At this point in my career, I’m really not surprised that media outlets try and pass ideological hit pieces as investigative journalism, but the latest attempt to cover up the true intent of “Fast and Furious” by Fortune magazine takes the cake. In an “investigation” into the real happenings behind “Fast and Furious,” Fortune shows their hand in the subtitle, which reads “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.” A supposed investigation piece couldn’t get any more partisan and slanted than this.
The article opens by fully defending ATF Supervisor David Voth, claiming that he never intentionally allowed guns to fall into the hands of drug cartels and that, instead, the real blame rests with private gun shop owners in Arizona. The piece points to the availability of firearms to law-abiding Arizona citizens as the likely culprit in the transfer of weapons to narco-terrorists in Mexico. Such a storyline is certainly the dream-come-true of the anti second amendment activist, which just happens to include the Attorney General himself. The facts, however, tell a different story, one that implicates the ATF Supervisor, David Voth, and indicates that the Department of Justice knew of the operation.
In a message dated June 17th, 2010 a worried Arizona gun shop owner wrote to Voth about his concerns that the ATF was encouraging him to deal arms to known arms traffickers, known as “straw purchasers.” In this message, the shop owner writes “When you, Emory and I met on May 13th, I shared my concerns with you guys that I wanted to make sure none of the firearms that were sold per our conversation with you and various ATF agents could or would ever end up south of the border or in the hands of the bad guys.” This message, alone, is proof positive that David Voth knew, not suspected, but knew that some of the buyers at certain Arizona stores were straw purchasers for drug cartels. There is absolutely no disputing this fact.
To me, the fact that Fortune, the ATF and the Justice Department are now playing dumb regarding known straw purchasers being allowed to buy arms indicates they were setting up gun shop owners as scapegoats. While I’m not a person that’s given to over-suspicion, it seems that the Obama Administration intended to use these incidents of gun walking purchases from U.S. stores to ridicule domestic gun shops and to curtail rights-to-carry in America. In other words, it seems an awful lot like these straw purchasers were allowed to buy from U.S. dealers, with complete ATF knowledge, to make a political point pertaining to gun control.
While I’m mortified that the Justice Department would take part in such a phenomenally reckless operation to make a political point, I’m near-equally dismayed that Fortune magazine would dismiss the Attorney General, the ATF and the Justice Department and, instead, blame gun shop owners who were doing what they were told by the Feds. This entire “Fast and Furious” fiasco is an affront to the rule of law, and a testament to the truth that law enforcement should never be used as a political tool. I commend the Congress for holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt, for the rule of law should always trump political posturing.
