ATF Emails: Hey, Let's Use These Long-Gun Sales We've Demanded Gun Shop Owners Sell To Cartels To Justify Cracking Down on Long-Gun Sales

"Smoking guns?"

ATF officials didn't intend to publicly disclose their own role in letting Mexican cartels obtain the weapons, but emails show they discussed using the sales, including sales encouraged by ATF, to justify a new gun regulation called "Demand Letter 3". That would require some U.S. gun shops to report the sale of multiple rifles or "long guns." Demand Letter 3 was so named because it would be the third ATF program demanding gun dealers report tracing information.

On July 14, 2010 after ATF headquarters in Washington D.C. received an update on Fast and Furious, ATF Field Ops Assistant Director Mark Chait emailed Bill Newell, ATF's Phoenix Special Agent in Charge of Fast and Furious:

"Bill - can you see if these guns were all purchased from the same (licensed gun dealer) and at one time. We are looking at anecdotal cases to support a demand letter on long gun multiple sales. Thanks."

On Jan. 4, 2011, as ATF prepared a press conference to announce arrests in Fast and Furious, Newell saw it as "(A)nother time to address Multiple Sale on Long Guns issue." And a day after the press conference, Chait emailed Newell: "Bill--well done yesterday... (I)n light of our request for Demand letter 3, this case could be a strong supporting factor if we can determine how many multiple sales of long guns occurred during the course of this case."

This revelation angers gun rights advocates. Larry Keane, a spokesman for National Shooting Sports Foundation, a gun industry trade group, calls the discussion of Fast and Furious to argue for Demand Letter 3 "disappointing and ironic." Keane says it's "deeply troubling" if sales made by gun dealers "voluntarily cooperating with ATF's flawed 'Operation Fast & Furious' were going to be used by some individuals within ATF to justify imposing a multiple sales reporting requirement for rifles."

Still looking for anyone in the media to vigorously question an official on the goal of this operation.

We armed up Mexican Drug Barons, who used the guns to kill 300 people, making this a very murderous foreign covert operation, and no one in the media really seems curious as to the actual goal sought.

Old Quote: Headline:

Obama: I'm Working On Gun Control Under the Radar

But the subhed reads:

Plans include enacting restrictions via executive order, bypassing Congress

As I've made clear, I'm not a believer. I could be, I guess, but I'm not. I think I've just heard too many of these Grand Conspiracies, Ruby Ridge and especially Waco.

Thanks to JohnE.

posted by Ace at 02:42 PM

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