Next Round Of Gunwalker Hearings Announced

The House Oversight Committee has announced that the next round of hearings on Operation Fast and Furious (aka Project Gunwalker) will be held next Tuesday at 10am. The announcement is below.

Looking at the witness list, this one should be very interesting. Darren Gil, former ATF Attache to Mexico, was forced into retirement when he objected to the project. He was interviewed by Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News a few months ago.

It will be very interesting to hear what Bill Newell and William McMahon have to say. Given that Ken Melson has already met with the committee, they have to know that they will need to come clean. As I said a while back, having Newell spilling his guts has got to put fear into the higher ups in ATF and the DOJ.

I do have to wonder what sort of inane nonsense that Ranking Minority Member Elijah Cummings will come up with when questioning these witnesses given his performance last time.

"Operation Fast and Furious: The Other Side of the Border" will examine accounts of agents based in Mexico

Washington DC-- On Tuesday, July 26th, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will convene a hearing as part of the ongoing investigation into the Department of Justice's Operation Fast and Furious, a tragically flawed effort that is connected to deaths on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border.

The Committee's previous hearing, Operation Fast and Furious: Reckless Decisions, Tragic Outcomes, featured ATF agents who testified they were ordered to let guns destined for Mexican drug cartels walk and heartbreaking testimony from the family of a U.S. Border Patrol agent whose murder is linked to guns that law enforcement chose not to interdict.

This Tuesday's hearing, Operation Fast and Furious: The Other Side of the Border, will feature the testimony of U.S. law enforcement officials who witnessed a different side of the controversial operation. These officials saw the steady stream of Operation Fast and Furious guns recovered at crime scenes in Mexico and were given orders from superiors not to alert Mexican authorities. Members of the Committee will also have their first opportunity to question ATF supervisors who have defended Operation Fast and Furious and the Justice Department's decisions to committee investigators.

"The Acting Director of the ATF has told congressional investigators that the Justice Department is attempting to shift blame in Operation Fast and Furious away from its political appointees," said Chairman Darrell Issa. "Examining the accounts of witnesses who did not participate in Operation Fast and Furious, but were nonetheless disturbed as they watched it unfold is critical to understanding the scope of this flawed program. This testimony is especially important in light of the Justice Department's willful efforts to withhold key evidence from investigators about what occurred, who knew and who authorized this reckless operation."

Operation Fast and Furious: The Other Side of the Border
Full Committee, Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 26th in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.

Witnesses

Mr. Carlos Canino – ATF Acting Attaché to Mexico
Mr. Darren Gil – Former ATF Attaché to Mexico
Mr. Jose Wall – ATF Senior Special Agent, Tijuana, Mexico
Mr. Lorren Leadmon – ATF Intelligence Operations Specialist
Mr. William Newell – Former ATF Special Agent in Charge, Phoenix Field Division
Mr. William McMahon – ATF Deputy Assistant Director for Field Operations (West, including Phoenix and Mexico)