Acting ATF Director Likely To Be Ousted Over Gunwalker Scandal

From CNN:

Kenneth Melson, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, is expected to resign under pressure, perhaps in the next day or two, in the wake of the ongoing controversy over Operation Fast and Furious, two senior federal law enforcement sources said Monday.

In the operation, straw buyers were allowed to illegally purchase large numbers of weapons, some of which ended up in the hands of cartels in Mexico.

Attorney General Eric Holder will meet Tuesday with Andrew Traver, head of the ATF field office in Chicago, about potentially serving as acting director of the agency, according to the sources.

I haven’t been following all the twists and turns in the Gunwalker Scandal, but I think it’s safe to say Ken Melson is about to become the designated fall guy. Gunwalker, or Operation Fast and Furious as it was officially known was an ATF investigation that sought to track firearms purchased by straw purchasers in the United States and then smuggled to criminals in Mexico. The investigation fell apart after two of the weapons allowed to “walk” into the hands of criminals were used in a shoot-out that killed a US border patrol agent, Brian Terry.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is currently investigating the actions of the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Operation Fast and Furious… So far the testimony from whistle-blowers inside the ATF has been damning, but what I want to know is why is the Department of Justice refusing to cooperate with Congressional investigators?

Related

• A Drug-War Plan Goes Awry – Gail O’Grady, Wall Street Jounal
• Report: Four ATF Agents Working on Controversial Operation ‘Fast and Furious’ Tell their Story – House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
• The Definitive Scandal: ‘Gunwalker’ Much Worse Than ‘Iran-Contra’ – Bob Owens, Pajamas Media
• Operation Fast and Spurious – W. James Antle, III, The America Spectator
• Obama Eyeing Anti-Gun Backer to Run ATF – Newsmax