Gunwalker bombshell -"there never was a 'sting'"

[Pat McGarrity]

This is getting more serious every day. It actually may be a mistake by Obama and Holder to keep covering this up. Considering the average American's attention span, having this peak closer to next year's election is advantagous for liberty, truth and perhaps, even justice...



Gunwalker bombshell--"there never was a 'sting'"

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Anthony Martin
, Conservative Examiner
September 26, 2011 - Like this? Subscribe to get instant updates.


An ATF source has provided reporters a copy of a letter sent on June 1, 2010 which indicates that the monumental scandal known as 'Project Gunwalker,' or 'Operation Fast and Furious,' was never a sting operation as previously reported. If such an allegation is true, then the official Obama Administration explanation for the operation is entirely false.

The commonly-reported talking point concerning Gunwalker is that it was intended as a sting operation but that it went bad when rogue ATF agents took it in a sinister direction.

But the letter of June 2010, forwarded to reporters David Codrea and Mike Vanderboegh, indicates that nothing about the operation contained any of the elements of a 'sting.' Everything ATF agents did in placing guns into the hands of Mexican drug cartels was done in the open and with the approval of their supervisors:

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Per Section925(a)(1) of the Gun Control Act (GCA) exempts law enforcement agencies from the transportation, shipment, receipt, or importation controls of the GCA when firearms are to be used for the official business of the agency.

Please accept this letter in lieu of completing an ATF Form 4473 for the purchase of four (4) CAI, Model Draco, 7.62x39 mm pistols, by Special Agent John Dodson. These aforementioned pistols will be used by Special Agent Dodson in furtherance of the performance of his official duties. In addition, Special Agent Dodson has not been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. If you have any questions, you may contact me at telephone number 602-605-6501.

That letter was written by ATF-Phoenix Group VII Supervisor David Voth and was addressed to a federal firearms licensee, directing him to sell Agent Dodson the specified firearms off the books.

Reporter Vanderboegh picks up the story:

"The existence of this letter, coupled with interviews of other sources across the country which put it into context, provides startling proof that the Federal government did not merely 'lose track' of weapons purchased by 'straw buyers' under surveillance by the ATF and destined for the Mexican drug cartels. In an undercover operation ordered by Fast and Furious supervisor David Voth, the U.S. government purchased firearms with taxpayer money from licensed firearms dealers, instructed them to conduct the sales 'off the books,' and used an ATF agent, John Dodson, to deliver them directly to people that Dodson believed were conducting them across the border."

In addition, Vanderboegh reports that official ATF documents and sources in Arizona and Washington confirm that on at least 2 occasions in 2010, the Obama Administration purchased semi-automatic pistols directly from federally licensed gun dealers with taxpayers' money and took them directly to drug cartel smugglers.

The ramifications of this revelation are explosive, particularly for those working with the Issa committee in the U.S. House of Representatives in investigating the scandal. One of those individuals told Vanderboegh the following:

According one source close to the Issa committee and knowledgeable of its workings, this revelation "puts a stake in the heart of the 'botched sting operation' lie." He continued, "There never was any 'sting,' there was only a deliberate effort to provide weapons to the DTO's (Drug Trafficking Organizations)." He added, "this was one hundred percent us -- our money, our guy, our (gun)walking."

This source also provided context and explanation of how the letter came to exist in the first place.

(It should be noted that although we would never reveal our sources for any story, it is important in this case for the readers to understand where we did NOT get it. Neither John Dodson nor his lawyer provided us this letter. Nor did they pass it through to us via a third party, as the DOJ has been known to do lately.)

"Dodson was given this undercover assignment by Voth," said the source, "to purchase weapons directly and provide them to the smugglers. He was operating under cover, pretending to be a 'straw buyer.'" He continued, "I think Dodson demanded the letter from Voth to cover both himself and the FFL (Federal Firearm Licensee). He didn't want to be hung out to dry" by Voth.

The source also said that the letter was an effort by Voth to "dirty him (Dodson) up," pointing out that by the time of the undercover assignment that Dodson's vocal opposition to "letting guns walk" was well known to his superiors in the Phoenix ATF office.

Sources also describe a second letter from Voth to another FFL authorizing Dodson to purchase two more Draco pistols. One source stated flatly: "Issa and Grassley have copies of both letters, and have had for a long time."

Subsequent to this undercover weapons buying and transfer to cartel smugglers by Dodson, say the sources, "Dodson just about came apart all over them (his supervisors)." In a "screaming match" that was heard throughout the Phoenix office by many employees, Dodson yelled at Voth and Assistant Special Agent in Charge George Gillett, "Why not just go direct and empty out the ATF arms room" to the cartels," or words to that effect.



These revelations place the investigation into Gunwalker in an entirely different light. This is no longer about a 'sting operation gone bad' but a deliberate, sinister attempt to manipulate gun statistics in Mexico for political gain.

Further, CBS News has issued several stinging reports over the past few days that cast even more dark shadows over the ATF Fast and Furious operation. The NRA's Wayne LaPierre granted an interview in which he stated that Gunwalker was never intended to become public knowledge and that when it did go public the cover-up undertaken by the Administration was massive. In addition, secret tapes recently made public show that ATF officials considered the agent who blew the whistle on the agency's illegal operation to be 'toxic.'

But perhaps the most damning evidence of all was a secret audio revealed by CBS News which shows that ATF officials considered the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry with the guns the agency gave to cartels to be mere 'collateral damage.'

[johnharris]

Government, we are learning, is increasingly the enemy of the people.