Sen. Chuck Grassley: Guns in ATF sting tied to agent's death

[RamboLiberal]

Source: USA Today

A U.S. senator is examining claims that bandits who gunned down a U.S. Border Patrol agent during a December firefight near the Arizona-Mexico border may have been armed with assault rifles purchased from a Glendale, Ariz., gun store that were part of a federal sting operation and subsequently smuggled into Mexico.

In a letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a senior member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, suggests that negligence by federal agents who failed to keep the firearms out of Mexico may have played a part in the Dec. 14 slaying of agent Brian Terry, a member of the Border Patrol's elite tactical unit known as BORTAC.

Grassley said he had information that the AK-47s recovered at the shooting scene were traced to Project Gunrunner, an ATF program designed to stem the illegal flow of U.S. guns to Mexico.

"Members of the Judiciary Committee have received numerous allegations that the ATF sanctioned the sale of hundreds of assault weapons to suspected straw purchasers, who then allegedly transported these weapons throughout the southwestern border area and into Mexico," the senator wrote to acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson.



Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-02-02-borderpatrolupdate02_ST_N.htm

[rfranklin]

1. What's his point?

Is he against the Second Amendment now?

[Kolesar]

3. Asked whether agents purposely allowed firearms to enter Mexico as part of an investigation, ...

..., Newell answered, "Hell, no."

Chunk Assley is feeding the Black Helicopter crowd.

[X_Digger]

6. My guess? That the BATFE has been directing gun stores..

.. who are suspicious of a sale to proceed anyway, so that the BATFE can call their MX counterparts who then seize the guns, and send their serial numbers right back to the BATFE- thus ensuring more funding for 'Project Gunrunner'.

Gun dealer gets a black eye, when he was acting at the behest of the BATFE.

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/101213-gun-dealer-atf-approved-sales-to-mexican-gun-runners

[Frisbee]

2. Probably wants to eliminate the ATF. n/t

[sharesunited]

4. Idiots. You DESTROY dangerous contraband, you don't set it loose on the world.

[RandySF]

5. But guns are too sacred, I guess.

[TacticalPeek]

7. Fuck Senator Grassley.

His influence on national affairs is wholly pernicious.

[SharksBreath]

8. Seems rather strange that this would come out hours after

Bloomberg announced his investigation into gun sales in Arizona.

[X_Digger]

10. Actually, this has been going on for a while..

This story is from 12/13/2010-

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/101213-gun-dealer-atf-approved-sales-to-mexican-gun-runners

[SharksBreath]

9. This would be easy to prove. Let's check the dealers phone records

on the days of the sales. I'm calling Bullshit.

The ATF would have to be crazy to do something like that.

[TheMadMonk]

11. Um, we have the Waco debacle to suggest that the ATF is not 100%...

...stable and is perfectly capable of ultimate stupidity.

And plenty of other instances to speak to "joint operations" with DEA, HLS, NSA, CIA and probably several other USG TLAs.