ATF Fast and Furious investigation: Congress tells FBI: clarify evidence in Brian Terry murder

By: Sharyl Attkisson
Topics: News ,; Law and Order

WASHINGTON- Today, members of Congress investigating the Fast and Furious "gunwalker" scandal asked the FBI to clear up questions about evidence at the murder scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

Terry was gunned down in Arizona near the Mexican border Dec. 14, 2010. Two weapons recovered at the scene traced back to the ATF Fast and Furious operation in which agents were told to let thousands of weapons be sold to suspected traffickers for Mexican drug cartels. The FBI has been investigating the murder for the past ten months.

In a lengthy letter directed to FBI Director Robert Mueller, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) pointed to inconsistencies in reports of how many weapons and suspects were involved, as well as their current whereabouts. The letter refers to evidence indicating there may have been five suspects in the group that shot Brian Terry, and as many as five rifles.

Sen. Grassley's staff raised the possibility of a "missing" third gun in his Feb. 16 letter to Attorney General Eric Holder. Last Sunday on CBS' Face the Nation, Rep. Issa stated that colleagues of deceased Agent Terry told his mother there was a third weapon, and that a federal agent had referred to a third weapon in secret recordings about the case.

The FBI has stated that it recovered two, and only two guns. However, neither was a conclusive match to the bullet that murdered Terry.

Sharyl Attkisson
Sharyl Attkisson is a CBS News investigative correspondent based in Washington. All of her stories, videos and blogs are available here.
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by payasyougo October 26, 2011 9:25 AM EDT: When the ATF can finally be found accountable for arming the Mexican drug cartels, the families of people killed in Mexico can start suing the U.S. ATF for wrongful death and negligence.; Reply to this comment


by Loyalist59 October 25, 2011 6:19 PM EDT: Sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com will keep you current on this story.; Reply to this comment


by rshawk October 24, 2011 12:56 PM EDT: I applaud Sharyl Attkisson for being "unreasonable" in her efforts to get reasonable answers. Very little of this makes sense. Manuel Osorio-Arrellanes was charged back in May and was to go on trial in June for Brian Terry's Murder. So if ballistics are inconclusive are they going ahead on confession? I read that 3 of the suspects were considered uninvolved and deported. The K-1 explanation doesn't logically end the controversy and seems to make it worse. If the DOJ can offer this info. in an expedited manor why can't they just come clean? If they quickly knew the detail of K-1, then the DOJ could quickly provide answers.; Reply to this comment


by model67a October 24, 2011 12:00 PM EDT: The Department of Justice investigating itself makes about as much sense as Congress having the power to vote themselves a raise!!! There seems to be a pattern of stupidity here besides the "Fast and Furious" operation! It substantiates that the majority in our federal government are imbeciles, starting with the top down!!; Reply to this comment


by Herne42 October 24, 2011 4:03 AM EDT: Refusing to grow hemp in America during the 17th and 18th century was against the law. Between the years 1763 and 1769 you could be jailed in Virginia for refusing to grow hemp.

"Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields. -Henry Ford-

The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this.
-Albert Einstein-

Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

We HAVE the means and abilities to outsource both China and the Middle East...within months of the legalization of Marijuana, hundreds of thousands of jobs will be created.

Oil/bio-fuels/plastics, Superior building supplies, stronger clothing materials....the uses are nearly limitless.

and to keep violent offenders and violent sex offenders in jail where they belong...enjoying your pedophile neighbor yet? Prohibition creates criminals. Pedophiles and murderers just love prohibition.

last but not least...(my personal favorite) "Began to separate the male from female hemp...rather too late.Female Marijuana plants are the ones that contain enough THC to be worth smoking"
August,7.1765.-George Washington-

Demand an end to the prohibition of Marijuana...and we will see many great things...including a major decline in gang activity.
It won't eliminate all problems...but it would be a good start.
More money for education and less for guns, and a failed fake "war" on drugs...If ya all are hunkering for some druggy flesh...get the real criminals..Big Pharmaceutical companies. they are a much bigger and more dangerous enemy.; Reply to this comment


by ConservativeForEver October 23, 2011 4:04 PM EDT: 1st off there were 3 weapons recovered at the scene. We now know that the FBI "lost" one of those weapons. CBS get a E for very poor reporting trying to advance the lie of "recovered two, and only two guns" This is a lie. There is a cover-up here.; Reply to this comment


by dan3607 October 21, 2011 9:33 PM EDT: People might be confused over the point of this article...well I see it. I appreciate how carefull CBS is being not to draw conclusions. But it doesn't mean I can't.
1) ATF was tasked to uncover a large scale gun buying ring. They used sloppy and lazy techiques in doing it (watching suspicious gun buys over and over again - just surveiling it and nothing else - they should have just intervened - are were they ordered not too by the US Attorney's Office or main justice?). Too bad they just didn't call the FBI and asked what was going on.
2) Half the gun buyers were FBI informants and they were buying the guns (with FBI money)for a boss. This guy (also a FBI informant) was a mid-level mex cartel member and he brought them into Mexico.
3) The point...the third gun recovered at the Border Partol Officer shooting (and the one that people at the scene think was used to kill the officer) was purchased by...come on people stick with me...BY ONE OF THE FBI INFORMANTS.; Reply to this comment

by ammo17 October 21, 2011 11:12 AM EDT

i have been saying for over a year that a federal grand jury has to be enpaneled,then and only then will we get the truth.it has been proven over the past three years that congress cannot police itself with all the stone walling coming out of the whitehouse and the doj.

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by exexpat93 October 22, 2011 11:02 PM EDT: Special Investigator and Prosecutor outside of Congress, the POTUS, and DOJ. Clearly all three of those would hide evidence and bury the investigation.


by ihavemydoubts October 21, 2011 10:06 AM EDT: Nearly one year past and we still don't know who authorized this operation. How can anyone pretend this does not represent stonewalling by the DOJ? If Holder did not authorize F&F it would not take 15 minutes for him to find out who did. An operation of is magnitude leaves a paper trail broad and deep and easy to follow. Following such paper trails is a speciality of the DOJ, yet the Attorney General pretends he doesn't know? That's a lie as obvious as the lie that the ATF "intended" to track the guns.; Reply to this comment

by k15744 October 20, 2011 7:58 PM EDT

It has become quite clear that Holder and the DOJ are trying to stonewall this investigation. We have a right to know why F&F was allowed to exist, and who approved it.

It is time for a special prosecutor to be assigned.

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by rshawk October 21, 2011 10:02 AM EDT: I think the OIG report will be unveiled shortly and certain people will be further implicated, but the report will not stray too far from what Bill Newell said or didn't say. The report will probably be very long so it appears comprehensive and authoritative and take the steam out of the legitimate inquiry.