Issa Statement on Murder Indictment of Suspect Linked to Notorious Operation Fast and Furious

Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa released the following statement regarding the Department of Justice’s announcement of a month old indictment for the December 15, 2010, murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. At the scene of Terry’s murder, investigators found guns that the ATF had knowingly allowed to fall into the hands of criminals.

“The announcement of an indictment against Manuel Osorio-Arellanes for the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry is certainly good news, but leaves critical questions unanswered. The Justice Department still hasn’t said how and why guns purportedly being tracked and monitored by federal law enforcement officials as part of Operation Fast and Furious ended up in the hands of Agent Terry’s killers. It angers me to think that this death might not have occurred had it not been for reckless decisions made by officials at the Department of Justice who authorized and supported an operation that knowingly put guns in the hands of criminals. For these officials to imagine that this operation would result in anything other than a tragic outcome was naive and negligent. Sen. Charles Grassley and I continue to demand accountability as we investigate this matter.”

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