By David Codrea
USA – -(Ammoland.com)- Agreeing with federal prosecutors, U.S. District Court Judge David Bury ruled on Friday that testimony regarding guns tied to Operation Fast and Furious “gunwalking” will be barred from the murder trial of the two men accused of killing Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Per KVOA News 4 Tucson, the jury “will not hear any details of how two guns found at the murder scene were part of a U.S. government-sanctioned weapon program.”
“I agree with one exception,” Bury stated. “I can’t find any relevance expect [except?] if the government should open the door.”
The government’s motion to suppress such evidence had earlier provoked sharp reactions from advocates for complete disclosure on the ATF operation that has to date been tied to hundreds of deaths with no one in government being held accountable. Among those is the Border Patrol Union, which called for Fast and Furious details to be introduced in the upcoming murder trial.
Calling for that as well were prominent ATF whistleblowers.
“ [T]he dirty little can-of-worms secret that DOJ and ATF wants buried and forgotten is that ATF was involved and did ease and assist the arming of narco-traffickers with ‘assault weapons,’” former ATF agent Jay Dobyns wrote in an email. “Thousands of them. The very federal agency tasked to prevent drug traffickers from obtaining firearms instead helped them.”
“There is only one reason the US Gov. would care about the facts surrounding the guns. It could revive public and Congressional interest,” Dobyns colleague Vince Cefalu added. “It could also expose [former Attorney General Eric] Holder and DOJ and a whole slew of senior ATF managers for their part in the cover-up. It could also expose many of them to subpoenas, thereby exposing the level of corruption then and now.”
Expressing disappointment and disgust with the judge’s ruling on his Facebook page was Kent Terry, brother of the slain Border Patrol agent.
“This justice system is so corrupt,” he charged, citing Obama-appointed Department of Justice prosecutors for their role in suppressing information on the deadly operation that took place under Holder. “Protect the criminal and screw an agent who served 20 years of his life to this country.”
He’s right, and it’s been stonewalling by the administration with plenty of cover provided by Democrats in Congress that put the brakes on oversight investigations, now in a perpetual unresolved limbo. That said, it cannot be forgotten that Republicans, too, needed to be pressured and prodded into opening investigations in both the Senate and the House. Lack of aggression and dogged pursuit on their part, including letting significant avenues of inquiry go unexplored, makes it fair to question their part in the lack of closure for the Terry family and for the American people.
There’s another Republican action directly tied to the ordered exclusion of Fast and Furious evidence from the upcoming murder trial: Judge Bury was originally appointed to the federal bench by former President George W. Bush. And while no one is suggesting partisan considerations are ever appropriate factors for influencing judicial decisions, Bury’s ruling is not likely to lessen skepticism on the part of those who believe the system is rigged, and that for reasons yet unknown, wagons for both parties have been circled. That, in turn, makes it fair to question if supporting Establishment candidates is likely to turn things around.
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.
He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” and also posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.