September 19th, 2012
02:13 PM ET

Fast and Furious report finds DOJ management failures

[Updated at 2:31 p.m. ET] Fourteen employees of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Justice Department face disciplinary action for their roles in the botched Fast and Furious weapons-tracking program, according to a report released Wednesday by department investigators. No criminal charges are recommended, according to the report.

The program was doomed by a "series of misguided strategies, tactics, errors in judgment and management failures" on the part of line agents, prosecutors and senior Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Washington, Justice Department investigators concluded in a report released Wednesday.

The report does not recommend any criminal sanctions against individuals in connection with the controversial gun-trafficking operation.

The report finds that Attorney General Holder was not informed of the controversial ATF operation until 2011 after the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in December 2010.

Parents say slain agent's death exposed flaws of gun-running operation

"I have reviewed the Office of the Inspector General’s report on Operation Fast and Furious and the key conclusions are consistent with what I, and other Justice Department officials, have said for many months now: The inappropriate strategy and tactics employed were field-driven and date back to 2006; The leadership of the Department did not know about or authorize the use of the flawed strategy and tactics; and The Department’s leadership did not attempt to cover up information or mislead Congress about it," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.

Read Holder's full statement

Holder said he has accepted the resignations of Kenneth Melson, the former acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstein in connection with their roles in the Fast and Furious weapons-tracking program.

"Today’s report affirms the problem of gunwalking was a field-driven tactic that dated back to the previous Administration, and it was this Administration’s Attorney General who ended it," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said in a statement. "Nevertheless, The Justice Department has taken strong steps to ensure accountability and make sure this does not happen again, including important administrative, policy, and personnel changes. If Republicans still have any legitimate questions about Fast and Furious, this 450-page report answers them. In light of this thorough report and Congress’s 16 month-long investigation, Republicans have no excuse to keep wasting time and taxpayer resources on politically-motivated, election-year attacks."

The botched investigation was designed to track trafficking kingpins responsible for illegal gunrunning to Mexico. It has been blamed for contributing to crimes - including the high-profile slaying of a U.S. border agent - and has become a partisan bone of contention heading into the November elections.

The report is important because of its scope - it is the result of more than a year of research - and for its conclusions, which could stir even more partisan attacks, depending on its outcome. The report is expected to conclude whether the botched plan was mostly the doing of agents in Arizona, or if the Obama administration played a central role.

In the controversy over its handling, conservative Washington legislators voted down party lines to cite the U.S. attorney general - a Democrat - for contempt. It marked the first time in American history that the head of the Justice Department has been held in contempt by Congress.

FULL STORY
soundoff (239 Responses)
  1. DOJ groupie

    Party@Philip's house. None are invited. I take boy raype personal. Nothing good EVER comes out of boy raype.
    Many view a male being rayped exactly the same as a female being rayped.(a given)
    A male being rayped produces a stench.
    A female being rayped produces a child.
    Stench is not exactly the same as child.

    September 20, 2012 at 9:39 am | Report abuse |
    • Mary

      Correct. While raype of both a Boy or Girl is horrific – The undying love a mother has for her child is gift from God. Only those who would argue that child being a reminder of her raype have no business receiving that said gift – out of this tragic circ umstance.

      Male survivor of raype – (place benefit here) ----- ZERO

      September 20, 2012 at 10:51 am | Report abuse |
    • Nurse

      The majority of women are ra ped in both cavities. Please stop with the fallacies.

      September 20, 2012 at 12:08 pm | Report abuse |
    • Mary

      @ Nurse, I believe he was speaking of the aftermath. Hence doesn't really matter if women are rayped in the other area... that would be the gnat. Camel being the result.

      September 20, 2012 at 1:27 pm | Report abuse |
    • Nurse

      A five year old child is not going to have a baby when she is ra ped. Ra pe is ra pe, no matter the gender. The aftermath of ra pe is traumatic for anyone who is ra ped. My observation is that no matter what gender the person is, it will always seem >to that person<, the opposite gender's ra pe doesn't seem as bad. This is what I am getting out of these posts, and it is not true. This is what I mean by stop the fallacies. Ra pe is albout power and control, irregardless of the gender of the person being ra ped. The gnat and camel statement is nonsensical, therefor I will not comment.

      September 20, 2012 at 1:47 pm | Report abuse |
    • Mary

      Point being
      Nothing good (like having a baby) comes out of a man getting rayped
      Go see if you could easly and readly find an equal amount of organizations that deal with men's issues in the aftermath of raype.
      Lastly, Why is it every time a man stands up to speak about the specific issues they have to deal with, a female comes on to say " what about women".
      When can a man just voice his issues with out having to include a women.
      Do you ever or have you ever heard any women mention or include men when discussing a women's raype?

      September 20, 2012 at 2:11 pm | Report abuse |
    • Nurse

      Why would you assume I am female? I am a male, I work in an ER, and I have seen both male and females traumatized by ra pe. What I see here is a lack of empathy for victims of ra pe, unless they are of a certain gender. That there is a lack of resources for male ra pe is certainly known, I agree. What I do not understand is the outright hostility that is being shown to a person who is trying to point out that victims are victims, no matter what gender they possess. If that is wrong of me, I apologize.
      I have to go now. My shift starts soon, where I will be dealing with the human condition, not whatever gender I am supposed to not be commenting on, per some rules that no one knows about.

      September 20, 2012 at 3:14 pm | Report abuse |
    • Mary

      @ Nurse, You may believe that was outright hostility but the fact IS a point was being made. I will defer to the gentlemen to expand on it.
      Also, You can't violate any HPA law if you haven't revealed a patients name.
      Good day to you sir.

      September 20, 2012 at 4:01 pm | Report abuse |
  2. DOJ groupie

    ...and I'm neither picking-on The Church nor females. I love all women, not what all women do. And The Church is just the "Poster Boy" for the nationwide movement to expose those whom lie to, stalk, and raype our boys.
    The Church looks like a 40 yr. old priest standing there with a black eye, and the fingers on his left hand smell like boy poop. Acourse he has a bible in his right hand still. That too will be taken from him, but that's another story for another day on the blogs. 🙂
    gm everyone.

    September 20, 2012 at 9:48 am | Report abuse |
    • Mary

      Graphic picture of a supposed 'man of God'
      Separation of "church and state" doesn't apply anymore in my humble opinion – PAY YOUR DARN TAXES like the rest of us.
      Gm Philip

      September 20, 2012 at 10:57 am | Report abuse |
  3. Philip

    @Mary. I'm being moderated. Would you kindly copy my story pls. It's one of those that usually gets deleted by now. 🙂
    Hay! Did you see the NY Times story on the Aurora Theater shooter? He had been diagnosed with a rare form of bipolar disorder, and prescribed the wrong meds!
    Guns don't kill. SSRIs do.

    September 20, 2012 at 10:54 am | Report abuse |
    • Mary

      Not a problem ... just copied it for ya.
      Wrong meds... I'm shocked! SSRI's being the culprit... No way ! (sarcasm intended)

      September 20, 2012 at 11:07 am | Report abuse |
  4. Philip

    Major changes in law have been made to deal with this past decades' proliferation of boy raype. Next: changes in law to deal with professional prescription writers who place profit before Health&wellness.
    Recently, the FBI/CIA rounded-up over 100 professional prescription writers and their associates in a nationwide crime ring that was pushing SSRI antidepressants on people on State disability, swindeling taxpayers out of millions of dollars, not to mention excessively drugging people.
    For America to truly win a war on drugs, ALL DRUG PUSHERS must be prosecuted. ty

    September 20, 2012 at 11:03 am | Report abuse |
    • Mary

      See Mary foolishly trying to keep up with Philips 'freight train' Lol 😉 (Bent over/gasping for air)

      September 20, 2012 at 11:12 am | Report abuse |
  5. Mary

    NEW YORK TIMES: JAMES HOLMES-AURORA SHOOTER-BEFORE GUNFIRE, HINTS OF ‘BAD NEWS’ – BIPOLAR QUESTIONS
    This being another case where the patient reaches out to warn of impending disaster.

    Mr. Holmes had text another graduate student in early July asking if she had heard of “dysphoric mania,”
    Her reply:
    "Could it be managed with treatment/"
    Mr. Holmes “It was,” but added that she should stay away from him “because I am bad news.”
    "he did not trust himself & knew his thinking was off."

    Note: Between the years 1996 – 2004 the use of antidepressants sky rocketed in youth & during that same period of time the diagnosis of bipolar disorder in that age group also sky rocketed by a 4000% increase!

    From James reply, note that he was warning his friend that he was “bad news.”because of the treatment.
    Dysphoric mania – "the type of mania we so often see in antidepressant-induced mania."

    Note: New York Times article: “But he said that in some cases psychiatrists, unaware of the risks, prescribe antidepressants for patients with dysphoric mania — drugs that can make the condition worse.”

    The 'Root cause' isn't Guns (Topic of blog) SSRR's are at the Root... By 4000 %

    September 20, 2012 at 12:20 pm | Report abuse |
  6. Mary

    NEW YORK TIMES: JAMES HOLMES-AURORA SHOOTER-BEFORE GUNFIRE, HINTS OF ‘BAD NEWS’ – BIPOLAR QUESTIONS
    The Apartment
    “Yet despite their severe illness, they are frequently capable of elaborate and meticulous planning, he said."

    Dr. Tracy article "Notice that dysphoric mania includes paranoid delusions. This is why I have said from the beginning that the way he had booby trapped his apartment was NOT as a trap for the police, but a trap for anyone coming to harm him.This is why he warned the police to be careful of what was there as they entered his apartment."
    NY Times Article:
    “Studies suggest that a majority of mass killers are in the grip of some type of psychosis at the time of their crimes, said Dr. Meloy, the forensic psychologist, and they often harbor delusions that they are fighting off an enemy who is out to get them.Yet despite their severe illness, they are frequently capable of elaborate and meticulous planning, he said."

    Dr. Tracy:
    "His stockpiling of weapons, which is so very common in those who suffer this type of mania from antidepressants, was evidence of the level of his paranoia, NOT evidence of his planning for the shooting! "

    September 20, 2012 at 12:49 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Mary

    Dr. Tracy Conclusion:
    "After reviewing thousands of these cases the pattern becomes quiet clear of arming themselves with a mult/tude of weapons in order to protect themselves from this unknown enemy who is out to get them. Although generally they have no idea who they are protecting themselves from since the paranoia is a chemical reaction with no basis in reality at times they do pick someone out to blame their paranoia on so as to have a reason for their feelings of such deep fear."

    Again for Dr. Tracy's review on the NY Times Article, go to http://www.drugawareness.org

    For the NY Times article, go to
    http://www.drugawareness.org/recentcasesblog/new-york-times-james-holmes-aurora-shooter-before-gunfire-hints-of-bad-news-bipolar-questions

    September 20, 2012 at 12:58 pm | Report abuse |
  8. Mike Smullin

    i don't like this plausible deniability and scapegoat disciplinary actions. the head of a department should be disciplined if mistakes are made on his watch. also i didn't like the whole contempt of congress and how the white house blocked many attempts to investigate thoroughly into what happened. also this has to be the most direct example of why gun control cannot work; when governments are arming criminals, for whatever reason, in public or in secret. usually its an opposing government but the fact that it was OUR government is all the more reason we need to retain the 2nd amendment right to defend ourselves and hold our government accountable for its mistakes, as a last resort.

    October 1, 2012 at 7:25 pm | Report abuse |
  9. Cisco Interfaces

    Thank you for every other fantastic post. The place else may just anybody get that type of information in such a perfect approach of writing? I have a presentation subsequent week, and I am on the look for such information.

    October 22, 2012 at 8:05 pm | Report abuse |
  10. Jeanice Aversano

    Bipolar disorder (also known as bipolar affective disorder, manic-depressive disorder, or manic depression) is a psychiatric diagnosis for a mood disorder. Individuals with bipolar disorder experience episodes of a frenzied state known as mania, typically alternating with episodes of depression.'.-:

    See ya later
    <http://homeimprovementstuffs.com

    June 8, 2013 at 8:49 pm | Report abuse |
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