On Sunday, the House Oversight Committee released a report titled “Fast and the Furious: The FBI’s War on Guns,” which chronicles the Obama administration’s attempts to prosecute gun trafficking, including the infamous Fast and Furious gun-walking operation that resulted in the deaths of American citizens.
In the report, the committee also found that “more than 1,000 firearms were lost or stolen from ATF’s Phoenix field office.”
It’s the first time Congress has looked at the operation, which the Obama Justice Department says was intended to prevent gun violence.
A congressional panel last year also found the operation was largely ineffective in stopping gun violence, as it failed to prevent murders.
The Obama Justice and FBI departments declined to comment on the report.
Congress’ report is still classified, but the House Intelligence Committee released its own draft of the report on Friday.
“The report makes clear that the FBI was not able to prevent the murders and that the Justice Department and FBI failed to adequately investigate the killings,” the House intelligence committee chairman, Rep. Adam Schiff, said in a statement.
“There was no meaningful congressional oversight of the Bureau, and the Bureau was not held accountable for the failures of its officers and agents.”
In March of 2015, the Obama DOJ sent a letter to congressional committees requesting their assistance in tracking down the guns and guns trafficking ring.
The DOJ’s inspector general found that ATF failed to do its job when it received the guns.
“At least 2,907 firearms, including handguns, shotguns, rifles, and other firearms, were seized by the Bureau,” the IG’s report found.
“These seizures were primarily used to support an ongoing gun trafficking ring that engaged in gun trafficking and murder.
The IG report noted that “the Bureau was unable to identify any firearms trafficking operations operating in the Phoenix area.” “
In addition, the Department’s investigation did not identify any significant firearms trafficking ring operations operating from Phoenix or elsewhere.”
The IG report noted that “the Bureau was unable to identify any firearms trafficking operations operating in the Phoenix area.”
A year later, the ATF found itself in the middle of a political firestorm.
It received a letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, who accused the agency of “shifting focus away from its primary mission of protecting law-abiding Americans and toward the political gain of its own political appointees.”
Johnson, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, claimed that ATF was operating “an unelected, political gun-running operation in Phoenix.”
In response, ATF sent a scathing letter to Johnson.
“We are not taking this letter lightly, and we have taken the unprecedented step of publicly stating that ATF has never and will never use a ‘Fast And Furious’ operation to target a federal law enforcement officer,” the letter said.
The letter also cited a “continued failure to follow its own procedures and procedures, including a failure to cooperate with the Department of Justice in its investigation of this matter.”
The letter came as the Justice and ATF are in the midst of a public relations crisis.
In September, the Bureau launched a public affairs blitz in the wake of the letter from Johnson, as the Obama White House sought to counter a report that suggested the agency had engaged in political meddling and corruption.
“It is imperative that we not repeat history, but instead begin anew,” the ATF said in an email to supporters.
“As you know, ATF has been a bipartisan partner in combating violent crime, and has been an effective partner in our fight against gun trafficking,” the email continued.
The new letter came just days after the Department issued a statement that suggested ATF was still not satisfied with its investigation.
“Based on a review of the investigative file, we found that no criminal conduct was found by ATF, nor was there evidence of wrongdoing by ATF personnel, nor were there any known firearms seized by ATF,” the statement read.
“Although we cannot comment on ongoing legal proceedings, we can say that we will continue to vigorously defend ourselves in the court of public opinion and hold accountable those who would attempt to undermine the hard work ATF has done.”
The ATF also launched a campaign last week to “promote accountability,” including a Twitter account, #BADATFACT, and a “Stop ATF” billboard.
“No one has a right to be treated like a criminal,” the billboard read.
In a statement, the Justice & ATF said that it “continues to cooperate fully with the committee’s investigation.”
The agency said that the letter it sent to Congress is a “direct response” to the IG report, which also alleged that “no one in the Department knew” about the guns seized by law enforcement.
“While the investigation is ongoing, we have been working with the House and Senate Intelligence Committees to conduct a thorough and thorough investigation,” the Justice& ATF said.
“This investigation is being conducted in a timely, fair and thorough manner.
As we have previously stated, we remain committed to pursuing and pursuing our criminal and civil rights cases. “