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| Breaking: Melson being bounced out of ATF? |
| 2011-08-30 |
| Ken Melson may be out of a job as the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. CBS News reports that Melson will get "moved out" of ATF to a desk in the Department of Justice, just weeks after he defied the DoJ and testified to Congress (via Dave Workman and Mad Saint Jack on Twitter): Sources say ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson is being moved out of the top job at the Bureau. It's not yet publicly known where he would go, but sources inside the Justice Department believe one option is a transfer to a position at Department of Justice headquarters. The Justice Department had no immediate comment, and did not confirm the move. Melson's move would be another in a number of high-level personnel shifts, as the Inspector General continues investigating the so-called gunwalker scandal at the Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The LA Times reported that Melson would resign, an act he specifically rejected in July: Kenneth E. Melson, under fire in connection with the controversial Fast and Furious gun-trafficking investigation, will announce today that he is stepping down as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Sources tell The Times that Melson was to share the news in a conference call at 11:30 a.m. EDT with supervisors at the bureau's field offices. But there may be a reason that Melson changed his mind: An investigation by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), uncovered emails that showed Melson was regularly briefed on the botched operation. From the CBS News report, however, it sounds as if the action isn't coming from Melson's own volition. And that raises a question about whether the administration is retaliating against Melson for his Congressional testimony. Tina Korbe noted four potential takeaways from Melson's secret testimony as suggested in a letter from Darrell Issa and Charles Grassley to Eric Holder immediately afterward: The ATF isn't the only agency to bear some responsibility for the botched operation that sent guns to Mexico. The Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Agency seem to have possessed information that could have had a material impact on Fast and Furious (i.e. info that could have eliminated or reduced the ostensible 'need' for the operation in the first place). Or, as the letter puts it, "We have very real indications from several sources that some of the gun trafficking 'higher-ups' that the ATF sought to identify were already known to other agencies and may even have been paid as informants." Taxpayer money was likely used to finance the gunrunning. "The evidence we have gathered raises the disturbing possibility that the Justice Department not only allowed criminals to smuggle weapons but that taxpayer dollars from other agencies may have financed those engaging in such activities." Senior ATF officials would have preferred to cooperate with Congressional inquiries -- but "Department of Justice officials directed them not to respond and took full control of replying to briefing and document requests from Congress." Melson was at no point asked to resign. If the "resignation" follows this quickly after Melson spilled the beans, then the Inspector General may have a new issue to investigate. Update: Reuters correspondent Jeremy Polofsky reports that Melson will be replaced by B. Todd Jones, US Attorney for Minnesota. Jones created little controversy in his second term in that position. This MPR profile is one of the few news reports about Jones I could find. Added info U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke, one of the officials closely tied to Fast and Furious, is also a casualty in a shakeup tied to the botched gun-running program. Burke was on the hot seat last week with congressional investigators and, according to several sources, got physically sick during questioning and could not finish his session. The purge of those responsible for the firearms trafficking scandal continued as new documents reveal a deeper involvement of federal agencies beyond ATF. In Phoenix, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory Hurley, who oversaw Fast and Furious on a day-to-day basis, was reassigned from the criminal to civil division. Also in Phoenix, three out of the four whistleblowers involved in the case have been reassigned to new positions outside Arizona. Two are headed to Florida, one to South Carolina. Rumor: One source speaking on condition of confidentiality informed this reporter that Melson was called to Attorney General Eric Holder's office on Friday and that his office was cleared out over the weekend. |
| Posted by:Beavis |
| #8 Email sent from Issa today: While the reckless disregard for safety that took place in Operation Fast and Furious certainly merits changes within the Department of Justice, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee will continue its investigation to ensure that blame isnÂ’t offloaded on just a few individuals for a matter that involved much higher levels of the Justice Department. There are still many questions to be answered about what happened in Operation Fast and Furious and who else bears responsibility, but these changes are warranted and offer an opportunity for the Justice Department to explain the role other officials and offices played in the infamous efforts to allow weapons to flow to Mexican drug cartels. I also remain very concerned by Acting Director MelsonÂ’s statement that the Department of Justice is managing its response in a manner intended to protect its political appointees. Senator Grassley and I will continue to press the Department of Justice for answers in order to ensure that a reckless effort like Fast and Furious does not take place again. |
| Posted by: Sherry 2011-08-30 17:06 |
| #7 U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke was Janet Napolitano's protege when she was gov of AZ |
| Posted by: Sherry 2011-08-30 17:00 |
| #6 the window in his new office overlooks Ft. Marcy Park |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-08-30 16:57 |
| #5 How long before he suffers a fatal suicide? (by shooting himself in the back of the head with a shotgun - twice.) |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2011-08-30 16:50 |
| #4 It's not yet publicly known where he would go, but sources inside the Justice Department believe one option is a transfer to a position. So Melson and Hurley don't get the hook but are reassigned. Good way for DoJ to keep the muzzle on. Burke seems like the only true casualty - sort of. You can bet Lanny pulled some strings and he'll be working at a plum Think Tank job by this time next year. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2011-08-30 16:49 |
| #3 Under the bus with him, but he is still on payroll. |
| Posted by: newc 2011-08-30 15:38 |
| #2 Melson will be replaced by B. Todd Jones, US Attorney for Minnesota. A choice which is probably better than the White House original selection, Andrew Traver (head of BATF's Chicago office). |
| Posted by: Pappy 2011-08-30 15:17 |
| #1 This sounds like one of the Lethal Weapons sequels. Except, of course, the bad guys in that were evil right wing Republican type ex military dudes who didn't "mean well". |
| Posted by: tu3031 2011-08-30 14:00 |