In June, a post was published on this blog about the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and a scandal involving ATF agents allowing illegal deadly weapons across the Arizona/Mexico border. The agents were reportedly working tracking the smuggling of firearms across the border and let the guns be moved without stepping in to not blow the cover of the bigger mission.

The scandal related to ATF continues, now that sources report that illegal guns not confiscated by the agents have been connected to violent crimes. The national media has jumped on the story, being that a firearm used in something as serious as the murder of an Arizona Border Patrol agent has been reportedly traced back to ATF agents turning their heads away from illegal weapon trafficking.

The Arizona agent was reportedly murdered in December, but it has only recently been revealed that the weapon used in the assault was supposedly connected to ATF's controversial work. Eyebrows are being raised by more than just ATF's involvement but also by a suspected cover-up attempt by the U.S. Attorney's office handling the Arizona murder case.

CBS News reports that Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory Hurley who worked on the border agent's murder case knew early on that the gun used in the crime was one that ATF allegedly let slip through the cracks. The U.S. Attorney's office in Arizona, however, didn't come forward and reveal the connection. Correspondence has reportedly been found from the U.S. Attorney's office connecting the murder weapon to ATF and suggesting the connection stay a secret.

The most recent news in this high-profile scandal is that Dennis Burke resigned the office of U.S. Attorney for Arizona early this week, and Hurley is no longer working in the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney's office.

We will post an update when there are new developments in this case.

Source

AZfamily: "U.S. Attorney's office in Ariz. under scrutiny by lawmakers," Stacey Delikat, Sep. 1, 2011