raykeller
2014-10-19 23:17:24 UTC
http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/documents-obtained-judicial-watch-reveal-fast-furious-rifle-used-2013-phoenix-gang-style-assault/
Documents Obtained by Judicial Watch Reveal that Fast and Furious Rifle Was
Used in 2013 Phoenix Gang-Style Assault
OCTOBER 16, 2014
Grassley/Issa letter to Justice Department cites its failure to notify
Congress, credits Judicial Watch with overcoming DOJ attempt to "limit its
exposure to public scrutiny"
(Washington, DC) - Judicial Watch today announced that, based on information
uncovered through a Judicial Watch public records lawsuit against the City
of Phoenix, the U.S. Congress has confirmed that an AK 47 rifle used in a
July 29, 2013, gang-style assault on an apartment building that left two
people wounded was part of the Obama Department of Justice (DOJ) Operation
Fast and Furious gunrunning program.
An October 16 letter sent from Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Rep. Darryl
Issa (R-CA) to Deputy Attorney General James Cole discloses that "we have
learned of another crime gun connected to Fast and Furious. The [Justice]
Department did not provide any notice to the Congress or the public about
this gun." Grassley (Ranking Member on the Senate Judiciary Committee) and
Issa (Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
detail:
Based on the serial number [1977DX1654] from the police report obtained by
Judicial Watch and documents obtained during our Fast and Furious
investigation, we can confirm that the assault rifle recovered in the
vehicle on July 30, 2013, was purchased by Sean Christopher Stewart. Stewart
pled guilty to firearms trafficking charges resulting from his involvement
with Operation Fast and Furious . Stewart purchased this particular firearm
on December 8, 2009, one of 40 that he purchased that day while under ATF
surveillance" (emphasis in original document).
The Phoenix Police reports, which the letter from Congress references, were
obtained by Judicial Watch thanks to a lawsuit filed against the City of
Phoenix, AZ, seeking the Police Department's records about the gang assault
(Judicial Watch v. City of Phoenix (No. CV2014- 012018)). The lawsuit was
filed on October 2 after the City of Phoenix ignored an August 5, 2014,
Arizona Public Records Law request for information about the crime and the
guns. Judicial Watch believed the reports detailed that a weapon or weapons
used in the assault are connected to the federal government's Fast and
Furious gunrunning operation. Today's letter from Grassley and Issa is
official confirmation of Judicial Watch's understanding from other sources.
Three weeks following the July 29, 2013, assault, four suspects were
apprehended in a raid conducted jointly by Phoenix police detectives and
investigators from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). According to
press reports at the time "numerous rifles and handguns" were found when,
"Detectives from the Phoenix Police Department and Homeland Security
Investigations served federal search warrants."
The presence of DHS investigators raised questions because Phoenix was the
location of the ATF's deadly Fast and Furious gunrunning operation.
Operation Fast and Furious was a Justice Department/ Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) program in which the Obama
administration allowed guns to go to Mexican drug cartels in the hopes that
the guns would end up at crime scenes, thereby advancing gun-control
policies. Fast and Furious weapons have been implicated in the murder of
Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and hundreds of other innocents in Mexico.
In today's letter to Cole, Grassley accused the Justice Department of a
"lack of transparency" for failing to notify Congress of the discovery of
the Fast and Furious weapon at the Phoenix crime site:
According to the Phoenix Police Department report, ATF traced the firearm on
July 31, 2013, the day after Phoenix police officers recovered it. Yet, over
a full year has passed, and the Department has failed to notify the
Committees . This lack of transparency about the consequences of Fast and
Furious undermines public confidence in law enforcement and gives the
impression that the Department is seeking to suppress information and limit
its exposure to public scrutiny.
The failure to provide Congress with reports about the Phoenix crime scene
is not the first time the Obama Justice Department has been accused of
withholding Fast and Furious information. On June 28, 2012, Attorney General
Eric Holder was held in contempt by the House of Representatives over his
refusal to turn over documents about why the Obama administration may have
lied to Congress and refused for months to disclose the truth about the
gunrunning operation. It marked the first time in U.S. history a sitting
Attorney General was held in contempt of Congress.
As a result of a major court ruling in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit
against the U.S. Department of Justice (Judicial Watch v. Department of
Justice (No. 1:12-cv-01510), Judicial Watch will obtain by October 22
information that has been kept secret by President Obama from both Congress
and the American people for nearly three years. Attorney General Holder
announced his surprise retirement two days after the federal court ruling.
"Thanks to our lawsuit, Congress has been able to confirm what Judicial
Watch already reported - that a Fast and Furious weapon was used in yet
another violent crime that terrorized and injured residents of Phoenix,"
said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "Our lawsuit against Phoenix
exposed how the Obama cover-up of Fast and Furious is ongoing. Eric
Holder's Department of Justice is a mess. It has endangered the public and
is engaged in an ongoing cover-up of its insanely reckless Fast and Furious
gun-running operation. Judicial Watch appreciates the refreshing diligence
of Senator Grassley and Congressman Issa in pursuing the truth about Fast
and Furious."
Documents Obtained by Judicial Watch Reveal that Fast and Furious Rifle Was
Used in 2013 Phoenix Gang-Style Assault
OCTOBER 16, 2014
Grassley/Issa letter to Justice Department cites its failure to notify
Congress, credits Judicial Watch with overcoming DOJ attempt to "limit its
exposure to public scrutiny"
(Washington, DC) - Judicial Watch today announced that, based on information
uncovered through a Judicial Watch public records lawsuit against the City
of Phoenix, the U.S. Congress has confirmed that an AK 47 rifle used in a
July 29, 2013, gang-style assault on an apartment building that left two
people wounded was part of the Obama Department of Justice (DOJ) Operation
Fast and Furious gunrunning program.
An October 16 letter sent from Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Rep. Darryl
Issa (R-CA) to Deputy Attorney General James Cole discloses that "we have
learned of another crime gun connected to Fast and Furious. The [Justice]
Department did not provide any notice to the Congress or the public about
this gun." Grassley (Ranking Member on the Senate Judiciary Committee) and
Issa (Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
detail:
Based on the serial number [1977DX1654] from the police report obtained by
Judicial Watch and documents obtained during our Fast and Furious
investigation, we can confirm that the assault rifle recovered in the
vehicle on July 30, 2013, was purchased by Sean Christopher Stewart. Stewart
pled guilty to firearms trafficking charges resulting from his involvement
with Operation Fast and Furious . Stewart purchased this particular firearm
on December 8, 2009, one of 40 that he purchased that day while under ATF
surveillance" (emphasis in original document).
The Phoenix Police reports, which the letter from Congress references, were
obtained by Judicial Watch thanks to a lawsuit filed against the City of
Phoenix, AZ, seeking the Police Department's records about the gang assault
(Judicial Watch v. City of Phoenix (No. CV2014- 012018)). The lawsuit was
filed on October 2 after the City of Phoenix ignored an August 5, 2014,
Arizona Public Records Law request for information about the crime and the
guns. Judicial Watch believed the reports detailed that a weapon or weapons
used in the assault are connected to the federal government's Fast and
Furious gunrunning operation. Today's letter from Grassley and Issa is
official confirmation of Judicial Watch's understanding from other sources.
Three weeks following the July 29, 2013, assault, four suspects were
apprehended in a raid conducted jointly by Phoenix police detectives and
investigators from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). According to
press reports at the time "numerous rifles and handguns" were found when,
"Detectives from the Phoenix Police Department and Homeland Security
Investigations served federal search warrants."
The presence of DHS investigators raised questions because Phoenix was the
location of the ATF's deadly Fast and Furious gunrunning operation.
Operation Fast and Furious was a Justice Department/ Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) program in which the Obama
administration allowed guns to go to Mexican drug cartels in the hopes that
the guns would end up at crime scenes, thereby advancing gun-control
policies. Fast and Furious weapons have been implicated in the murder of
Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and hundreds of other innocents in Mexico.
In today's letter to Cole, Grassley accused the Justice Department of a
"lack of transparency" for failing to notify Congress of the discovery of
the Fast and Furious weapon at the Phoenix crime site:
According to the Phoenix Police Department report, ATF traced the firearm on
July 31, 2013, the day after Phoenix police officers recovered it. Yet, over
a full year has passed, and the Department has failed to notify the
Committees . This lack of transparency about the consequences of Fast and
Furious undermines public confidence in law enforcement and gives the
impression that the Department is seeking to suppress information and limit
its exposure to public scrutiny.
The failure to provide Congress with reports about the Phoenix crime scene
is not the first time the Obama Justice Department has been accused of
withholding Fast and Furious information. On June 28, 2012, Attorney General
Eric Holder was held in contempt by the House of Representatives over his
refusal to turn over documents about why the Obama administration may have
lied to Congress and refused for months to disclose the truth about the
gunrunning operation. It marked the first time in U.S. history a sitting
Attorney General was held in contempt of Congress.
As a result of a major court ruling in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit
against the U.S. Department of Justice (Judicial Watch v. Department of
Justice (No. 1:12-cv-01510), Judicial Watch will obtain by October 22
information that has been kept secret by President Obama from both Congress
and the American people for nearly three years. Attorney General Holder
announced his surprise retirement two days after the federal court ruling.
"Thanks to our lawsuit, Congress has been able to confirm what Judicial
Watch already reported - that a Fast and Furious weapon was used in yet
another violent crime that terrorized and injured residents of Phoenix,"
said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "Our lawsuit against Phoenix
exposed how the Obama cover-up of Fast and Furious is ongoing. Eric
Holder's Department of Justice is a mess. It has endangered the public and
is engaged in an ongoing cover-up of its insanely reckless Fast and Furious
gun-running operation. Judicial Watch appreciates the refreshing diligence
of Senator Grassley and Congressman Issa in pursuing the truth about Fast
and Furious."
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