The story
Operation Fast and Furious was run by the Phoenix office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from late 2009 to early 2011. Agents watched as straw buyers, people buying guns on behalf of others, purchased about 2,000 firearms in Arizona gun shops, and in many cases deliberately did not arrest them or seize the weapons. The plan, known as gunwalking, was to follow the guns to the leaders of trafficking networks supplying Mexican cartels. Instead, most of the guns were lost. On December 14, 2010, Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was killed in a firefight near Rio Rico, Arizona, and two rifles found at the scene were traced to the operation.
ATF agent John Dodson and other whistleblowers went to Senator Charles Grassley, and congressional investigations led by Representative Darrell Issa followed. In February 2011 the Justice Department wrote to Congress denying that guns had been allowed to walk, a statement it formally withdrew that December. When the department refused to hand over some documents and President Obama claimed executive privilege, the House voted 255 to 67 in June 2012 to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt, the first time for a sitting cabinet member. A September 2012 inspector general report faulted 14 officials but found Holder had not known of the tactics.
Why it mattered
- Fast and Furious made the ATF a lasting political flashpoint and led to the resignation or reassignment of several senior officials.
- The contempt vote against Holder became a major episode in the conflict between Congress and the Obama administration.
- Guns from the operation kept turning up at crime scenes in Mexico for years, souring U.S. relations with Mexican authorities.
Sources
- Family, agents decry reckless ATF gun operation on Mexican border Center for Public Integrity
- House holds Eric Holder in contempt: What happens to him now? Christian Science Monitor
- Justice's Inspector General: No Evidence Holder Knew Of Failed Gun-Walking Sting NPR
- DOJ Inspector General Report: No Evidence For Right-Wing Media's Fast And Furious Gun Control Conspiracy Media Matters for America
- Holder received at least five memos on Fast and Furious House Oversight Committee
Drafted by AI (Claude) from the sources above and checked against them by AI; no historian has reviewed this page. Spot a mistake? Suggest a correction. How pages are made
Claims checked against the record
Consensus: The Justice Department inspector general and congressional investigators documented the operation's failures. A competing claim that it was designed to build a case for gun control has no supporting evidence.
- Family, agents decry reckless ATF gun operation on Mexican border Center for Public Integrity
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