Scandal

by Ben Small

There's a burgeoning scandal from the last few days that has nothing to do with Charlie Sheen or Lindsay Lohan. Rather, it's about corruption within the Department of Justice, ATF Division. You know, those responsible for enforcing our gun laws.

You remember the ATF, the Ruby Ridge and Waco bunglers. Partly because of those fiascoes,  the ATF got transferred from the Treasury Department -- they issue $200 tax stamps to approve machine guns and silencers -- to the Justice Department, the hope being that one of the lowest prestige law enforcement agencies would take a step up in class and effectiveness.

Sadly, it hasn't worked out. It appears the ATF has bungled again.

Remember those reports from the Border Patrol, another Homeland Security unit sharing Justice Department parenthood with the ATF, that drugs were moving north of the border and guns were moving south of the border? Surely you remember the headlines, when a few Phoenix gun dealers were accused of selling bundles of AK-47s to multiple people, which weapons were then used by Mexican cartel members in their bloody attacks south of the border.

We were appalled. There was noise in Washington for additional gun sale curbs.

Turns out, the ATF helped create the problems its masters then complained about. The dealers had called the ATF and reported the attempted sales and their suspicions that the buyers were gunrunning smugglers. ATF agents say, publicly now, that higher management ordered them to approve these sales, despite dealer fears. Higher management wanted the sales.

And all this without even notifying the Mexican government. No "Lookout below!"

And the guns, hundreds of them, spread all over Mexico. People died.

The Mexican government complained. Obama and Calderon met. Then Obama and Eric Holder, Attorney General -- responsible for the Justice Department -- went public, promising to shut down the gun runners sending automatic and semi-automatic weapons from the U.S. to Mexico.

But Mexican government complaints continued, as smuggled weapons shed more blood in cartel wars.

The ATF is on record saying they've never approved an illegal sale. Their agents say otherwise. Now, the ATF is announcing an investigation. So is Congress.

Oh, the mystery, the intrigue.

Stay tuned, folks. This may be a good one.

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Articles reporting this recent news development are linked here. ATF Scandal; CBS News; Agency Investigation; USA Today; CNN; Arizona Daily Star