U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) will continue to lead a congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious after the release of subpoenaed documents by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday.
Under Operation Fast and Furious, the ATF allowed U.S. weapons to pass into the hands of suspected gun smugglers so that the arms could be traced to Mexican drug cartels. The ATF lost track of hundreds of weapons that have been linked to crimes, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Chaffetz, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said that the committee was “entitled” to documents released by the Obama administration on Friday and would pursue the release of additional documents.
“(The documents) are critical to the committee’s efforts to complete meaningful oversight,” Chaffetz said. “The committee has a duty to understand and shine light on what was happening inside DOJ during the time of this irresponsible operation. Yet, DOJ has obstructed our investigative work for years. (On Friday), under court order, DOJ turned over some of the subpoenaed documents. The committee, however, is entitled to the full range of documents for which it brought this lawsuit. Accordingly, we have appealed the district court’s ruling in order to secure those additional documents.”
U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the former chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said that President Barack Obama had “finally” released the documents after four years of “objection and delay.”
“What we need from the president is an explanation of why he felt these documents couldn’t been seen by the American people and why there has been no real accountability for the officials involved,” Issa said. “Was he protecting the failed gun-walking operation or the cover-up?”
Issa added that the president had not yet fully complied with congressional subpoenas related to Operation Fast and Furious.
“I am pleased to learn that the House of Representatives is continuing to prosecute the legal case against the president’s claim of executive privilege until all documents related to the Fast and Furious investigation have been delivered,” Issa said.