Did Attorney General Fudge Fast and Furious Testimony? DOJ Offers Explanation
Emails show senior Justice Department officials discussed the Fast and Furious gun-tracking investigation and a separate gun probe last year, raising questions about timing testimony by Attorney General Eric Holder.
The emails show Holder was generally told about the botched gun-running probe Fast and Furious in July, October and November 2010, report the Los Angeles Times and CBS News. Yet Holder told a congressional committee on May 3 that he probably learned about Fast and Furious for the first time a few weeks before.
Unnamed Justice Department officials told the publications that Holder was referring to the date when he first learned about the operational details of Fast and Furious, not the program itself.
In the Fast and Furious probe, agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tried to track the sale of guns to Mexican drug cartel leaders. But the agency lost track of more than 2,000 weapons, including two found at the scene of a December gun battle in which a U.S. Border Patrol Agent was murdered.
Prior coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Case of Freed Grenades Suspect Played Role in Ouster of US Attorney, ATF Director”
ABAJournal.com: “US Atty for Ariz. Resigns, Minn. US Atty Promoted in Shake-Up re Botched ATF Gun-Running Probe”
