In response to the giant middle finger from ATF, Grassley present the evidence his office is in possession of. The evidence indicates that ATF has been telling border dealers to proceed with suspected straw sales, and report information on the guns and buyers to ATF. This represented approximately 769 firearms, only 103 of which are now accounted for.
“In addition to these specific weapons, the indictment of Avila and other references approximately 769 firearms. Of those, the indictment refers to the recovery of only about 103 weapons. So, where are the other approximately 666 weapons references in the indictment? Why did the ATF not seize them?”
There is documented evidence that the gun that was used in the murder of CBP Agent Terry is one of the guns ATF lost track of. Grassley also smacked down Holder for stonewalling him:
The Justice Department’s reply asked that Committee staff stop speaking to law enforcement personnel about these matter. However, if not for the bravery and patriotism of law enforcement personnel who were willing to put their careers on the line, this Committee would have been forced to rely on nothing more than rumors in the blogosphere and a Justice Department denial to resolve these allegations. We need more than that. To be an effective check on Executive Branch power, we need cold, hard facts. We sill seek them from whatever source is necessary.
Unfortunately, the Justice Department’s letter suggested that my attempts to seek information about these matters might be politically motivated. I understand the Department needs to “protect … law enforcement personnel … from inappropriate political influence.” However, there is a difference between inappropriate political influence and appropriate holding officials accountable to the American people.
He goes on to note that the family of Agent Terry deserve answers, and encourages Holder to “come clean.” I’ve said before, when our opponents argue there’s not enough funding for ATF, because the evil NRA has seen to it that they are kept underfunded, that the reason ATF is on a short leash is because they have incompetent enforcers of our federal gun laws. I have no doubt there are many fine employees and dedicated workers in the organization. Indeed, the whistleblowers here would be among those, but the agency has suffered under poor leadership for years. That’s not our doing. It’s cultural, and it’s been that way since the moonshine business dried up for them in the 1970s.
Hat Tip to David Codrea’s examiner.com site for the Grassley Document.