By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The war of words is heating up between the Justice Department and key Republican Congressional members over the controversial ATF program known as Operation Fast and Furious. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) this week renewed accusations that the Justice Department is stonewalling a Congressional inquiry into the controversial gun program Operation Fast…
By Allan Lengel tickletheiwre.com Ken Melson, acting head of ATF, apparently was singing to Congressional investigators over the 4th of July weekend — and apparently not the Star Spangled Banner. Fox News reported that Melson told Congressional investigators that the Justice Department was interfering with the Congressional probe into the controversial program Operation Fast and…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Last October in Orlando, at the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the heads of the ATF field offices gathered for a SAC meeting. It was there where it was announced that William Newell, head of the Phoenix office, would become the ATF’s attache to Mexico. Newell, an up and comer…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The plot thickens. Acting ATF Director Ken Melson has agreed to talk to Senate investigators about Operation Fast and Furious, the ATF program that encouraged gun dealers to sell to straw purchasers so federal agents could trace them to the Mexican cartels , according to The Daily Beast and Newsweek. The…
Vincent Cefalu is a special agent with ATF. His column is in response to a column authored by ex-ATF official James Cavanaugh, who said appointing an ATF director by presidential appointment isn’t working. Cavanaugh said the appointment should be made by the umbrella agency — the Justice Department. By Vincent A. Cefalu For ticklethewire.com I…
James Cavanaugh was an ATF agent and supervisor for 33 years before retiring in 2010. By James Cavanaugh For ticklethewire.com Since 2006 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives has been without a confirmed director to lead its critical missions for America. I spent more than 33 years in ATF and I have worked…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com ATF had a gathering at headquarters in D.C. the other day that wasn’t typical of the ones you see in federal law enforcement. The agency on Wednesday hosted its first Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month program at its headquarters, with Acting Director Kenneth Melson providing remarks along with…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Replacing Ken Melson, acting head of ATF, could get a little messy. The Los Angeles Times reports that Melson is “strongly resisting pressure” to step down over the controversy surrounding ATF’s “Operation Fast and Furious”, a flawed program that encouraged gun dealers to sell to straw purchasers with the hopes of…
