Operation Fast and Furious: Reckless Decisions, Tragic Outcomes
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OPERATION FAST AND FURIOUS: RECKLESS DECISIONS, TRAGIC OUTCOMES HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JUNE 15, 2011 Serial No. 112–64 Printed for the use of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov http://www.house.gov/reform U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 71–077 PDF WASHINGTON : 2011 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 17-JUN-2003 17:38 Nov 30, 2011 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 C:\KATIES\DOCS\71077.TXT KATIE PsN: KATIE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM DARRELL E. ISSA, California, Chairman DAN BURTON, Indiana ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland, Ranking JOHN L. MICA, Florida Minority Member TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York PATRICK T. MCHENRY, North Carolina ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of JIM JORDAN, Ohio Columbia JASON CHAFFETZ, Utah DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio CONNIE MACK, Florida JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts TIM WALBERG, Michigan WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts JUSTIN AMASH, Michigan JIM COOPER, Tennessee ANN MARIE BUERKLE, New York GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia PAUL A. GOSAR, Arizona MIKE QUIGLEY, Illinois RAU´ L R. LABRADOR, Idaho DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois PATRICK MEEHAN, Pennsylvania BRUCE L. BRALEY, Iowa SCOTT DESJARLAIS, Tennessee PETER WELCH, Vermont JOE WALSH, Illinois JOHN A. YARMUTH, Kentucky TREY GOWDY, South Carolina CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut DENNIS A. ROSS, Florida JACKIE SPEIER, California FRANK C. GUINTA, New Hampshire BLAKE FARENTHOLD, Texas MIKE KELLY, Pennsylvania LAWRENCE J. BRADY, Staff Director JOHN D. CUADERES, Deputy Staff Director ROBERT BORDEN, General Counsel LINDA A. GOOD, Chief Clerk DAVID RAPALLO, Minority Staff Director (II) VerDate 17-JUN-2003 17:38 Nov 30, 2011 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 C:\KATIES\DOCS\71077.TXT KATIE PsN: KATIE C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held on June 15, 2011 ............................................................................... 1 Statement of: Grassley, Hon. Charles E., ranking member, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate .................................................................................................... 10 Heyer, Robert, cousin of late Border Agent Brian Terry; Josephine Terry, mother of late Border Agent Brian Terry; Michelle Terry Balogh, sister of late Border Agent Brian Terry; John Dodson, Special Agent, Phoenix Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Olindo ‘‘Lee’’ Casa, Special Agent, Phoenix Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Peter J. Forcelli, Group Supervisor, Phoenix Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fire- arms, and Explosives .................................................................................... 86 Casa, Olindo ‘‘Lee’’ .................................................................................... 100 Dodson, John ............................................................................................. 96 Forcelli, Peter J. ........................................................................................ 107 Heyer, Robert ............................................................................................. 86 Weich, Ronald, Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice ... 154 Letters, statements, etc., submitted for the record by: Casa, Olindo ‘‘Lee’’, Special Agent, Phoenix Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, prepared statement of ........ 103 Connolly, Hon. Gerald E., a Representative in Congress from the State of Virginia, prepared statement of .............................................................. 131 Cummings, Hon. Elijah E., a Representative in Congress from the State of Maryland: Letter dated June 15, 2011 ...................................................................... 178 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 8 Dodson, John, Special Agent, Phoenix Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, prepared statement of ...................... 98 Forcelli, Peter J., Group Supervisor, Phoenix Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, prepared statement of ........ 110 Gosar, Hon. Paul A., a Representative in Congress from the State of Arizona, prepared statement of ................................................................... 150 Grassley, Hon. Charles E., ranking member, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, prepared statement of ............................................................ 14 Heyer, Robert, cousin of late Border Agent Brian Terry, prepared state- ment of ........................................................................................................... 90 Issa, Chairman Darrell E., a Representative in Congress from the State of California, prepared statement of ........................................................... 4 Kelly, Hon. Mike, a Representative in Congress from the State of Penn- sylvania, prepared statement of .................................................................. 141 Weich, Ronald, Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, prepared statement of ................................................................................... 157 (III) VerDate 17-JUN-2003 17:38 Nov 30, 2011 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 C:\KATIES\DOCS\71077.TXT KATIE PsN: KATIE VerDate 17-JUN-2003 17:38 Nov 30, 2011 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 C:\KATIES\DOCS\71077.TXT KATIE PsN: KATIE OPERATION FAST AND FURIOUS: RECKLESS DECISIONS, TRAGIC OUTCOMES WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2011 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 a.m., in room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Darrell E. Issa (chair- man of the committee) presiding. Present: Representatives Issa, McHenry, Jordan, Chaffetz, Mack, Walberg, Lankford, Amash, Buerkle, Gosar, Labrador, Meehan, DesJarlais, Gowdy, Ross, Guinta, Farenthold, Kelly, Cummings, Towns, Maloney, Kucinich, Tierney, Clay, Lynch, Connolly, Quigley, and Yarmuth. Staff present: Linda Good, chief clerk; Molly Boyl, parliamen- tarian; Steve Castor, chief counsel, investigations; Carlton Davis, Henry J. Kerner, Jessica L. Laux, counsels; Kate Dunbar, staff as- sistant; Jean Humbrecht, professional staff member; Ashok M. Pinto, deputy chief counsel, investigations; Jonathan J. Skladany, senior investigative counsel; Beverly Britton Fraser, Justin Kim, Scott Lindsay, Donald Sherman, and Carlos Uriarte, minority counsels; Kevin Corbin, minority staff assistant; Ashley Etienne, minority director of communications; Jennifer Hoffman, minority press secretary; Carla Hultberg, minority chief clerk; Chris Knauer, minority senior investigator; Dave Rapallo, minority staff director; and Susanne Sachsman Grooms, minority chief counsel. Chairman ISSA. The committee will come to order. We exist to secure two fundamental principles: First, Americans have a right to know that the money Washington takes from them is well-spent. And, second, Americans deserve an efficient, effective government that works for them. Our duty on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee is to protect these rights. Our sol- emn responsibility is to hold government accountable to taxpayers, because taxpayers have a right to know what they get from their government. We work tirelessly, in partnership with citizen watch- dogs, to deliver the facts to the American people and bring genuine reform to the Federal bureaucracy. The mission of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is to protect our communities from violent criminals, criminal organi- zations, and the illegal use and trafficking of firearms. Since the Gun Control Act of 1968, the ATF has been organized as a unique law enforcement agency that Americans could trust to reduce the illegal transfer of guns into the hands of criminals. (1) VerDate 17-JUN-2003 17:38 Nov 30, 2011 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\KATIES\DOCS\71077.TXT KATIE PsN: KATIE 2 Today’s hearing concerns a breach of that trust that has left countless innocent Mexican citizens and at least one Federal Bor- der Patrol agent dead. In 2009, the ATF began allowing straw purchasers to walk guns into Mexico, believing that this initiative would help them track the use of firearms by higher-ups within the Mexican drug cartels. Guns instead were being seized and allowed to cross the Mexican border without the knowledge of the Mexican Government. This ef- fort failed. Over strong objections of the ATF field agents, the program con- tinued. And approximately 2,000 AK–47s and derivatives, and some .50-caliber sniper rifles and others, and 10,000 or more rounds of live ammunition went into the arsenals of the Mexican drug lords. Despite these strong objections by field agents, Operation Fast and Furious continued. And not only did it continue, but those at the highest level of ATF showed great interest in the program. A document, displayed on the screen now, shows that two of the most senior leaders in ATF, Acting Director