From Moonbattery comes some interesting news that might turn into Obama’s Iran/Contra scandal if true….only, instead of trying to overthrow a communist regime, it seems as though the ATF is trying to undermine our own country:

A brewing scandal at the Department of Justice involving an illegal scheme to pad statistics on U.S. guns in Mexico threatens to erupt as U.S. Senator Charles Grassley of the Senate Judiciary Committee begins an investigation. ATF agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives — a DOJ agency — allegedly smuggled U.S. guns into Mexico in order to bolster the Department’s disputed contention that Mexican drug cartels are armed primarily with U.S. guns. Whistleblowers within the ATF contend that one of these guns was used to kill Border Patrol agent Brian A. Terry in December of 2010.

Grassly wrote a letter to the ATF on January 27, and he mentioned “serious concerns” about a program known as “Project Gunrunner.”  The project is designed to observe and inhibit weapons trafficking between the United States and Mexico.  The information out of moonbattery today seems to indicate that the program might actually be set up to cooperate with weapons smugglers…why? Moonbattery lays the blame at the left-wing animosity towards the second amendment:

As violence continues to erupt along the southern border due primarily to the dangerous activity of the Mexican drug cartels, the standard explanation of the Obama Administration has been that the mayhem of the cartels can be laid squarely at the feet of so-called ‘lax U.S. gun laws’ that supposedly enable armed criminal activity. Were it not for U.S. guns, so the explanation goes, then dangerous Mexican gangs would not be so dire a threat to the safety and security of citizens who live in border states.

If true…well…I’m not even sure what I would say if it’s true…but you can bet that the ATF will impede any legal investigation into the matter.  Grassly followed up on his first letter a few days later with some pointed allegations:

As you know, I wrote to you on Thursday, January 27, regarding serious allegations associated with Project Gunrunner and the death of Customs Border Protection Agent, Brian Terry.  Although the staff meeting I requested has not yet been scheduled, it appears that the ATF is reacting in less than positive ways to my request.  I understand that Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) George Gillette of the ATF’s Phoenix office questioned one of the individual agents who answered my staff’s questions about Project Gunrunner.  ASAC Gillette allegedly accused the agent of misconduct related to his contacts with the Senate Judiciary Committee.  This is exactly the wrong sort of reaction for the ATF.  Rather than focusing on retaliating against whistleblowers, the ATF’s sole focus should be on finding and disclosing the truth as soon as possible.

He goes on to remind the fine gentlemen at the ATF that obstructing justice is illegal (Mr. Eric Holder was cc’d on this letter btw):

As you may be aware, obstructing a federal investigation is a crime.  Additionally, denying or interfering with employees’ rights to furnish information to Congress is also against the law.  Federal officials who deny or interfere with employees’ rights to furnish information to Congress are not entitled to have their salaries paid by taxpayer dollars.  Finally, ATF personnel have constitutional rights to express their concerns to Congress under the First Amendment.

If this is not true, then the ATF should just give the man what he wants.  But the fact that they felt the need to tie someone’s hands to avoid an information leak (obviously illegal) makes it seem as though there is more to this story than smoke and mirrors.  In addition, the obstruction of justice is not entirely unlike other recent acts taken by the Obama Administration.

We’ll see where this goes, but I find it hard to believe the ATF will let anything go without a long, drawn out fight.