From U.S. Representative Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9):
"
Though it didn’t receive widespread coverage in the press, there have been
recent developments related to Fast and Furious that I want to be sure was
brought to your attention.
As you may recall, the Fast and Furious
program was run through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
ostensibly in an attempt to track the sale of weapons to Mexican drug cartel
leaders to help lead to their arrest. However, an estimated 1,400 of the 2,000
guns involved in the operation were lost* and few high-level cartel leaders were
arrested, thus leading me and others to believe the operation may have been
designed in part to politically move more Americans to favor gun
control.
Bloomberg recently reported that U.S. District Judge
Amy Berman Jackson in Washington rejected the President’s assertion of executive
privilege, ruling that “The Obama Administration must hand over documents sought
by a congressional committee that has been reviewing the failed U.S. Justice
Department weapons-trafficking probe known as Operation Fast and
Furious.”
Additionally, a .50-caliber rifle funneled through Fast and
Furious was among the weapons found at the hideout of the drug kingpin Joaquin
“El Chapo” Guzman who had escaped from a Mexican prison last year. At the time
of the writing of this column, we can find no information as to a criminal
charge related to the .50-caliber rifle.
As you may recall, in June 2012,
my colleagues and I in the House of Representatives voted to hold then- Attorney
General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a
subpoena issued by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform requesting
documents related to the Fast and Furious operation. To many of us, it appeared
that Holder intentionally had misled Congress.
These developments ought
to make clear that the Fast and Furious gun-smuggling scandal is not actually
over. Rest assured I am continuing to track this important matter.
This
Administration has repeatedly advocated more gun control, turning tragedies
where a gun is involved into political opportunities. While certainly our laws
should be reviewed periodically, the acts of terrorists or deranged individuals
should not be used to take away the gun rights of law-abiding citizens. I will
continue to protect our Second Amendment rights and also will continue to work
for better mental health options in order to hopefully prevent as many mass
shootings as possible.
"
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