ATF head says he didn’t know about disastrous ‘Furious’ operation

The embattled head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) claims in new testimony that he knew nothing about the much-criticized "Fast and Furious" operation that sold guns to small-time buyers in the hopes they would sell them to drug cartel members--and, so the theory went, place cartel leaders in the path of federal law enforcement. Agents intended to trace the guns using wiretaps and video surveillance to make bigger-name arrests up the cartel food chain.

In December, two of the guns sold in the program were found near where Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was shot and killed, NPR reports. ATF-provided guns have also reportedly shown up at other crime scenes south of the border. Lawmakers began investigating Fast and Furious, and rumors flew that the ATF chief's head would roll.

But acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson testified this week that he had no idea the operation was under way, and added that he was "sick to his stomach" when he reviewed f0r the first time hundreds of documents on the operation. Melson claimed he immediately demoted the agents who were responsible, and said the Department of Justice told ATF leadership not to answer any requests for information about Fast and Furious, effectively tying his hands.

(The agency has lacked a Senate-approved head since 2006; lawmakers and gun groups have kept nominees for the post deadlocked.)

Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California and Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa asked Attorney General Eric Holder in a letter dated Tuesday whether the FBI and DEA neglected to share key information with the ATF. They say information suggests that some of the high-level targets of the ATF's operation were actually already known to the FBI or DEA--and in some cases, acted as the agencies' paid informants. The Justice Department replied in a letter today that there are ongoing discussions about whether to provide the "sensitive law enforcement information" they're requesting.

"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," Issa and Grassley wrote.

Holder has asked the inspector general to investigate, and told NPR he reminded agencies that "under no circumstances should guns be allowed to cross the border into Mexico." President Obama said neither he nor Holder knew about or approved the operation.

A recent study by several U.S. senators employing data from the ATF found that 70 percent of guns confiscated in Mexico are traced to U.S. gun shops. Assault rifles, which are legal to sell and own in the United States, have contributed to the "militarization" of the drug cartels in Mexico, the study found.