U.S. Government Bought and Sold Weapons During 'Fast and Furious,' Documents Show
Not only did U.S. officials approve, allow
and assist in the sale of more than 2,000 guns to the Sinaloa cartel --
the federal government used taxpayer money to buy semi-automatic
weapons, sold them to criminals and then watched as the guns
disappeared.
This disclosure, revealed in documents
obtained by Fox News, could undermine the Department of Justice's
previous defense that Operation Fast and Furious was a "botched"
operation where agents simply "lost track" of weapons as they were
transferred from one illegal buyer to another. Instead, it heightens the
culpability of the federal government as Mexico, according to sources,
has opened two criminal investigations into the operation that flooded
their country with illegal weapons.
According to documents obtained by Fox News,
Agent John Dodson was ordered to buy four semi-automatic Draco pistols
from the Lone Wolf gun store in Peoria, Ariz. An unusual sale, Dodson
was sent to the store with a letter of approval from David Voth, an ATF
group supervisor.
Dodson then sold the weapons to known illegal buyers, while fellow agents watched from their cars nearby.
This was not a "buy-bust" or a sting
operation, where police sell to a buyer and then arrest them immediately
afterward. In this case, agents were "ordered" to let the sale go
through and follow the weapons to a stash house.
According to sources directly involved in
the case, Dodson felt strongly that the weapons should not be abandoned
and the stash house should remain under 24-hour surveillance. However,
Voth disagreed and ordered the surveillance team to return to the
office. Dodson refused, and for six days in the desert heat kept the
house under watch, defying direct orders from Voth.
A week later, a second vehicle showed up to
transfer the weapons. Dodson called for an interdiction team to move in,
make the arrest and seize the weapons. Voth refused and the guns
disappeared with no surveillance.
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