BELLEVUE, WA -- The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today that Attorney General Eric Holder's call for the Justice Department's inspector general to examine the "Project Gunrunner" scandal is "exactly what we called on him to do more than a week ago."
Holder announced Thursday night -- following a second expose by CBS News on the a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives operation in Phoenix dubbed "Fast and Furious" that is part of the agency's broader "Project Gunrunner" effort -- that he was asking the Inspector General to look into allegations that the operation deliberately allowed hundreds of guns to be transported to Mexico. That decision was followed by a second announcement by ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson that he will assemble a panel of law enforcement professionals to review the agency's strategies.
"Evidently," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, "Mr. Holder acted on our advice. This scandal screams for an investigation, and Sen. Charles Grassley should not be out there on his own probing this scandal."
CCRKBA issued a statement on Feb. 24 that called on Holder to either investigate the Gunrunner controversy or step down. CCRKBA also urged its members to contact their senators and congressional representatives, demanding oversight hearings on the ATF's handling of this operation.
"Guns allowed into the illicit pipeline by the 'Fast and Furious' operation were involved in the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and countless other crimes in Mexico and the United States," Gottlieb added. "Reports by CBS, the Los Angeles Times and other news agencies point to an operation that got out of control in a hurry. The people responsible for this mess should be fired.
"Because of the CBS revelations last night," he said, "we are renewing our call for American gun owners to contact Capitol Hill and ask why the appropriate House and Senate committees are not already investigating this debacle."
Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is one of the nation’s premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States. The Citizens Committee can be reached by phone at (425) 454-4911, on the Internet at ccrkba.org or by email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
