BATF Chief: Cover UP

First, in the event the readers didn't catch this point in an earlier post, the Acting Director of the BATF, Ken Melson is not a political hack. He is a career BATF officer, a beat cop if you will, and probably an honest cop. He was named acting director because the BATF has not had a director since 2006 because every nominee has had trouble with Senate confirmation. From all that is known he was as outraged about operation Gun Runner as were his subordinates. It appears the political appointees in the DOJ would like to set him up to take the fall for the mismanagement and the wrongful deaths emanating from operation Gun Runner. Melson has said DOJ officials refuse to release a telling internal report on the Fast and Furious operation.


Today the Los Angeles Times is reporting that Melson has said that affidavits in support of wiretaps used in the operation are inconsistent with what DOJ officials have said publicly

"The Deputy Attorney General's office wasn't very happy with us" at ATF, Melson said, "because they thought this was an admission that there were mistakes made. Well, there were some mistakes made."

So far, aside from obstructing the Issa committee 's investigation, the only action taken by the administration to date has been to issue more rigorous reporting requirements for gun dealers in the border states. The regulation earned this retort from the NRA:

“$40 billion transnational criminal enterprises don’t fill out paperwork and are not deterred by paperwork violations. This is a blatant effort by the Obama administration and ATF to divert the focus of Congress and the general public from their gross incompetence in the Fast and Furious scandal.

The dog that didn't bark would be NBC's ace reporter Michael Isikoff'. Isikoff has been too busy sifting through Sarah Palin's email, investigating a $137,000 Medicaid payment made to Michele Bachmann's husband, and courageously reporting on Newt Gingrich's Tiffany account. Don't look for "Fast and Furious cover up" in the Isikoff Files.