Improving Americans’ Quality of Life: Homes, Health, Jobs, and EducationOversight Committee Democrats are focused on preserving home ownership, getting America back to work, ensuring quality, affordable health care, and giving all students access to a high-quality education. |
Making Government Work for All AmericansOur aggressive agenda works to root out waste, fraud and abuse in government spending, enhance transparency, and ensure that the needs of Americans are put ahead of corporate special interest. |
Promoting the Safety and Well-Being of the American PeopleWe are committed to supporting our troops and veterans, protecting American consumers, and safeguarding national and homeland security. |
For a PDF version of the Democratic Agenda, please click here.
Cummings Issues Statement After Briefing by DOJ’s Inspector General on Gunwalking Report |
Washington, DC (Sept. 19, 2012) – Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released the following statement after receiving a briefing from the Department of Justice’s Inspector General on its comprehensive report of gunwalking in Operations Wide Receiver and Fast and Furious: “The IG’s comprehensive report debunks many of the extreme allegations made by Republicans and confirms many of the conclusions reached in a report I issued nearly a year ago—that neither the Attorney General nor senior DOJ officials authorized or approved of gunwalking in Fast and Furious, that gunwalking started under the Bush Administration in 2006, and that ATF agents in Phoenix and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona share responsibility for misguided operations spanning five years. Although the report does not find that DOJ intentionally misled Congress, it does find that the Department could have done a better job responding to requests for information, particularly after determining that the weapons found at the scene at Agent Terry’s murder were linked to the operation. I hope this report provides the Terry family with much-needed answers and that Congress can now turn the page and focus on reforms to help ensure that this never happens again.”
Summary of DOJ Inspector General Report on Operation Fast and Furious and Operation Wide Receiver Washington, D.C. (Sept. 19, 2012)—Today, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice, Michael E. Horowitz, issued his office’s report on allegations of “gunwalking” by the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The report was requested on February 28, 2011, by Attorney General Eric Holder. The Inspector General’s report was the result of year-and-a-half long investigation that involved a review of more than 100,000 pages of documents and interviews of more than 130 witnesses. Executive privilege was not asserted over any aspect of the Inspector General’s report or any of the documents on which the report relied. With respect to the more extreme claims made by Committee Chairman Darrell E. Issa, the Inspector General’s report did not substantiate them. The report did not support allegations that gunwalking was a strategy authorized and approved by the Attorney General, that gunwalking was used as a deliberate strategy to promote stronger gun laws, that the FBI concealed a “third gun” from the murder scene of Agent Brian Terry, or that Department officials intentionally misled Congress during the Committee’s investigation. In contrast, the report’s findings did parallel many of those set forth in a report issued last January by Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. That report found that Operation Fast and Furious was the latest in a series of fatally flawed operations run by ATF field agents in Phoenix during both the previous and current administrations. The Integrity Committee of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency has described the Inspector General’s office as “a model of independence, objectivity, and above all integrity in every aspect of its daily pursuits,” and concluded that it has “fully earned an unquestioned reputation for successfully addressing highly difficult and sensitive cases, and deserves the trust and confidence of the public.” No finding that the Attorney General authorized, approved of, or knew about “gunwalking.”
Gunwalking started under the Bush Administration in 2006.
Gunwalking began in Operation Wide Receiver.
Wiretap affidavits in both Wide Receiver and Fast and Furious included potential red flags, but senior officials did not read them.
Operation Fast and Furious was a ground-up operation.
No finding that senior Department officials intentionally misled Congress.
No finding that the Administration promoted gunwalking to justify stronger gun laws.
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Committee On Oversight and Government Reform
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