Aaron Murray's List: Fast and Furious

• Reporting from Washington—     

        High-powered assault weapons illegally purchased under the ATF's Fast and Furious program in Phoenix ended up in a home belonging to the purported top Sinaloa cartel enforcer in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, whose organization was terrorizing that city with the worst violence in the Mexican drug wars.
• In all, 100 assault weapons acquired under Fast and Furious were transported 350 miles from Phoenix to El Paso
• Six other Fast and Furious guns destined for El Paso were recovered in Columbus, N.M.
• "These Fast and Furious guns were going to Sinaloans, and they are killing everyone down there," said one knowledgeable U.S. government source
• Under Fast and Furious, begun in fall 2009, the ATF allowed illegal buyers to walk away with weapons in the hope that agents in Phoenix could track the guns and arrest cartel leaders.
• Three months into the program, El Paso began to emerge as a hub, perhaps the central location, for Fast and Furious weapons.

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• PHOENIX, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Arizona county sheriffs are calling for the president to initiate an independent investigation into a sting operation involving gun trafficking that went awry.
• The sting operation, known as "Operation Fast and Furious," was established to catch big-time drug lords responsible for illegally transporting guns in Mexico. The operation, based in Arizona, was carried out by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
• "I believe that this is a much larger scandal than what took place in Watergate," said Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, president of the Arizona Sheriff's Association, at a Phoenix news conference.
• "Eric Holder, in my opinion, should resign or he needs to be fired," Babeu said. "Nobody in America is above the law, including Eric Holder, including President Obama. There is no king."

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• #1 During Operation Fast and Furious, ATF agents purposely allowed thousands of guns to be sold to individuals that they believed would get them into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.
• #2 ATF agents were specifically ordered not to intercept the guns before they crossed the border.
• #4 ATF Special Agent John Dodson was one of the first to blow the whistle on Operation Fast and Furious.
• #6 In some gun stores, cameras were set up so that top ATF officials could actually watch these transactions take place.
• #7 It has also come out that in some cases ATF agents were actually the ones buying the guns and getting them into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. 
• #9 Mexican authorities were never informed that thousands upon thousands of guns were being allowed into Mexico.
• #19 U.S. Representative Darrell Issa believes that those involved in the Fast and Furious gun trafficking operation may have violated international arms trafficking agreements and could potentially face very serious criminal charges.
• #20 U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley is absolutely convinced that a major coverup is going on….

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