By David Codrea
USA -(Ammoland.com)- The brother of a slain Border Patrol agent says Donald Trump has promised answers about the Operation Fast and Furious “gunwalking” program leading to Brian Terry’s death.
Kent Terry met with Trump, and says the presumptive Republican nominee will use his authority to act if he’s elected president, Terry said in a Twitter post Tuesday.
“Mr. Trump said ‘It’s a shame Fast and Furious started and shame on them for what they are doing about it,” Terry explained to this column, referring to an event at a community college in Michigan (see photo). “When I become president I will open the books on Fast and Furious and Brian. God bless your family Kent.’
“Then at end of campaign speech when he got off stage he remembered me again,” Terry elaborated. “First time in Brian’s death I honestly believe Mr. Trump will get answers.”
This is not only newsworthy, it could prove explosive. It could provide the necessary authority to break the logjam and allow the complete truth about Operation Fast and Furious “gunwalking” to come to light. It’s not unfair to speculate that could put the fear of God into some of those who have tried their best to keep the truth buried, and would up the stakes for involved Democrats to keep Trump from getting elected. It would also be tremendously beneficial to his campaign, and to rallying Americans sick of the cover-up and demanding of justice. But only if that pledge is publicly acknowledged.
This would be a winning campaign issue for Trump, not as something to exploit, but as another chance to show a big difference between the two candidates. That in itself could get honest investigative journalists asking what Hillary knew and when she knew it. For starters, how is it guns were intentionally allowed to “walk” to Mexico without that government being informed and without close coordination between respective law enforcement agencies? What was Hillary’s State department doing while diplomatic channels were reportedly being bypassed and arms export laws were apparently being ignored by “principles” that “induced” or “willfully caused” violations? Was State really in the dark? Was that due to incompetent leadership or a criminal cover-up? And why did the White House counsel refuse to permit testimony to House Oversight by the National Security Council Director of North American Affairs after emails showed he was getting “off the record” information from ATF’s Phoenix SAC about its Gun Runner Impact Teams?
Opening up State and DOJ to see what secrets remain intentionally hidden (like why Eric Holder testified in May 2011 that he’d only heard about Fast and Furious a few week earlier when Obama said he knew about things in March, and why emails to Holder’s aide show he was informed of the Terry murder the night it happened — not to mention Sharyl Attkisson’s initial CBS News report was in February!) is an action only a strong and independent executive can order. Interested Americans have long grown weary of the stonewalling and obfuscation, the obstruction and the contempt, none of which ever seems to produce results beyond noise.
All the inquiries seem to provide are more opportunities to lull the gullible back to sleep by painting things as a no-big-deal “botched gun sting,” rather than what a knowledgeable source claimed early on: Guns were being allowed to cross the border in violation of U.S. and Mexican law so they could be used “to pad statistics.” And no one has ever been held truly accountable for what appears to be a criminal conspiracy that has resulted (and continues to result) in the deaths of untold numbers of people.
It’s painfully obvious by now neither House Oversight nor Senate Judiciary have the juice to force complete and open disclosures from an obstructionist White House, and all the court has done is offer continued opportunities to stall. Opening all the books and ordering cooperation from all departments is absolutely something that would be a legitimate executive action for a president to take, so the question is, will Donald Trump come through if elected?
Will Trump publicly pledge to end all White House-controlled Fast and Furious stonewalling and to open up all relevant records? Will he rescind White House refusals to let potentially key witnesses testify? Will he order executive departments and agencies to fully cooperate, and to open appropriate investigations and share information with the people’s representatives and the media?
Will Donald Trump issue a statement promising to oversee and ensure that the complete truth is revealed and that justice will be done, for the surviving family members of Brian Terry and ICE agent Jaime Zapata, for all the other victims, and for the American people?
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating / defending the RKBA and a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament.
In addition to being a field editor/columnist at GUNS Magazine and associate editor for Oath Keepers, he blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.