Two Fall in Gun Scandal Management shake-up follows troubled operation targeting weapon trafficking Two senior officials who helped oversee a troubled federal operation targeting gun trafficking were ousted Tuesday. Kenneth Melson, acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, was reassigned to a new post in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy, the department said Tuesday. Arizona U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke resigned. The two men were the top officials with direct responsibility for overseeing an ATF countertrafficking operation called Fast and Furious, which used tactics that allowed suspected smugglers to buy about 2,000 firearms. Some of those have turned up in crime scenes on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, and many more are unaccounted for. B. Todd Jones, U.S. attorney in Minnesota, will succeed Mr. Melson as interim head of the ATF. Attorney General Eric Holder ordered the overhaul after months of controversy concerning the operation, which critics say helped to arm drug cartels operating in Mexico and the U.S. Some ATF agents objected to the tactics of letting weapons sales continue, and eventually some agents became whistleblowers who drew the attention of Congress. The personnel overhaul did little to satisfy congressional critics who believe higher-level officials at Justice Department headquarters may share responsibility for an operation gone awry. Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) have led congressional probes of the program. Operational Misfire Crime scenes where authorities found guns lost in ATF sting • May 2011 Attack on Mexican police helicopter. • A April 2011 Raid of suspected drug dealer’s home in Juarez, Mexico. • December 2010 Shootout that killed border agent in Arizona. • Oct. 2010 Gun fight with suspected kidnappers in Mexico.   NAFA Address Change The National Association of Federal Agents (NAFA) changed its mailing address on March 1, 2011. The new address is: NAFA, 164 N. Mainainain, Plymouth, MI 48170-1236 All telephone numbers and Internet addresses remain unchanged. 1 (586) 792-5181 www.federalagents.org

Mr. Issa said he supported the changes but added that he wants to “ensure that blame isn’t off- loaded on just a few individuals for a matter that involved much higher levels of the Justice Department.” The lawmakers and congressional investigators have raised questions in particular about Lanny Breuer, the assistant attorney general who heads the criminal division. His office approved wiretaps used in the ATF operation. The Justice Department has said that Mr. Breuer wasn’t aware of tactics used in the investigation. The department says lawyers in Mr. Breuer’s office review many wiretap applications and focus on constitutional issues, not the details of investigations. The Justice Department’s announcement Tuesday didn’t address the Fast and Furious operation. Officials said that is partly because an internal investigation into the matter continues, and the department must avoid placing blame while awaiting results. Nonetheless, in recent weeks, senior officials who managed the operation in Phoenix and Washington have been reassigned. Emory Hurley, a prosecutor in Mr. Burke’s office who was assigned to help oversee the Fast and Furious operation was removed from his post in the criminal division and reassigned to the civil division, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Hurley didn’t respond to a request for comment. Messrs. Melson and Burke, in interviews with congressional investigators, said they were familiar with the goals of Fast and Furious but not specific tactics. Internal documents, including emails released by lawmakers, show the two officials’ involvement in overseeing the program, which was conducted by the ATF’s Phoenix office with help from prosecutors in Mr. Burke’s office. Mr. Holder on Tuesday praised Mr. Burke’s overall service. Mr. Melson issued a statement thanking his staff for their work. Mr. Burke told employees that he was moving on to new opportunities. Neither addressed the ATF matter. The controversy over the Fast and Furious program has paralyzed a long-beleaguered agency buffeted by partisan battles over gun rights. The ATF Phoenix office ran the program in 2009-10 to monitor weapons purchases by suspected gun smugglers. Agency officials hoped eventually to build a case against major arms smugglers serving Mexican drug cartels. The ATF has struggled to stanch the flow of U.S. weapons to Mexican drug gangs. The operation came to light after an Arizona shootout in December that killed a U.S. border agent. Two assault weapons bought in a gun shop that was part of the operation were found at the scene.

 

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