The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Source:
Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:39 PM
Justice Department To Turn Over Fast And Furious Documents Withheld By Former AG Eric Holder; Chavetz: Time To Reopen Case
The Justice Department entered into a conditional settlement agreement with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The settlement agreement was filed in federal court in Washington D.C., and ends six years of litigation arising out of the previous administration’s refusal to produce records requested by the committee.
“The Department of Justice under my watch is committed to transparency and the rule of law,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement Wednesday. “This settlement agreement is an important step to make sure that the public finally receives all the facts related to Operation Fast and Furious.”
The Obama-era operation was a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) operation in which the federal government allowed criminals to buy guns in Phoenix-area shops with the intention of tracking them as they were transported into Mexico. But the agency lost track of more than 1,400 of the 2,000 guns they allowed smugglers to buy.
“For over six years, the House Oversight Committee has fought for additional documents related to Operation Fast and Furious. Today, the Committee finally reached a conditional settlement with the Department of Justice,” Amanda Gonzalez, spokeswoman for the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement to Fox News.
“The Committee seeks all relevant facts
so we can learn from the mistakes made by the Justice Department. We
have a responsibility to uncover why they worked so hard to hide this
information from the Committee, the family of [slain border patrol
agent] Brian Terry, and the American people.”
The Trump administration’s decision came just one day after Terry's
brother urged President Trump to “reopen the books” and get to the
bottom of the scandal.
Kent terry
@terry_superman
#FastAndFurious @realDonaldTrump Sir it's been 7 yrs .my family ask you
reopen Obama's gun scandal that cost my brother his life..I talk to you
back on the campaign trail here in Michigan and you offered to reopen
the books into this senseless scandal .thank you.God bless
Brian Terry was killed in 2010 by an illegal immigrant with a weapon
used in the botched Operation Fast and Furious. Terry died in a gunfight
between Border Patrol agents and members of a six-man cartel “rip crew,”
which patrolled the desert along the U.S.-Mexico border looking for drug
dealers to rob. The cartel member suspected of killing Terry was
apprehended in 2017.
“We need to find out the truth, exactly what happened, how it happened,
why it happened,” Kent Terry said on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday. “We need
Mr. Trump, President Trump, to unseal the documents, reverse executive
privilege so that we know what happened, and that we can hold the people
accountable that are responsible.”
Terry, who met Trump on the campaign trail, said the president was “very
apologetic for the actions that the previous administration did.”
“He was very sincere about getting answers,” Terry said. “He said it was
shameful and that I think Mr. Sessions should step up and re-open the
case, re-investigate it and hold those accountable.”
The White House has yet to release an official statement on the Justice
Department’s settlement.
The House Oversight Committee did not immediately respond to Fox News'
request for comment.
Brooke Singman is a Politics Reporter for Fox News. Follow her on
Twitter at @brookefoxnews.
