Fast and Furious Whistleblower Destroys “Botched Investigation” Lie

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Fast and Furious Whistleblower Destroys “Botched Investigation” Lie

Thursday, 05 December 2013 15:39
Written by Alex Newman



Despite the Obama administration’s fiendish efforts to censor the truth, Special Agent John Dodson, one of the key ATF whistleblowers who exposed the “Fast and Furious” plot to arm Mexican drug cartels, recently offered more explosive insight into the deadly scheme. In addition to further demolishing the bogus “botched-investigation” narrative peddled by the embattled administration and its allies in the establishment press, Dodson also shed light on various elements of the gun-running operation that disgraced Attorney General Eric Holder and the president have been conspiring to keep secret.

All along, the administration’s plan was to put American weapons in the hands of Mexican cartels. Instead of some sort of half-baked but legitimate law-enforcement operation to bust criminal syndicates, however — the official narrative still parroted by much of the increasingly discredited media — lawmakers, whistleblowers, and analysts point to growing amounts of evidence showing that Fast and Furious was really aimed at undermining the Second Amendment; nothing more. Now, a section of Dodson’s book on the gun-running operation, published this month in the New York Post, supplied further confirmation.

One of the gaping holes in the “botched investigation” myth is the fact that there was never actually any plan to catch any criminals, as Dodson somewhat humorously explains in his book The Unarmed Truth: My Fight to Blow the Whistle and Expose Fast and Furious. In fact, as The New American has documented extensively and Dodson highlights in the excerpt from his book in the Post, the top criminals supposedly being “investigated” in Fast and Furious were already working for the FBI. The FBI operatives were also buying the weapons for distribution to cartels with U.S. taxpayer funds.

The ATF whistleblower cited a comparison with the cartoon South Park used by one of his colleagues to describe the absurdity of the whole plot. “There’s this episode where all the boys get their underwear stolen by these underwear gnomes,” ATF agent Lee Casa is quoted as saying. “They track them down to get it back and one of them asks why they are stealing everyone’s underwear. The gnomes break out this PowerPoint and reveal their master plan: Phase One: Collect underpants. Phase Two: ? Phase Three: Profit. We’re doing the same thing: We know Phase One is ‘Walk guns’ and Phase Three is ‘Take down a big cartel!’ … Just nobody can figure out what the f–k Phase Two is!”

Indeed, the reason nobody could figure out what “Phase Two” was turns out to be simple: There never was a “Phase Two.” The supposed “Phase Three,” meanwhile — “take down a big cartel!” — was almost certainly a deceptive fairytale employed by senior administration officials to get well-meaning ATF agents to participate in the murderous plot to arm Mexican cartels at U.S. taxpayer expense. Dodson and many of his colleagues realized the absurdity of it all, but almost certainly assumed that there really was some ultimate master plan to catch criminals in the end.

“What was happening did at times almost seem like a spoof,” Dodson wrote in the book, a piece of which was published on December 1 in the Post despite widely criticized efforts by the administration to censor it. “Letting guns ‘walk’ was a tactic that I had never before seen or even contemplated. It simply wasn’t done. I couldn’t understand how anyone could argue that allowing guns that ought to have been in law-enforcement custody to go to known or suspected criminals — people who shouldn’t have been near a gun, people who almost certainly would be passing them on to Mexico’s most brutal drug cartels — wasn’t madness.”

Dodson was absolutely right to be suspicious, it turns out. After highlighting his realization that the supposed “plan” was ridiculous, the ATF whistleblower delves into one of the key facts in the saga that should permanently and entirely demolish the “botched investigation” lie. As the ATF and the DEA continued their supposed “investigation” by allowing ever-greater quantities of weapons to flow into criminal hands, they were also learning about the low-level networks they were helping. Then they stumbled upon the truth, detailed in a section of Dodson’s work subtitled “Circle of Idiocy.”

The minor criminal figure running a gun-purchasing operation the ATF was facilitating, Manuel Celis-Acosta, was already being “investigated” by other federal agencies, Dodson found out. “Then DEA dropped a bomb: Through their own deconfliction protocols, they had learned that those two suspects, both above Acosta in hierarchy, were already subjects of a joint DEA-FBI investigation being worked out of another division that had begun back on Dec. 9, 2009,” Dodson wrote.

It gets much more sinister, though, as the ATF whistleblower would soon discover. “Later we learned that these folks Acosta was reporting to weren’t just targets of the joint DEA-FBI investigation; they had been cultivated as informants and were in fact assets of the FBI,” he wrote. “More shocking, they had been using FBI money to ultimately purchase a significant portion of the firearms.” Indeed, as reported by The New American early last year, the FBI “drug lords” were considered “national security assets” who were “off limits” and “untouchable.”

In other words, the FBI was working with its “assets” to use U.S. taxpayer dollars to help arm Mexican drug cartels with weapons bought at American gun stores under orders from the ATF. “Take the government out of this equation and nothing gets done,” Dodson noted. “No guns get purchased, because there is no FBI money to pay for them; no guns get sold, because ATF is not coercing the gun dealers to sell them; and no guns get trafficked, because ATF is not using the guise of a ‘big case’ to allow it all to happen. And yet the Justice Department was happy to let the farce continue, telling my ATF bosses they were doing a great job.”

As Dodson explained, it would be impossible to make up such absurdities, but from the Justice Department’s point of view, the ATF was doing a great job — thousands of American weapons were flooding into Mexico destined for criminals, providing a perfect rationale to demonize gun rights. Still, years after the blood-drenched scandal was exposed to lawmakers, the press, and the American public, none of the high-level officials responsible for the scheme has been held accountable.

Incredibly, Obama and Attorney General Holder — the latter of whom has already been held in criminal contempt of Congress on a bipartisan vote, with formal Articles of Impeachment introduced in the House — continue unlawfully refusing to provide subpoenaed documents to Congress. Now the administration is fighting to legalize its cover-up in federal courts, absurdly claiming nobody has the authority to investigate government gun-running because of “executive privilege.” The Justice Department, meanwhile, is refusing to prosecute its boss on the criminal contempt charges.

Amid all of the ongoing deception, though, the facts are starting to become clear. With hundreds of murders perpetrated with the Fast and Furious weapons supplied by U.S. authorities, the administration was hoping to step up its relentless attack on gun rights — in fact, it had already begun before the scandal was exposed, with top administration officials repeatedly claiming that the Second Amendment was responsible for the carnage in Mexico. Then, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed with a Fast and Furious weapon. Brave ATF agents such as Dodson knew it was time to blow the whistle.

In the end, the administration was exposed, and the whole gun-running plot, which multiple analysts have referred to as a “false flag,” blew up in their faces. Amid the ham-handed cover-up, top officials, including Holder, lied under oath about it. Instead of taking action, though, the press appears to be largely asleep at the wheel amid a never-ending stream of mega-scandals plaguing the administration. Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, are apparently too busy voting in favor of more unconstitutional gun control to hold anyone accountable.

“Some politicians and the media like to think the Fast and Furious scandal is over, that we know what happened and it’s no big deal,” Dodson wrote. “But three years later, the White House still refuses to release all documents on the operation. Officials refuse to say who knew about the gun walking. The Mexican government says 211 people have been killed by guns from Fast and Furious, including police officers. The body count will only increase. And Attorney General Eric Holder, despite being held in contempt by Congress, still has a job. We gave thousands of guns to Mexican drug cartels. Americans died. Where is the outrage?”

Of course, the president and his allies have endlessly parroted the mantra that “weapons of war” do not belong on the streets. Based on growing amounts of undeniable evidence, however, it appears that, in the minds of people in Obama's circle at least, restrictions on weapons should apply only to everyday Americans not in government service. Mexican drug cartels, al-Qaeda linked jihadists in Syria and Libya, and local police departments across America are all being lawlessly showered with endless supplies of “weapons of war” by the administration.

At the same time, the Obama administration is fiendishly persecuting whistleblowers who dare to expose the lunacy, most recently threatening them with a “firing squad” — supposedly a "joke," according to officials. It is past time for Congress to put its foot down, protect the rights of Americans, and hold lawless officials accountable for their scheming. As the “Fast and Furious” body count continues to rise, the victims deserve justice.

Alex Newman is a correspondent for The New American, covering economics, politics, and more. He can be reached at [email protected].

Related articles:

Obama ATF Tries to Censor Fast and Furious Whistleblower

Guns and Grenades for Cartels; Firing Squad for Whistleblowers

“Drug Lords” Targeted in Fast & Furious Worked for FBI

Obama Flooding U.S. Streets With “Weapons of War” for Local Police

Lawmakers Introduce Articles of Impeachment Targeting AG Holder

AG Holder Demands U.S. Court Allow Fast and Furious Coverup

House Votes to Hold Holder in Contempt

CIA “Manages” Drug Trade, Mexican Official Says

Feds Let Mexican Cartel Hit Men Kill in U.S., Senior Lawman Told Stratfor

Fast and Furious Massacres Spark Fresh Pressure on AG Holder to Resign

Issa: Gun-Control Agenda Behind Fast and Furious

Holder Admits Lies in Fast and Furious, Refuses to Resign

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Project Gunrunner Part of Plan to Institute Gun Control

Impeachment Support Soars as Voters Say Feds “Out of Control”
 

Old Bookaroo

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By Katherine Eban
The truth about the Fast and Furious scandal

A Fortune investigation reveals that the ATF never intentionally allowed guns to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. How the world came to believe just the opposite is a tale of rivalry, murder, and political bloodlust.

By Katherine Eban

The truth about the Fast and Furious scandal - Fortune Features

Good luck to all,

~ The Old Bookaroo
 

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John Lott

6/28/2012

Very Inaccurate Fortune article by Katherine Eban falsely claims that BATF never intentionally let guns go to Mexican drug gangs
New Fortune article by Katherine Eban claims that the BATF "never intentionally allowed guns to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels." Here is the first substantial paragraph in her piece (politically biased words highlighted):

Some call it the "parade of ants"; others the "river of iron." The Mexican government has estimated that 2,000 weapons are smuggled daily from the U.S. into Mexico. The ATF is hobbled in its effort to stop this flow. No federal statute outlaws firearms trafficking, so agents must build cases using a patchwork of often toothless laws. For six years, due to Beltway politics, the bureau has gone without permanent leadership, neutered in its fight for funding and authority. The National Rifle Association has so successfully opposed a comprehensive electronic database of gun sales that the ATF's congressional appropriation explicitly prohibits establishing one. . . .

There are many problems with this piece, besides it is written as an opinion piece, not a news story. A very significant problem that isn't even mentioned in the piece is that, as CBS's Sharyl Atkisson discovered, the Obama administration demanded that gun dealers make gun sales that they didn't want to make. Here is an example of several gun dealers who only made these sales because they were told to do so by the BATF told their story to Atkisson, and they wanted to know what liability that they will face if they make gun sales that they thought were to people who were prohibited from getting the guns. Documents: ATF used "Fast and Furious" to make the case for gun regulations - CBS News

Screen Shot 2012-06-28 at  Thursday, June 28, 11.43 PM.png
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Now combine this with the fact that these guns weren't traced and that the Mexican government was not involved so that they could trace the guns on the Mexican side of the border and you have a real disaster. You have the testimony of agents saying that they were warning officials that the guns weren't being traced. Also compare it to the Wide Receiver case where despite actually trying to trace the guns and having the Mexican government's involvement the government wasn't able to successfully trace the guns. If you can't successfully trace the guns when you involve the Mexicans and put tracing devices on the guns, why would anyone try Fast and Furious' approach?



Katherine Eban's biases can be seen throughout the piece. Take the quote she has from BATF agent Dave Voth: "In Arizona," says Voth, "someone buying three guns is like someone buying a sandwich." I have a hard time believing that anyone would take this quote serious. When was the last time that you had to wait to have a background check done when you went to buy a gun? And when was the last time that you bought a sandwich when there was a one in twelve chance that you would have to wait up to three days to buy your sandwich because the background check couldn't be completed quickly?

Let me summarize:
> 1) Emails between gun dealers and BATF indicate that BATF was forcing dealers to make sales that they didn't want to make and that they were being made precisely because the BATF believe that the sales were being made to criminals.
>
> 2) Sharyl Atkisson interviewed several gun dealers who indicated to her that they only made these sales because they were told to do so by the BATF. The BATF even video tapping the guns that they ordered gun dealers to sell going out of the stores (see video below).
>
> 3) Roll Call and CBS' Sharyl Atkisson reported on Friday that the wiretap application indicated that the government had evidence that gun trafficking was occurring, that the BATF watched the guns being bought by the suspected straw purchasers, and even followed them in some cases, but BATF then ended it surveillance without interdicting the guns.
Liz Marlantes at the Christian Science Monitor pushes Eban's piece on Fox
News Sunday.



Public Radio KCRW: To the Point: Holder Held in Contempt of Congress over 'Fast and Furious' -- Katherine Eban, David Corn, Evan Perez, and myself

It seems there's no end to the controversy over 'Fast and Furious,' the ATF operation which involved the sale of guns that reached Mexican drug lords and were involved in the death of a US Border Patrol agent. . . . .
Holder Held in Contempt of Congress over 'Fast and Furious' - To the Point on KCRW 89.9 FM | Internet Public Radio Station Streaming Live Independent Music & NPR News Online from Los Angeles, CA


5/22/2013
Obama administration leaked information to try discrediting Operation Fast and Furious whistleblower
Contrast what Obama administration did with this guy who leaked information to discredit a whistleblower with what the administration is doing to reporters who obtained information that they are less thrilled by getting out. From the New York Times:

The Justice Department’s independent inspector general on Monday criticized a former top federal prosecutor in Arizona, Dennis K. Burke, for leaking to Fox News a document in June 2011 about a federal agent who was raising alarms about the gun trafficking investigation known as Operation Fast and Furious. He called the prosecutor’s actions “particularly egregious” misconduct that was “wholly unbefitting a U.S. attorney.”

The 21-page report, by the office of Inspector General Michael Horowitz, filled in new details about the reaction of the Phoenix prosecutor’s office to the furor over a botched investigation into a gun-smuggling network. Arizona-based agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowed hundreds of weapons to reach criminal hands. . . .

The inspector general’s report cites internal e-mails and testimony that show Mr. Burke was “frustrated” at Mr. Dodson’s criticisms . . . .

10/11/2012
Obama administration fires BATF whistle-blower
Well, possibly the Obama administration thought that they had cover given that one of their political appointees has finally just resigned. From Fox News:

A well-known whistle-blower in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed to FoxNews.com that he was fired this week, and he claims his complaints about Operation Fast and Furious played a role in his dismissal.

Vince Cefalu said he was served his termination papers Tuesday in a Denny's parking lot in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. But he doesn't plan to go quietly.

"It will be challenged," he said.

Cefalu, who's served as an ATF special agent for 25 years, was first notified of the plan to fire him more than a year ago but had been on administrative leave until now. He said officials told him he was being canned for "lack of candor," in reference to a handful of statements he made in testimony in a separate court case.

However, Cefalu has been outspoken against ATF practices for years and told FoxNews.com that his whistle-blowing on Fast and Furious "was the final straw." . . .

UPDATE: On October 24, 2012, Vince Cefalu's termination was delayed for at least 45 days.

Katie Pavlich at Townhall.com reports some good news for veteran Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agent Vince Cefalu, who was sacked in the parking lot of a Denny’s restaurant in California two weeks ago: his termination has been delayed for at least 45 days by order of the Merit Systems Protection Board, giving the Office of Special Counsel “an opportunity to investigate the circumstances surrounding his termination.”

The ostensible reason for Cefalu’s termination was a “lack of candor” when testifying under subpoena about a case unrelated to the Fast and Furious gun-walking scandal. . . .
 

NHBandit

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By Katherine Eban
The truth about the Fast and Furious scandal

A Fortune investigation reveals that the ATF never intentionally allowed guns to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. How the world came to believe just the opposite is a tale of rivalry, murder, and political bloodlust.

By Katherine Eban

The truth about the Fast and Furious scandal - Fortune Features

Good luck to all,

~ The Old Bookaroo
"Intentionally" Interesting word. I didn't read your link. I rarely do.. So I'll ask... is it your position that the guns fell into the wrong hands due to incompetence (much like Mr Obama's entire presidency) or that none of it ever happened at all ? There are many ways to be a total failure and it dosn't have to be done on purpose. :thumbsup:
 

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One of the things I was wondering,since the mex gov wasnt involved and the guns werent suppose to go to the drug cartels,who were they suppose to go to.:laughing7:Lying pieces of crap is all they are.Hand caught in the cookie jar but they didnt do it intentionally.:sign10:Birds of a feather right ob?
 

olroy70

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Facts should not have anything to do with your beliefs, OB

sideline question........... were you ever in the military????
 

releventchair

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Despite contempt,despite f.f.l. holders told to let guns proceed by b.a.t.f. despite noncompliance,if any opposing position to the government willingly and premeditatedly allowing guns to "walk",
who of the f.f.l. holders were prosecuted for failure to comply with background checks?(yes that pesky background check the government does not incarcerate felons for trying to get around when they fail,it being a felony as well.. Another unenforced but oh so necessary law.)
There have been plenty of them harassed out of licencing,for much less. Theres a call of no credibility when no law is enforced.

Holder is not in contempt of law because of a fairy tale.Only executive privilege has hid the truth of operations origins.
Executive privilege granted/claimed/bestowed not by constitution or public vote,but by whom?A claimed power later confirmed by a supreme court who is granted its members by whom? fails to pass the smell test.End around play foiled then denied is absurd.But it is sure being denied.
 

cazisme

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Just curious have any of the murdered peoples relatives filed suit regarding use of these weapons to kill them? I would think Goverment involvemet in sales of guns would be a great lawsuit. A violation of their civil rights? Oooh thats right Eric Holders office would have to approve and prosecute a civil rights violation so probobly not happening.
 

Old Bookaroo

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relevantchair:

"Executive privilege granted/claimed/bestowed not by constitution..."

It's clearly spelt out in our Constitution. I haven't counted, but without looking I'm guessing many Presidents used it before Mr. Obama. It's a very important concept.

Good luck to all,

~ The Old Bookaroo
 

Old Bookaroo

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releventchair:

I probably over-stated the case when I wrote "It's clearly spelt out in our Constitution." The separation of powers is one of the essential elements in that fine document.

It appears the first President to invoke the theory of executive privilege was George Washington. Looks like he did it at least twice.

I'm going with the theory that both Gen. Washington and the members of Congress at that time were pretty well grounded in the US Constitution and the various theories behind it.

Rather like the Federal government requiring private employers to purchase health insurance before 1800.

Anyway - from Wikipedia: "Chief Justice Burger, writing for the majority in US v. Nixon noted: 'Whatever the nature of the privilege of confidentiality of Presidential communications in the exercise of Art. II powers, the privilege can be said to derive from the supremacy of each branch within its own assigned area of constitutional duties. Certain powers and privileges flow from the nature of enumerated powers; the protection of the confidentiality of Presidential communications has similar constitutional underpinnings.' United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974)."

Some people don't think the separation of church and state can be found in the US Constitution. Or the concept that the US Supreme Court can rule on whether or not laws passed on Congress is in there.

After a couple of hundred years, custom and usage has established the rules we follow.

Good luck to all,

~ The Old Bookaroo
 

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releventchair

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releventchair:

I probably over-stated the case when I wrote "It's clearly spelt out in our Constitution." The separation of powers is one of the essential elements in that fine document.

It appears the first President to invoke the theory of executive privilege was George Washington. Looks like he did it at least twice.

I'm going with the theory that both Gen. Washington and the members of Congress at that time were pretty well grounded in the US Constitution and the various theories behind it.

Rather like the Federal government requiring private employers to purchase health insurance before 1800.

Anyway - from Wikipedia: "Chief Justice Burger, writing for the majority in US v. Nixon noted: 'Whatever the nature of the privilege of confidentiality of Presidential communications in the exercise of Art. II powers, the privilege can be said to derive from the supremacy of each branch within its own assigned area of constitutional duties. Certain powers and privileges flow from the nature of enumerated powers; the protection of the confidentiality of Presidential communications has similar constitutional underpinnings.' United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974)."

Some people don't think the separation of church and state can be found in the US Constitution. Or the concept that the US Supreme Court can rule on whether or not laws passed on Congress is in there.

After a couple of hundred years, custom and usage has established the rules we follow.

Good luck to all,

~ The Old Bookaroo

Though familiar with constitution and whether right or wrong, George argued privilege being substituted for immunity for national security, which is not a valid argument with fast and furious.
Holder denied knowledge of events,President denied knowledge of Holders actions.We watched congressional investigation on t.v. leading to no one knew anything except the whistle blowers who were not proven failed in credibility test.. Yet some one must? Thats why documentation requested and denied.No arguing government involved, argument is who knew?Prove its national security to enact immunity.That can not be done when denying any thing occurred!The risk of national security is the charge, understandably denied if your in the wrong!Thus the hush.
Records turned over would have answered those assigned to investigate.What stopped progress was not a failure of truth but it being hidden.Hard as it may seem to believe such records would be surrendered there was a trail of crumbs.
 

Old Bookaroo

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relevantchair:

You sell President Washington short. That wasn't his only contention.

Also - you might want to take a few minutes to see how the US Government handled Shay's Rebellion. Or the Whiskey Rebellion.

Good luck to all,

~ The Old Bookaroo
 

Dave44

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I guess Clinton used it quite often too! Must be a great tool for criminals anyway. "National security" means "historic legacy" to many of them.
 

NHBandit

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OB, guess you spent the war in canada dodging the draft.....???????
Haven't you caught on yet ? When confronted with a question that dosn't suppost his agenda or one that can't be answered by posting links to a liberal source he simply pretends not to have seen the question... I enjoy just watching sometimes. After awhile you notice patterns of behavior from certain folks. Don't mean it as an insult, just calling it like I see it. Don't hold your breath waiting for an answer..
 

Old Bookaroo

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olroy70:

When you start answering questions you'll have standing to ask them. Until then - nope.

I'll always back up my posts. My life is my business - not yours.

Insults, speculation, whatever - meaningless.

Good luck to all,

~ The Old Bookaroo
 

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