The Justice Department’s Inspector General should be removed from a probe into a controversial Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms policy that allowed guns to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Tuesday.
In a letter to Kevin Perkins, the head of the Integrity Committee of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, Grassley said he is not confident that DOJ’s IG can be impartial in its probe of Operation Fast and Furious. Grassley said that whistleblowers have alleged that ATF intentionally allowed thousands of weapons to be transported to Mexico as part of its investigation into gun smuggling.
Guns that ATF allowed to be smuggled were found at the scene of a killing of Agent Brian Terry on Dec. 14, he said. Jamie Avila, who was identified as a straw purchaser of weapons, was arrested shortly after the killing. ATF had been tracking Avila’s gun purchases.
Grassley said that while Attorney General Eric Holder has requested an IG probe of the program, he believes the probe should not be conducted by the IG. He said that the position of department Inspector General remains vacant and that often,acting inspectors general are mere caretakers and are not necessarily equipped to conduct thorough investigations.
He also said that the IG’s office had been aware of the whistleblower allegations and had done nothing about them. Finally, he said that a previous IG report that was critical of ATF policies may have contributed to the decision to allow guns to be smuggled. “Without a greater level of independence, it will be difficult for the public to have faith in the impartiality and integrity of the result,” Grassley wrote.
The senator also requested that any investigation be broadened to examine statements to Senate Judiciary Committee staff that he said have been misleading.
