BATFE Chief Kenneth Melson Sacked

[45nut]

Lookie here

JENNIFER EPSTEIN | 8/30/11 12:21 PM EDT (Epstein's Mom??)

The man who led the controversial Fast and Furious anti-gun-trafficking operation will step down as the interim head of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Justice Department announced Tuesday as it named a new acting director for the agency.

Kenneth Melson, the bureau’s acting director, on Wednesday will move to the Office of Legal Policy(WTF?), where he will be a senior adviser on forensic science, the department said without making reference to the failed gun-tracking operation that is alleged to have ultimately put guns into the hands of criminals. Dennis Burke, the U.S. Attorney in Arizona who oversaw prosecutions in that state related to the Fast and Furious operation, is also stepping down, the department said.


“Ken brings decades of experience at the department and extensive knowledge in forensic science to his new role, and I know he will be a valuable contributor on these issues,” Attorney General Eric Holder said of Melson in a statement. “As he moves into this new role, I want to thank Ken for his dedication to the department over the last three decades.”

Melson’s replacement is B. Todd Jones, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota. Jones “is a demonstrated leader who brings a wealth of experience to this position,” Holder said. “I have great confidence that he will be a strong and steady influence guiding ATF in fulfilling its mission of combating violent crime by enforcing federal criminal laws and regulations in the firearms and explosives industries.” (Yeah, I bet you do.)

Melson took the top spot at the ATF on an interim basis in 2009 and oversaw the execution of Fast and Furious, an effort that was aimed at rooting out gun smugglers selling weapons to Mexican cartels. Ultimately, the ATF lost track of as many as 2,000 guns that were sold during the operation, including two that were found near the scene of the killing of a Border Patrol agent.

In a separate statement, Holder commended Burke’s “decision to place the interests of the U.S. Attorney’s office above all else” in stepping down. CBS reported that Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory Hurley, who worked under Burke on Fast and Furious, will be reassigned to the Civil Division of the Justice Department.

Holder also praised Burke’s work, and said his office’s “quick response to the devastating shootings in January that claimed the lives of several people and critically injured Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was crucial in arresting and charging the alleged shooter.”

An investigation of the Fast and Furious operation by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee found emails showing that Melson was regularly informed of the problems with the investigation.

One associate told POLITICO that, despite news stories predicting Melson’s exit since the beginning of the summer, he may have been reluctant to resign due to issues related to eligibility for retirement. Melson started at the Justice Department in 1983 as a federal prosecutor in Virginia.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House oversight committee, initially called on Melson to resign, but reversed course in July, saying that Melson should not be forced out until the facts about the operation were fully known.

In a statement Tuesday, Issa said “the reckless disregard for safety” by the Justice Department “certainly merits changes” in personnel.

But the committee will continue to investigate Fast and Furious “to ensure that blame isn’t offloaded on just a few individuals for a matter that involved much higher levels of the Justice Department,” Issa said. “There are still many questions to be answered about what happened in Operation Fast and Furious and who else bears responsibility, but these changes are warranted and offer an opportunity for the Justice Department to explain the role other officials and offices played in the infamous efforts to allow weapons to flow to Mexican drug cartels.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) voiced dismay that Melson has been reassigned and not forced to step down. Holder, he said, should have requested Melson’s resignation and “come clean on all alleged gun-walking operations.”

In July, there was fresh evidence of distance between Melson and Justice Department leaders when he gave a lengthy interview to congressional investigators outside the presence of and without advance notice to DOJ’s legislative affairs team. In the interview, Melson said he had objected to aspects of DOJ’s plans for handing the legislative inquiries and that he had been told not to tell Congress why mid-ranking ATF officials with responsibility for the Fast and Furious operation were reassigned.

The ATF has been without a permanent director since 2006. The confirmation process for the Obama administration’s nominee, Andrew Traver, the head of the agency’s Chicago office, has stalled under opposition from the National Rifle Association.

Josh Gerstein contributed to this report.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories...#ixzz1WXubkT8C


As if Holder will punish any wrongdoer that is actually doing work for him ala the black panthers voter intimidation case. The negro gatos were actually enforcing Obozo's policy by telling folks who to vote for.

Heads need to roll. Really, like roll off of their shoulders onto their shoes. Like Exodus 22:24 says "And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless"

[vytoland]

same circus.............different clowns

[jstgsn]

This stinks to the very top, and every one of the slimeballs behind "him".

[CampingJosh]

Beyond all the other nonsense, in what world is a job filled by an "interim" candidate for two years?

Makes me want to trust my healthcare to the guys who built that bureaucracy. Sheeh.

[hogger129]

come on i want done to these guys what they do to the ones in guantanamo until they talk...

[American Leader]

I'm with you hogger, it's called accountability!

[The Duke]

Yeah....they gonna let the SOB basically show up for a dead head job until he gets his fat government retirement...Should have been fired and then put on trial ..The once hired, rarely fired mentality in DC makes me ill......All the political bastards want is a piece of taxpayer pie.....
They want a retirement...I say send them to Afganistan, give them a rifle with a full magazine and point them towards the jihadist...Instructions: Go EARN your retirement.

[300 H&H]

It's musical chairs all around underneath Holder. And the music has stopped. But not him. Anyone want to "pin the tail on the donkey?" I think it is fairly obvious by now the way to cover this up is to promote essentally ever one involved so they don't throw thier boss under the buss. This stinks and it should not be alowed in the USA at any time much less today. What a travesy, a violation of law and the black eye to law enforcement every where. Congress should act now. Grassley is the next stop for my computer....

Regards, Kirk

[Blackhawk Dave]

There's memos that the Asst Atty Gen in AZ hid the connection between Fast and Furious and the death of the border agent.

The ATF and US Attys office needs a complete overhaul, and that's from top to bottom, not just a few at the top.

[fuzebox40]

The ol' bureaucratic Three Card Monte. Was there ever any doubt. When it's easy for them, when they've got a single guy they can blame who's got nothing on the rest of the crew, they have no problem throwing the poor basterd under the bus. Nothing the big office boys like more than a fall guy. Ah, but when there's intirely too much finger pointing to avoid getting hit with poo, well out cometh the shell game. You scratch my back, yada, yada, we all get a cushy new jobs and never leave fat cat city. " A toast gentlemen, to riding this gravy train into retirement and beyond!"

I'm just gonna be sick.

[jwrauch]

This scum doesn't know the meaning of accountability JR