By AWR Hawkins 29 Feb 2012
Just when the Fast and Furious investigation seemed to hit a lull, and many were wondering what was going to come of it or whether it might quietly fade away without anyone being prosecuted, another weapon that was obtained via a straw purchase in the U.S. and carried across the Mexican border has been identified. This one is “connected to the murder of Immigration and Customs (ICE) Agent Jaime Zapata,” which took place in February 2011. And suffice it to say, AG Eric Holder is on the hot seat all over again.
Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) is looking into the DOJ’s role in Agent Zapata’s murder, and believes the weapon which was used came from a program similar to Fast and Furious. Which means that no one knows whether the gun-walking tied to Fast and Furious was ended, as Holder said it was, only to be started again under another program (with another name), or whether the gun walking tied to Fast and Furious simply continued longer than Holder claims it did. And this brings the focus back to the head of the DOJ’s criminal division, Lanny Breuer, “who suggested letting some illicit ‘straw’ weapons buyers in the U.S. [to] transport their guns across the border into Mexico where they could be arrested.” Was Breuer’s suggestion adopted for Fast and Furious or was it adopted for another program that supplied the weapon with which Agent Zapata was killed?
During an appearance on FOX News on February 28, Issa said the DOJ is “refusing to cooperate” with the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the murder of Agent Zapata. (No surprise there.) But Issa made it clear: “I have told the Attorney General that it is contemptible, and I will seek, if necessary, contempt of the House, if we can’t get cooperation under the constitution in our investigation.”
The bottom line, Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s death can now be listed as one of two federal agents who were killed by weapons knowingly purchased by straw purchasers and moved across the border on our DOJ’s watch. For the Terry family and for the Zapata family, the truth behind Fast and Furious must be uncovered and those who planned it, oversaw it, and covered it up, must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Congressman Issa appears focused on making sure this happens.
