A little noticed and virtually unreported April 15 notice posted in the Federal Register suggests the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives intends expanding the multiple rifle sale requirement currently imposed on four border states (Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas) to all states.

Titled “Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed eCollection eComments Requested; Report of Multiple Sale or Other Disposition of Certain Rifles,” and assigned OMB Number 1140–0100, the 60-day notice abstract declares “The purpose of this information collection is to require Federal Firearms Licensees to report multiple sales or other dispositions whenever the licensee sells or otherwise disposes of two or more rifles within any five consecutive business days with the following characteristics: (a) Semi automatic; (b) a caliber greater than .22; and (c) the ability to accept a detachable magazine.

“Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for 60 days until June 16, 2014,” the notice advises. That means much of the comment period has already passed with most unaware it ever began. And the the ATF website offers no additional information other than links to the notice and to various forms.

5. An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount of time estimated for an average respondent to respond: An estimated 2,509 respondents will take 12 minutes to complete the form.
6. An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated with the collection: The estimated annual public burden associated with this collection is 3,615 hours.

Originally Posted By JPN:


The justification for the original reporting requirement (in those border states) was the supposed illegal activity that turned out to be the BATF's Fast & Furious program.



Now that Fast & Furious has been shut down (or they claim it has been shut down) and there have been hints of similar BATF operations in other states, they want to expand the reporting requirement to other states?



I don't know which is worse... that they think we are that stupid, or that the general public actually does seem to be that stupid.

A federal judge said Thursday she is leaning toward allowing President Barack Obama's claim of executive privilege in Operation Fast and Furious, the failed law enforcement operation at the center of a congressional investigation and subpoena fight between the Justice Department and House Republicans.

anip...
But alert reader Chris Meissen noticed another qualifier that was in the original proposal, and missing in the current one. In this proposal, there is no mention that the multiple sales have to be to the same purchaser, as is explicitly stated in the original proposal. In other words, if the BATFE gets its way, it can demand sales details from every gun store that sells two or more so-called "assault weapons" in a five-day period--no matter if each is sold to separate purchasers.

The conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch is asking the court to lift the “temporary” delay it granted the Justice Department allowing it to withhold Fast and Furious records.

Nearly two years ago, on June 20, 2012, President Obama asserted executive privilege to keep secret a set of documents that Congress subpoenaed concerning the controversial gun walking case. On Aug. 13, 2012 the House Oversight Committee filed suit against the Justice Department to produce the records. The case has been in litigation ever since.

On June 22, 2012, Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information request asking for the same documents being withheld under the President’s executive privilege. When the Justice Department rejected the request, Judicial Watch filed suit.

As part of the lawsuit, the Justice Department asked for, and the court granted on Feb. 15, 2013, a temporary delay or “stay” in the Judicial Watch court proceedings, pending the outcome of the Congressional litigation.

A second suspect will face U.S. charges in the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, after he was extradited on Tuesday from Mexico.

The FBI escorted Jesus Leonel Sanchez Meza late Tuesday night on a flight from Mexico. His murder arraignment is scheduled Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Tucson, Ariz.

Meza, who goes by several aliases, is one of five Mexican drug cartel gunmen who opened fire on Terry and three other Border Patrol agents in December 2010.

The suspect belonged to a "rip crew" that had terrorized the area south of Tucson for about a year. The bandits were armed with two AK-47-style assault rifles purchased through the government's Operation Fast and Furious, a botched investigation that encouraged U.S. gun dealers to illegally sell some 2,000 weapons to the Sinaloa drug cartel.

According to prosecutors, two suspects remain at large in Mexico: Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga and Heraclio "Laco" Osorio-Arellanes.

Meza faces nine charges in the U.S., including murder. Meza, who is considered a flight risk, will not be allowed to post bail but will be provided an attorney.

Terry's death in 2010 prompted a congressional investigation which revealed high-level Washington approval of the illicit gun operation. The scandal led to the first-ever contempt finding against a U.S. attorney general, Eric Holder -- for refusing to turn over emails that, some lawmakers suspected, could reveal Executive Branch complicity in the operation.

Under the terms of his extradition, Meza will not face the death penalty.

Originally Posted By Sirveaux:
In case your blood pressure is getting low:

Eric Holder: The Survivor
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-survivor-108018.html#.U6_AArF9s1M

And a brief critical review of the salient points of Politico's Holder-love:
http://thepatriotperspective.wordpress.com/2014/06/29/gunwalker-update-eric-holder-the-survivor/

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-survivor-108018.html#ixzz365fZch5F"

USDOJ: Attorney General Holder Announces Plans to Send Seven Additional ATF Agents to Chicago

New Resources Continue Federal Partnership with Local Law Enforcement
WASHINGTON – Following his recent visit to Chicago where he participated in a roundtable discussion with Mayor Emanuel on recent reductions in youth violence, Attorney General Eric Holder today announced plans to send seven additional Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), agents to the field division office in Chicago.

The new ATF agents will coordinate efforts with U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon, as well as federal, state and local law enforcement and community partnerships to advance proven strategies to reduce illegal gun trafficking and gun crime.  There are currently 45 ATF agents assigned to Chicago.
 
"The Department of Justice will continue to do everything in its power to help the city of Chicago combat gun violence,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.  "These new agents are a sign of the federal government's ongoing commitment to helping local leaders ensure Chicago's streets are safe.”
 
The deployment of new ATF agents represents the latest step in strengthening the partnerships with the Chicago Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies.  In early June, ATF opened the Chicago Crime Gun Intelligence Center.  The Center combines the gun enforcement efforts of the Chicago Police Department, Illinois State Police and ATF to provide additional leads that otherwise might go unnoticed and further addresses the illegal sales and possession of firearms in the State of Illinois. 

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, have asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to update a 1996 report by re-examining all current systems and subsystems maintained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that contain retail firearms purchaser data in order to ensure compliance with legal protections against the government amassing data on law-abiding gun owners.

 Issa and Grassley wrote, “Under the Gun Control Act, ATF does have responsibility for various law enforcement functions, such as the tracing of firearms.  However, given the ambiguity in ATF’s use of the Suspect Gun Database for tracing firearms, it and any other new database should be examined for compliance with ATF’s data restrictions.”

 Issa and Grassley began questioning the use of the Suspect Gun Database during their oversight of the gunrunning operation known as Operation Fast and Furious.  Even outside of Fast and Furious, ATF routinely uses the database to record firearm and purchaser information on every purchase it considers “suspect.”   It is unclear what objective standards, if any, are required to enter purchase information into the database, and it appears that the information is never removed, even though the purchaser may never have been convicted or even accused of a crime.  ATF Director B. Todd Jones revealed during his confirmation hearings last summer that ATF has kept purchaser information on all 173,784 firearms added to the database since 1992, including purchaser information from cases that were closed long ago.

 A 1996 GAO report addressed whether certain ATF databases complied with the restrictions imposed by Congress to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans who exercise their Second Amendment rights.  Grassley and Issa requested the updated report because the Suspect Gun Database was not a part of that review, although Director Jones claimed in his confirmation process that GAO had approved of the use of the database.

A copy of the text of Issa and Grassley letter is below.

Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled “The Department of Justice’s ‘Operation Choke Point’” on July 15, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2128 of the Rayburn House Office Building. This will be a one-panel hearing with the following witnesses:
• Stuart F. Delery, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice
• Scott G. Alvarez, General Counsel, Federal Reserve Board
• Richard J. Osterman, Acting General Counsel, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
• Daniel P. Stipano, Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

In March 2013, the Department of Justice announced an initiative by its Consumer Protection Working Group to stop banks and payment processors from providing financial services to merchants that were suspected of consumer fraud.1 Known informally as “Operation Choke Point,” the initiative is focused on banks and payment processors because these institutions are the “so-called bottlenecks, or choke-points,” for financing merchants from “high-risk” industries.2 The Department has reportedly partnered with financial regulators, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, to identify merchants that pose a “high risk” for consumer fraud. Based on a recent Congressional report and documents produced by the Department of Justice, it appears that Operation Choke Point has led to banks terminating their relationships with a wide variety of merchants, including some lawful and legitimate businesses.3

This hearing will review the actions of the Department of Justice and the federal banking regulators in executing “Operation Chokepoint,” with an eye toward ensuring that businesses operating lawfully are not denied access to banking services.

Originally Posted By burbanite:


Hearings, I used to think some good might come from them but other than watching Trey Gowdy verbally destroy people they seem to be useless. I might be a little jaded though...

Originally Posted By burbanite:
Hearings, I used to think some good might come from them but other than watching Trey Gowdy verbally destroy people they seem to be useless. I might be a little jaded though...

Originally Posted By JPN:
The House is having hearings and asking questions.

The majority of the Senate isn't interested.

The White House wants it to be buried and forgotten.

The mainstream news media views it as counterproductive to their desired message.

The courts are allowing the DOJ to delay indefinitely.



The House can't do it alone.

Originally Posted By JPN:
If I ever get called for jury duty on a gun charge, I doubt the prosecutor will be happy with me.

After seeing what the Department of Justice will do, in order to create political pressure to pass new gun control laws, and what lengths they will go to cover their actions up, I simply cannot see myself saying "guilty" to any sort of gun control charge. THEY have taken things to the point that anybody that can't see it as pure BULLSHIT lust for power, is either blind or severely brain damaged.

Originally Posted By Garryowen:

<SNIP>

Summary:
The FDIC is clarifying its supervisory approach to institutions establishing account relationships with third-party payment processors (TPPPs). As part of its regular safety and soundness examination activities, the FDIC reviews and assesses the extent to which institutions having account relationships with TPPPs follow the outstanding guidance. FDIC guidance and an informational article contained lists of examples of merchant categories that had been associated by the payments industry with higher-risk activity when the guidance and article were released. The lists of examples of merchant categories have led to misunderstandings regarding the FDIC's supervisory approach to TPPPs, creating the misperception that the listed examples of merchant categories were prohibited or discouraged. In fact, it is FDIC's policy that insured institutions that properly manage customer relationships are neither prohibited nor discouraged from providing services to any customer operating in compliance with applicable law. Accordingly, the FDIC is clarifying its guidance to reinforce this approach, and as part of this clarification, the FDIC is removing the lists of examples of merchant categories from its official guidance and informational article.

Originally Posted By Everrest:
[<SNIP>

(Like it never Happened)

"This order forces the Obama DOJ, for the first time, to provide a detailed listing of all documents that it has withheld from Congress and the American people for years about the deadly Fast and Furious gun running scandal," Judicial Watch released in a statement.

The FOIA lawsuit has been ongoing for 16-months and is now proceeding after a lengthy delay. The Justice Department originally asked the court for an indefinite hold on a FOIA request from Judicial Watch, citing executive privilege and an ongoing investigation. That indefinite hold request was shot down more than a year ago.

The documentation DOJ is required to now turn over is a "Vaughn index" of "all requested Fast and Furious materials from a June 2012 Judicial Watch FOIA request."

USDOJ: Defendant Extradited to Face Charges in Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry Murder Case

Office of Public Affairs
Ivan Soto-Barraza, who is charged with the first degree murder of United States Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, was extradited to the United States from Mexico today, announced Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy of the Southern District of California.

Agent Terry was fatally shot on Dec. 14, 2010, when he and other Border Patrol agents encountered Soto-Barraza and others in a rural area north of Nogales, Arizona. Of six defendants charged so far, two have pleaded guilty and two are awaiting trial.

“This marks another step forward in our aggressive pursuit of those responsible for the murder of Agent Brian Terry, who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving his country,” said Attorney General Holder. "We will never stop seeking justice against those who do harm to our best and bravest."


“This extradition is another major development in the pursuit of justice for Agent Terry and his family,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “As we continue to make significant progress in this case, we are constantly motivated by the memory of Agent Terry and his sacrifice for our country.”

Soto-Barraza is scheduled to be arraigned in federal district court in Tucson, Arizona, on August 1, 2014. The indictment charges Soto-Barraza and others with first degree murder, second degree murder, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, attempted interference with commerce by robbery, use and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer. In addition to the murder of Agent Terry, the indictment alleges that the defendants assaulted Border Patrol Agents William Castano, Gabriel Fragoza and Timothy Keller, who were with Agent Terry during the firefight.   


On July 20, 2012, in order to seek the public’s assistance, Department of Justice officials announced a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the arrest of four fugitives: Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, Lionel Portillo-Meza and Soto-Barraza. Portillo-Meza was captured in Mexico in September 2012 and extradited to the U.S. from Mexico on June 17, 2014. Soto-Barraza was captured in Mexico in September 2013.   Favela-Astorga and Osorio-Arellanes are fugitives.

A fifth defendant, Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison in February 2014. A sixth defendant, Rito Osorio-Arellanes, who was in custody at the time of Agent Terry’s murder, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and was sentenced to eight years in prison in January 2013.   

This case is being prosecuted in federal court in Tucson by attorneys from the Southern District of California, Special Attorneys Todd W. Robinson, David D. Leshner, and Fred Sheppard.   The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona is recused.   This case is being investigated by the FBI. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance with the extradition.


The public is reminded that an indictment is a formal charging document and defendants are presumed innocent until the government meets its burden in court of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Seventh Defendant Indicted in Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry Murder Case

SAN DIEGO, CA—Rosario Rafael Burboa-Alvarez was indicted by a federal grand jury in Tucson yesterday, becoming the seventh man charged in connection with the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

Agent Terry was fatally shot on Dec. 14, 2010, when he and other Border Patrol agents encountered armed robbers in a rural area north of Nogales, Arizona. Of the defendants charged so far, two have pleaded guilty, three are awaiting trial and two are fugitives.

Burboa-Alvarez was already in custody in Tucson for immigration-related crimes. He is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in Tucson at 1:45 p.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bernardo P. Velasco.

Burboa-Alvarez, 30, is described in the indictment as the recruiter who assembled the crew of armed robbers to travel from Mexico to the United States and forcibly take marijuana from smugglers through threats or actual violence.

The crew members were identified in the indictment as Manuel Osorio Arellanes, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, Lionel Portillo-Meza and Rito Osorio-Arellanes.

The indictment charges Burboa-Alvarez and others with first degree murder, second degree murder, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and attempted interference with commerce by robbery. Other crew members are also charged with use and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer. In addition to the murder of Agent Terry, the indictment alleges that the defendants assaulted Border Patrol Agents William Castano, Gabriel Fragoza, and Timothy Keller, who were with Agent Terry during the firefight.

Portillo-Meza was captured in Mexico in September 2012 and extradited to the U.S. on June 17, 2014. Soto-Barraza was captured in Mexico in September 2013 and was extradited to the U.S. on July 31, 2014. Favela-Astorga and Osorio-Arellanes are fugitives.

Another defendant, Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison in February 2014. Another defendant, Rito Osorio-Arellanes, who was in custody at the time of Agent Terry’s murder, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and was sentenced to eight years in prison in January 2013.

This case is being prosecuted in federal court in Tucson by attorneys from the Southern District of California. They are Special Assistant United States Attorneys Todd W. Robinson, David D. Leshner and Fred Sheppard. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona is recused. This case is being investigated by the FBI. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance with the extraditions.

The public is reminded that an indictment is a formal charging document and defendants are presumed innocent until the government meets its burden in court of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.