Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 27, 2011

CONTACT: Hannah Loy   202-225-2315

Gosar participates in OGR Hearing regarding Operation Fast and Furious

Tuesday, Congressman Paul Gosar (AZ-01) participated in an Oversight and Government reform hearing regarding Operation Fast and Furious, a failed operation intended to stop drug cartels operating in Mexico and across the border in Arizona.  The Congressman demanded answers from William Newell, Former Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division, about who authorized the walking of guns into Mexico, going into the hands of drug cartel leaders across the border with the full knowledge and consent of senior officials at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Committee members from both sides of the aisle expressed frustration, anger, and disbelief at the lack of transparency and honesty from ATF officials about who authorized this ill fated and dangerous program.

“The Federal Government put guns into the hands of criminals that then brought them across the border to be used by murderous Mexican drug cartels.  The Oversight investigation has shown that the U.S. government kept the Mexican government and Mexican ATF employees in the dark.   The ATF acted in bad faith towards our Mexican allies.  We need the Mexican government to trust us and we need their help securing the border.” Said Gosar.  “It is unconscionable that the federal government is, on one hand, completely neglecting its responsibility to protect our Southwest border, and on the other hand, making the problem worse with dangerously ill advised law enforcement tactics.”

The Oversight and Government Reform Committee, of which Gosar is a member, has been investigating the events, timeline, and federal officials involved in Fast and Furious for some time. Yesterday’s hearing, “Operation Fast and Furious: the Other Side of the Border” is the third hearing the Committee has held on this matter. The Committee has learned that BATFE conducted and DOJ authorized Operation Fast and Furious in 2009, to be conducted from the ATF Phoenix Field Office. In order to trace illegal gun purchases back to the drug cartels in search of weapons, ATF senior officials directed their agents to observe suspicious gun purchases and then purposefully fail to do surveillance or intercept these weapons. ATF’s plan knowingly allowed these weapons to disappear from the agency’s view, and as a result at least 2,000 weapons are in the hands of known international criminals. In fact, most of these guns appeared again at crime scenes, one of which was the savage murder of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in December 2010.

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