Video: ATF Whistleblowers Claim DOJ Retaliation

ATF whistleblowers told Fox News, this morning, that since testifying on Capitol Hill, it’s been all downhill for them. Meanwhile, the executives who oversaw Fast and Furious were either promoted or transferred. Only one person, US Atty in AZ, Dennis Burke has resigned:

Anthony Martin reported on more chicanery that’s been  uncovered in ATF retaliation against whistleblowers earlier this month:

In a letter to Attorney-General Eric Holder yesterday, Congressman Darrell Issa and Senator Charles Grassley asked for information on media leaks that were aimed at discrediting the testimony of a key ATF whistleblower–Agent John Dodson. The leak violates the Privacy Act which protects the personal information employers gather on employees, and points to more chicanery on the part of ATF management in retaliating against agents who went public with the agency’s illegal activity.

According to the letter, an employee of the DOJ was forced to resign due to the leak. Issa and Grassley are requesting information on that employee and if other employees had access to a shared computer drive that may have led to the leaked information.

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In addition, Dodson allegedly has already been the recipient of retaliatory action earlier this year. Back in July St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner Kurt Hofmann provided evidence that Dodson was the victim of a smear campaign by his superiors.

And then there is this report submitted by this writer on October 25 indicating a widespread, orchestrated program of retaliation against whistleblowers implemented by ATF supervisors. One agent’s family was placed in lethal danger when his house was set on fire in the middle of the night while his wife and children slept inside. Supervisors had good reason to believe that Hell’s Angels had set the fire in response to the agent’s undercover work that resulted in several arrests. But ATF management never investigated the fire, nor did they do anything about numerous threats the agent received from Hell’s Angels.

The latest revelation concerning the continued attempt to smear agent Dodson by releasing private information protected by the Privacy Act only highlights the fact that retaliatory behavior on the part of ATF management is continuing despite warnings from Issa and Grassley that it be stopped

Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Darrell Issa, introduced new legislation a few weeks ago to reinforce provisions of the 1989 Whistleblower Protection Act.

Katie Pavlich reported:

The reinforcement, known at the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, is badly needed in light of Fast and Furious as retaliation against whistleblowers exposing corruption within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF falls under the jurisdiction of the Justice Department) runs rampant.The legislation is bipartisan and is co-sponsored by Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee Elijah Cummings.

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Issa sent a letter to ATF Deputy Director William Hoover in June warning whistleblowers should not be retaliated against for exposing mismanagement and unscrupulous behavior within the agency or within the Department of Justice.

I write to request your assurance that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) will not retaliate against witnesses who have provided information to this Committee. I make this request in light of the fact that on June 15, 2011, in a hearing before the Committee entitled “operation Fast and Furious: Reckless Decisions, Tragic Outcomes,” three veteran ATF special agents gave testimony highly critical of the ATF. They should not face reprisals of any kind for their testimony. No other ATF employees who cooperate with Congress should face retaliation either.

The Committee relies on whistleblowers to conduct unvarnished and thorough oversight. Witnesses who choose to cooperate with the Committee must be confident that they can provide information without fear of punishment.

You can read about the Jay Dobyns’ case, possibly the worst case of ATF whistleblower retaliation, here. Also, you can read about retaliation against Fast and Furious whistleblower Vince Cefalu here.

See also:

Fox News: ‘Fast and Furious’ Whistleblowers Struggle Six Months After Testifying Against ATF Program:

Six months ago, several agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives stood before Congress to testify about the details of a U.S. government program that armed Mexico’s largest drug cartel with thousands of assault rifles.

The administration denied it at the time and questioned the agents’ integrity. The men were nervous and scared. They said they feared for their careers, their reputation and their families.

“Any attempt to retaliate against them for their testimony today would be unfair, unwise and unlawful,” Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, warned the Department of Justice.

He and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., began an investigation to determine who authorized “Operation Fast and Furious” and aimed to hold accountable those responsible for a plan that helped known criminals run guns across the border in violation of U.S. and international law.

And while President Obama has said the operation was a mistake and that “people who screwed up will be held accountable,” the record so far does not bear that out. Those in charge of the botched operation have been reassigned or promoted, their pensions intact.

They knew exactly what they were doing – and they should not only be fired – but be indicted for the murders their gunwalking policies facilitated.

But many of those who blew the whistle face isolation, retaliation and transfer.

Case in point, he said, is field agent John Dodson. Dodson uprooted his family from Virginia in 2010 to join a new elite anti-gun trafficking group in Phoenix, known as Group 7. Dodson quickly witnessed what was wrong and loudly voiced his objections to Voth and Newell.

Management reassigned Dodson to weekend duty and the wire room, a relatively boring job monitoring telephone traffic and subordinate to junior agents. Soon thereafter, Dodson was temporarily assigned to another group for an additional menial assignment, until ultimately sent to an FBI Task Force, completely away from the ATF, even turning off his ATF building access pass.

Dodson continued to challenge Voth, saying the operation was killing people in Mexico and suggested it was only a matter of time before a “border agent or sheriff’s deputy” would be killed by one of the guns they let go.

“If you’re going to make an omelet, you’ve got to scramble some eggs,” Voth replied, according to a congressional report.

Voth moved Dodson out of Group 7 shortly before Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was shot by weapons traced to Fast and Furious. Newell, Gillette and Voth began to cover up their tracks. According to an e-mail 24 hours after Terry was shot, Voth wrote:

“We are charging Avila (Jaime Avila bought the alleged murder weapons) with a stand-alone June 2010 firearms purchase. This way we do not divulge our current case (Fast and Furious) or the Border Patrol shooting case.”

“Great job,” Newell replied.

Dodson first complained internally to the ATF Office of Chief Counsel and Ethics Section, OIG, Office of Special Counsel, and Office of Professional Responsibility. They were unresponsive. Dodson was then contacted by congressional investigators, who began their own investigation.

Because of Dodson, the Terry family hopes to hear the truth about what happened to their son and the American public learned that senior Obama administration officials did nothing to stop guns from reaching an insurgency south of the border.

And what did Dodson get for telling the truth? In Phoenix he was isolated, marginalized and referred to as a “nut job,” “wing-nut” and “disgruntled,” according to sources.

In Washington, ATF command ordered that “Contact with Dodson was detrimental to any ATF career.”

Newell’s Attorney told Fox News that all of this was because “Dodson didn’t want to work weekends.”

Un. be. lievable. In Holder’s ATF, you’re a right-wing nut job  if you think handing over thousands of guns to Mexican drug lords to kill people with is a bad idea.

There are not words in the dictionary strong enough to convey the  scorn I have for lying, commie, rats like Newell et al.

Linked by Michelle Malkin in Buzzworthy, and Doug Ross, thanks!