By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The then-acting head of ATF, Ken Melson, told Congressional investigators back in July that he was irate that his underlings didn’t tell him about the controversial agency program Fast and Furious, an operation that encouraged gun dealers in Arizona to sell to “straw purchasers” with the hopes of tracing the weapons…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The case involving an Arizona man who was let go after being accused of supplying grenades to the Mexican drug cartels, appears to have contributed to the ousting of the Arizona U.S. Attorney and the acting head of the ATF, the Wall Street Journal reports. Reporter Evan Perez reports that U.S….
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Ken Melson, the acting director of ATF, who seemed like a goner last month, is now acting as if he might be around for a while. In fact, Melson is making an effort to show more leadership by communicating more with the troops. Last week, he conducted a town hall meeting…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The plot thickens. Acting ATF Director Ken Melson has agreed to talk to Senate investigators about Operation Fast and Furious, the ATF program that encouraged gun dealers to sell to straw purchasers so federal agents could trace them to the Mexican cartels , according to The Daily Beast and Newsweek. The…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The Obama White House had no intention of keeping Ken Melson, acting head of ATF. In fact, last November it nominated Andrew Traver, head of the Chicago ATF office, to become the permanent head of the agency. But the confirmation process seemed to hit a big bump as the pro-gun lobbying…
Ken Melson and Dennis Burke/atf photo By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — ATF is creating seven new anti-gunrunner groups around the country to try and cut the flow of illegal firearms to Mexico. In announcing the new move, ATF said it was placing the groups “along traditional and newly-discovered firearms trafficking routes and hubs” in…
By Allan Lengel For AOL News WASHINGTON — From Capitol Hill to the Caribbean, a controversy is growing over a decision by Virgin Islands officials to charge a federal agent with second-degree murder in a 2008 shooting. The agent, William Clark, remains on the job at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives —…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — There have been times when ATF has felt like the stepchild in the world of law enforcement — particularly when compared to the FBI. This may be one of those times. Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff reports that 15 months after President Obama has taken office, the White House has yet…
