventually cleared.

“I couldn’t believe it when it happened,” the agent told The Reload. “But when I read about his other comments, in my mind, I was like ‘that motherf*****.’ That’s what happened. He said, ‘Hey, a lot of African Americans qualified to be promoted on this certification list; they must have been cheating.’ And then he had to go and find one. I happened to be that one.”

He said he believes Chipman’s allegation after the in-person test was motivated by race.

“I believe it had to have been a bias,” the agent, who spent more than 25 years at the agency, said. “My answers were just ‘too good.’ And my thought is he just said, ‘this black guy could not have answered this well if he wasn’t cheating.’”

The agent said he was cleared by a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation, but not before his career took a hit. He said the protracted investigation effectively paused the promising career he’d built.

“I was cleared as I should have been,” the agent said. “But it was very painful because it was two years out of my life where my career was sidelined for something like that. And it caused me a lot of stress and my family a lot of stress. And it kind of disenchanted me with the idea of management.”

In the in-person assessment, the Special Agent was given a scenario and asked how he would handle it. In this particular case, unbeknownst to Chipman the scenario was something this agent had been doing as part of team for a number of years. The agent did well on it which led Chipman to make his false accusation of cheating.

Read the whole story which has been corroborated by another ATF agent.

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Time Is Not On David Chipman’s Side

July 26, 2021 by 6 Comments

The longer that the debate on David Chipman to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives goes on, the less likely it is that he will be confirmed. One reason is that it gives the opposition even more time to dig up his public record of making snarky and snide remarks like that in the video below. That is not to mention it gives time for investigators to dig through public testimony he has given before state and national legislative bodies that contain outright falsehoods.

This video excerpt in which Chipman ridicules new gun owners as prepping for the Zombie apocalypse and as Tiger King wannabes was posted the Republican National Committee’s research arm.

Earlier this week, you had a story in Politico in which Sen. Dick Durbin, Senate Judiciary Chair and Majority Whip, saying that Chipman had “a lot of issues”. That was obvious recognition that the nomination was in trouble.

Then yesterday, the British newspaper The Guardian ran a long story on their website saying the nomination is stalling. They noted the Attorney General Merrick Garland has had to step in and push for his confirmation.

The intervention was the latest warning sign that the nomination of Chipman might be in trouble – which would be a serious blow to gun control advocates and those appalled at America’s shocking rates of gun violence.

“As you all know, ATF is on the frontlines of our efforts to battle gun violence,” Garland said during a visit to the agency’s headquarters on Thursday. “We are very hopeful that the Senate will soon act.”

Now you have a story in the Huffington Post that is asserting that it is really the gun industry in the form of the National Shooting Sports Foundation that is the primary opponent of Chipman. This is because they are running two television ads in West Virginia and Maine. The author of this piece Kevin Robillard accuses the NSSF of adopting “NRA’s over-the-top playbook.” Of course, Chipman’s longtime employer, Giffords, jumped on the story to promote the lie that opposition to Chipman is based on trying to sell guns.

What this story ignores is that every gun rights organization at every level is in opposition to Chipman. This includes the NRA, GOA, CCRKBA, and the Firearms Policy Coalition at the national level. At the state level, I know for sure that organizations such has Grass Roots North Carolina have mobilized their members in opposition with alerts and pleas to call their senators.

As my friend Chris Knox said on Twitter in response to Robillard’s article, “Blue check media can’t comprehend a grassroots resistance without some organization at the helm. Movement to #StopChipman is not top-down.” He is correct. I didn’t wait for the NRA or GOA to tell me to oppose Chipman. The moment he was nominated I called both of my US senators saying “Hell, No!”

Whether or not the nomination succeeds or fails will come down to four Democrats and an Independent who caucuses with them. They are Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Sen. Angus King (I-ME). They are all officially undecided. All it will take is for one of these senators to vote nay and the confirmation goes down the drain. If you would like to contact them even if you don’t “officially” live in their state, Grass Roots North Carolina a link that might be helpful. I know that the email I sent Sinema went through and I got a response from her.

I think that these five are waiting to see which way the wind blows and are really hoping that the nomination is eventually withdrawn so that they don’t have to publicly commit one way or another. If the Chipman nomination is withdrawn, they will still be able to say (lie) that they support the Second Amendment and not have a vote for Chipman thrown in their face to refute that.

I had been using the analogy that nomination Chipman to head BATFE was the equivalent of putting a vegan in charge of the meat inspection division of the USDA. I came across a better analogy – Chipman is the equivalent of nomination an anti-childhood-vaxxer to head the FDA or CDC. In these days and times that does get the message across.

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NSSF Running Anti-Chipman Ads In ME And WV

July 9, 2021 by

The National Shooting Sports Foundation is running ads in both Maine and West Virginia against David Chipman to head BATFE. The ad asks viewers to contact their senators and ask them to vote against confirming Chipman.

According to the NSSF, this is first time they have run television ads on any subject.

From their press release:

“This is monumental for NSSF and it speaks to the importance the firearm industry places on protecting the 342,330 jobs and $63.5 billion economic impact this industry provides,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “David Chipman’s nomination is clearly a move to politicize the ATF. Voters in key states reject his nomination and those senators have been advised of those polls by NSSF. We are now taking our opposition to the public to remind their senators that Chipman’s nomination is a threat to jobs, revenue and not the least – the ability of law-abiding citizens to exercise their God-given Second Amendment rights.”

A reader of this blog made an interesting comment regarding Chipman. Given that virtually no one would be as bad as Chipman, his defeat would allow the Biden Administration to appoint another anti-gunner who would not be perceived as “bad”. The person still would be horrible for gun rights but wouldn’t be Chipman.

From DWB’s comment:

I have mixed feelings. There will be a Biden nominee for BATFE, and the nominee will be rabidly anti-gun. There is no doubt about that. The Senate cannot block a Biden nominee forever.

Which makes me wonder if we should call their bluff and let Chipman slide through. He will energize people for 2022. There is no better opponent than a polarizing jack-a$$ like Chipman. Heck, he even makes WLP and his cronies look useful.

The question for me is not “how bad is Chipman,” the question for me is who is on deck?

That is a conundrum. Is it better to have an ideologue like Chipman who isn’t even respected by ATF Special Agents as director and use that as the basis for energizing the base or to defeat him and have to worry about a stealth candidate?

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AAF Research Report On David Chipman

July 6, 2021 by 2 Comments

The American Accountability Foundation has produced a 24-page research report on David Chipman. They have dug very deep into his background. It is well worth a read.

Some of the things that popped out at me were his divorce, how he tried to play the system to get relocation expenses, his change in behavior and views, and how he became increasingly both radical and anti-law enforcement.

Discussions with friends who used to work with him at BATFE were interesting. For example, a former BATFE agent who had been his friend had this – “but after he got divorced, and then joined AA, he because very self righteous and almost evangelical in views that he holds; no more competing ideas and middle ground, and more like once he gets in his head that something is “right” he pursues it with a passion and fury.” That leads to the question as to whether Chipman is a recovering alcoholic. If so, for how long? While that does not disqualify him for the position, it does raise questions on how he handles stress.

I would read the whole report and then contact my senators signifying my opposition.

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Retroactive Background Checks?

July 2, 2021 by 5 Comments

John Crump had a very interesting article in Ammoland.com today. It seems that ATF leadership is asking its industry inspectors to gather names of those of us who used our carry permit to substitute for a NICS check. In North Carolina, the Concealed Handgun Permit substitutes for the NICS check. You still have to fill out the Form 4473 but no call is made to the FBI to run a background check. It is presumed that the check run to issue or renew the CHP establishes that you are not a prohibited person.

From John’s article:

In the conference call, the ATF leadership asked its Industry Operations Inspectors (IOI) to collect information on the customers that used concealed carry permits instead of obtaining a background check through the NICS. The purpose of obtaining this information would be to run the customer’s data through the NICS to see if the customer would have received an approved or denied status. In addition, the IOI will pass on the names and information of customers denied by the NICS to the criminal branch for a special agent to follow up….

The information from the firearms background check paperwork (ATF Form 4473) is not submitted to the FBI when the customer uses their permit. Before the new policy, the only time the government would know a person bought a gun is when the FFL goes out of business, a trace request is submitted, or the customer buys multiple handguns within a seven-day period.

It is as if the BATFE doesn’t trust state and local law enforcement to do their job on background checks. The Complementary Spouse just submitted the paperwork to renew her own NC CHP. Included in the packet of paperwork were multiple releases authorizing the sheriff to get any mental health records from mental health providers. This was in addition to the requisite criminal background check.

Read the whole article.

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Did David Chipman Say Blacks Cheated To Pass Promotion Exam?

June 23, 2021 by

We know that David Chipman served as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Division of BATFE. He served in that position from November 2006 until March 2009. While serving in that position, he is alleged by a fellow BATFE Special Agent to have made disparaging remarks about the number of African-Americans who had passed the BATFE promotion exam to be ASAC’s. That agent filed a complaint with the EEOC about the comment.

“Wow, there were an unusually large number of African American agents that passed the exam this time. They must have been cheating.”

The Daily Caller spoke with another former ATF Special Agent who said Chipman’s comments spread throughout the Field Division.

The former Detroit-based ATF agent, who wished to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation, did not personally witness Chipman making the comment, but recalled colleagues talking about how Chipman “made this remark that all the African Americans must be cheating because there’s no way they could get these scores.”

“He made this remark in front of a bunch of witnesses,” the former Detroit-based ATF agent said. “It spread like wildfire at the agency. It got tremendous blowback, as it should. Here you have a middle manager saying something like that with absolutely no proof.”

Chipman was asked Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) about any EEOC reports and responded that there had been two. He went on to add that they had been resolved without any finding of discrimination. Chipman then added that his ATF personnel file remains under the control of the Federal government.

Chipman has been very reticent about providing his personnel record for public review. According to Tom Jones, president of the American Accountability Foundation, this is a big red flag based upon his own 13 years serving as a Senate staffer. As a result, AAF filed a Freedom of Information Act request on April 20th requesting documents relating to “all complaints, grievances, requests for investigation, or investigatory documents related to employee misconduct, harassment, malfeasance, or other violations of the standards of professional conduct” concerning Chipman. They filed another request in May after being told his records had been sent to the National Personnel Records Center of the National Archives.

As you might expect out of the Biden Administration, this request has been stone-walled with no definitive answer. Thus, the American Accountability Foundation filed a Federal lawsuit in US District Court for DC seeking these documents. They are seeking a formal response from BATFE to either comply with or deny the request. They then ask for these documents to be released as they believe records are still being held within BATFE.

Do I think Chipman could have made these remarks? I do because I think he is arrogant enough to have made them and because too many other agents have some recollection of it. Do I think it probably was swept under the table at the time? Sure. The BATFE management has a history of protecting their fair haired children and it appears that Chipman was one of those.

The FOIA lawsuit is below:

D.D.C.-21-cv-01669-dckt-000001_000-filed-2021-06-22 by jpr9954 on Scribd

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Keep The Pressure Up Against Chipman

June 23, 2021 by

Tomorrow is the committee vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on David Chipman’s nomination to head BATFE. If you haven’t contacted your own senators, do it now. In addition, contact the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee as well. The alert from Grass Roots North Carolina has both their email contact and phone numbers.

Do it before it is too late.

THIS IS SERIOUS!!  ATF NOMINEE CHIPMAN  HAS MADE MILLION+ LOBBYING AGAINST YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS
IF THE CHIPMAN CONFIRMATION IS ALLOWED TO PASS IT WILL SPELL DISASTER FOR YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!

Joe Biden has found a special someone who hates your liberties as much as he does and wants to have that Waco Whacko head up the ATF or is it the “AFT” (to quote Biden).  

 CHIPMAN HAS MADE IN EXCESS OF A MILLION DOLLARS LOBBYING AGAINST YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!!!

When Chipman champions “gun safety” the real meaning behind the lie is ‘No firearm protection from criminals for you’— indeed, Chipman’s advice for you in these dangerous times is to”Buy stronger deadbolts for the exterior doors of your home”.  

Mr. Chipman sidled up with Mike Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety (safety for criminals only) and is a Senior Policy Advisor for Gifford’s ANTI-GUN GROUP.

What kind of a nut does Mr. Chipman have to be, to believe that the demoralized and defunded police will get to your home in time to save you in those precious seconds when death is at your door? He didn’t care about the children burned to death at Waco, no doubt he doesn’t care about YOUR safety either.

What level of fear (of someone or something) would it take to tempt any Senator to betray their oath to uphold the Constitution by confirming someone who is against YOUR right to keep and bear firearms to head up the ATF?  Chipman was unable (or unwilling) to describe to Congress what he considers to be an “assault weapon”-how could he possibly be qualified to lead the ATF ?   Someone who believes that firearms are scary and should be so heavily regulated as to make the Second Amendment useless is not qualified to do anything but lobby for the anti-gun left.

A stronger deadbolt is a road bump to disaster if you have no means to protect yourself from the criminal kicking in your door-or breaking your window. 

A FIREARM IS A SHIELD NOT A SWORD! Chipman’s worldview envisions an American populace without the means to protect itself-criminals would have no fear of immediate consequences. Senators who might vote to confirm this man must understand this danger-why would any Senator betray the Constitution they took an oath to uphold?  

 A VOTE TO CONFIRM CHIPMAN IS AN ANTI-GUN VOTE AND WE SHOULD TREAT IT AS SUCH.  CHIPMAN MUST NOT BE CONFIRMED!

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!  

Call AND email Senators on the Judiciary Committee: The links below will take you to a website form. These are not email addresses. Just click on the link and it will take you to the form.
Dick Durbin, Chair  https://www.durbin.senate.gov/contact/email Washington, D.C. 20510  p: 202.224.2152 Springfield, IL 62703 p: 217.492.4062
Chuck Grassley    https://www.grassley.senate.gov/contact/questions-and-comments  Washington, D.C. 20510  P: 202.224.3744 Sioux City, IA 51101  P: (712) 233-1860
Patrick Leahy   https://www.leahy.senate.gov/contact  Washington, DC 20510  p: (202) 224-4242 Burlington, VT 05401  p: (802) 863-2525
Lindsey Graham    https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=contact-form Washington, DC 20510   P: (202) 224-5972 Columbia, SC 29201  P: (803) 933-0112
Dianne Feinstein  https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me Washington, D.C. 20510    Phone: (202) 224-3841 Fresno, CA 93721 P: (559) 485-7430
John Cornyn  https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/node/5853  Washington, DC 20510    P: 202-224-2934 San Antonio, TX 78205 P: 210-224-7485
Sheldon Whitehouse  https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/contact/email-sheldon  Washington, DC 20510       P: (202) 224-2921 Providence, RI 02903 P: (401) 453-5294
Amy Klobuchar        https://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-amy  Washington, DC 20510     P: 202-224-3244  Moorhead, MN 56560 P: 218-287-2219  
Chris Coons  https://www.coons.senate.gov/contact/share-your-opinion  Washington, DC 20510    P: (202) 224-5042 Dover, DE 19901 P: (302) 736-5601
Ben Sasse    https://www.sasse.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-ben  Washington, DC 20510      P: 202-224-4224 Kearney, NE 68845 P: 308-233-3677
Richard Blumenthal    https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/contact  Washington DC P: (202) 224-2823
Washington, DC, 20510    P: (202) 224-2823
Josh Hawley    https://www.hawley.senate.gov/contact-senator-hawley  Washington, D.C. 20510     P: 202-224-6154 Kansas City, MO 64106 P: 816-960-4694
Mazie Hirono      https://www.hirono.senate.gov/share-your-opinion  Washington, DC 20510    P: (202) 224-6361
Honolulu, HI 96850 P: (808) 522-8970
Tom Cotton     https://www.cotton.senate.gov/contact/contact-tom   Washington, DC 20510     P: (202) 224-2353  Jonesboro, AR 72401 P: (870) 933-6223
Cory Booker    https://www.booker.senate.gov/contact/write-to-cory Washington, DC 20510       P: (202) 224-3224  Camden, NJ 08103 P: (856) 338-8922
John Kennedy    https://www.kennedy.senate.gov/public/email-me-form  Washington, DC 20510     P: (202) 224 462 Baton Rouge, LA 70809  P: (225) 926 8033
Alex Padilla      https://www.padilla.senate.gov/  Washington, DC 20510       P: (202) 224–3553 Fresno, CA 93721  P: (559) 497–5109 
Jon Ossoff        https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/contact/contact-form/ Washington, DC 20510    P: 202-224-3521 Atlanta, GA 30305 P: 470-786-7800
Marsha Blackburn   https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/email-me  Washington, DC 20510       P: (202) 224-3344 Jonesborough, TN 37659  P: (423) 753-4009

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Suggested Subject: Do Not Confirm David Chipman ATF Nominee

Dear Senator___________
I am contacting you today to demand that the Biden nominee for leading the ATF be rejected without compromise. David Chipman has no business leading an agency that has as it’s mission statement “…to protect communities from violent criminals, criminal organizations….” when he is so dedicated to removing the legal means of citizens to protect themselves from criminals via firearms. 

David Chipman is as anti-Second Amendment as they come and there is no place more dangerous than a gun free zone as we can see in Chicago and many other American cities right now. David Chipman is a danger to my safety and that of my family.

I will continue to monitor this important issue through alerts from Grass Roots North Carolina. Any vote for Chipman will be considered a vote against gun owners. 

Respectfully,
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Keep Calling Senators!

June 22, 2021 by

If you wondered whether if calling your senators to oppose the Chipman nomination is having any impact, see the tweet below. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was considered one of the squishy votes on the nomination that could go either way. She had now come out against David Chipman’s nomination to head BATFE.

From the article in the Bangor Daily News referenced in the tweet:

In a statement released by the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine on Monday, Collins characterized Chipman’s background as “unusually divisive,” saying he had “made statements that demean law-abiding gun owners.”

“I am concerned that his confirmation would do significant damage to the collaborative working relationship that must exist between ATF, the firearms industry, sportsmen and women, and other law-abiding gun owners exercising their Second Amendment rights,” Collins said.

The calls are working. The Senate switchboard number is 202-224-3121. The operator will connect you to your senators’ office. I would also suggest calling their offices around the state. It will magnify the impact of the opposition to Chipman.

Finally, if you live in Arizona, West Virginia, or Montana, bombard Senators Sinema, Manchin, and Tester with your calls. Click on their names for the office phone numbers.