Second Operation Fast and Furious Hearing to be Held June 15th

Title: “Operation Fast and Furious: Reckless Decisions, Tragic Outcomes”

Date/Time: 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday June 15th

Location: Room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building

This hearing will examine the tragic consequences of Operation Fast and Furious, started by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in the fall of 2009. In Fast and Furious, ATF encouraged gun store owners to sell weapons to straw buyers suspected of working on behalf of Mexican drug cartels. ATF allowed known criminals to purchase guns and traffic them into Mexico. Operation Fast and Furious has been linked to deaths and other crimes in both the U.S. and Mexico, including the December 2010 killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

“The reckless decisions of ATF and Justice Department officials in Operation Fast and Furious have devastated lives and put fear into communities on both sides of the border,” said Chairman Issa. “By exploring this Justice Department sanctioned program, we can better understand the flawed process surrounding the genesis and implementation of an operation that put guns into the hands of criminals.”

It is the second in a series of hearings on Operation Fast and Furious. The first hearing, titled “Obstruction of Justice: Does the Justice Department Have to Respond to a Lawfully Issued and Valid Congressional Subpoena?” will be held on Monday, June 13th. More information on this hearing is available here. The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and Senator Charles Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee have jointly conducted this investigation.

The following witnesses are currently slated to appear at the hearing. Testimony will be posted online as it becomes available. The hearing will be webcast live at Oversight.House.Gov.

 

• Senator Charles Grassley, Ranking Member, U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary

• Ms. Josephine Terry, Mother of the Late Border Agent Brian Terry

• Ms. Michelle Terry Balogh, Sister of the Late Border Agent Brian Terry

• Mr. Robert Heyer, Cousin of the Late Border Agent Brian Terry

• Special Agent Olindo James Casa, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Phoenix Field Division

• Special Agent Peter Forcelli, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Phoenix Field Division

• Special Agent John Dodson, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Phoenix Field Division

• Mr. Ronald Weich, Assistant Attorney General, United States Department of Justice

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