ATF negating FBI checks during 'Fast and Furious'?

[Tejas]

5 strawbuyers purchase 1200-1400 guns from a few select gun stores in Arizona. They fill out Form 4473 on each purchase, a call is made to NICS, but one would think a flag would have been raised by the FBI early on in their buying spree.

Has anyone ran across confirmed info that none of the sales were denied through NICS or were they approved? If denied, then it seems ATF overruled the FBI so as to allow the fireams out of the store and on their way to who knows where.

If not denied by the NICS check, why?

[Bold Lib]

1. The only thing I've read, and seen it confirmed by at least one FFL

was that the FFL called the ATF directly about what he suspected to be a straw purchase that he was going to deny and wanted to inform the ATF. The ATF instructed him to go along with the sale despite his objections.

[Tejas]

4. Seems the FBI would have the say-so on that, not the ATF?

Maybe I have my facts mixed up?

[Glassunion]

5. The ATF has jurisdiction.

Yes the NICS database is maintained by the FBI, however it is the ATF that has jurisdiction on the sale of a firearm from an FFL.

[russ1943]

2. FYI, Why NOT? Because they were legal!

If your final question is; If not denied by the NICS check, why NOT?
The simple answer is, because the purchase of multiple long guns is legal.
Some background;
Some gun shop clerks, owners and managers, questioned the FBI and were concerned enough to ask if they could deny the purchase (they could’ve) but the FBI folks asked them to proceed. Like many “sting operations” the ATF wanted to follow the “contraband’ and secure bigger fish than just the individual straw purchasers who were mostly low income first time offenders.
A retired agents blog;
http://www.policeissues.com/html/gun_control_11.html

Below are some sections of the “ Review by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Evaluation and Inspections Division Nov 2010” http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/ATF/e1101.pdf

Statutes used to combat firearms trafficking do not have strong penalties.
There is no federal statute specifically prohibiting firearms trafficking or straw purchases. Consequently, ATF agents and federal prosecutors use other criminal statutes to charge individuals involved in firearms trafficking crimes. These statutes carry relatively low sentences, particularly for straw purchasers of guns. The Sentencing Guidelines also provide short sentences for firearms trafficking-related crimes. As a result, individuals convicted under these statutes generally receive lower penalties than persons convicted of other types of trafficking. Under those circumstances the The US Attorney’s offices were reluctant to spend the necessary time and manpower to initiate and secure prosecutions.

although straw purchasing is one of the most frequent methods used to divert guns out of lawful commerce according to ATF, we found defendants convicted of offenses related to only this criminal activity are generally sentenced to less than 1 year in prison.

Some ATF agents are reluctant to refer cases because they believe the cases will not be accepted for prosecution.
In addition to the high USAO declination rate for Project Gunrunner cases focused on firearms traffickers, ATF agents told us that they do not refer many cases to the US Attorney’s Offices that they assume would be rejected because of criteria set by individual USAOs. For example, ATF agents told us that the USAO in one Southwest Border district will not seek to indict a suspect for willfully engaging in a firearms business without a license unless the suspect was given an official “cease and desist” letter and then was caught committing the same crime again. This burden of proof, according to ATF agents, means that many agents do not bother to present such cases to USAOs for prosecution.
Similarly, straw purchasing cases, in which a suspect obtains one or more guns on behalf of a prohibited person, were also identified by ATF as likely to be declined by United States Attorney’s Offices. In fact, one Assistant US Attorney stated that he declines straw purchasing cases because they lack “jury appeal” and result in light sentences. The Deputy Assistant Attorney General also stated that because straw purchasers’ crime is essentially lying on a federal form, many judges and defense attorneys treat the crime as “paperwork violations.” Consequently, agents told us, they may not even refer straw purchasing cases for prosecutorial consideration. Like AUSAs, ATF agents in Southwest border field divisions also told us that the lesser penalties and infrequent prosecution of trafficking offenses reduce their ability to use prosecution as a lever to obtain cooperation from defendants when they are arrested, which is important in investigating firearms trafficking rings. (end of Review quote)

Who are these USAttorneys?

The record is replete with reliable evidence that this administration (Bush’s) has broken federal civil service law by packing career positions at Justice and other federal agencies with lawyers who are religious and ideological zealots, often from tier four (i.e. the lowest tier) law schools such as evangelist Pat Robertson’s Christian based, Regent University Law School. http://thegreatrollcall.blogspot.com/2008/02/why-congressional-investigations-into.html

Ms. Monica Goodling http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/transcripts/goodling_testimony_052307.html

This is something new and radical - Bush has made the entire legal system not merely responsive to politics but overtly and comprehensively partisan.
Bush sent a message to every U.S. Attorney - prosecute in a partisan manner or lose your job. The same message applies to every federal judge - rule in a partisan manner or forget advancement. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/terry-curtis-fox/why-the-us-attorney-scand_b_43525.html

[Tejas]

3. Interesting links

"Much of the flow turned to military-style rifles such as the WASR-10, a Romanian AK-47 clone that is apparently imported into the U.S. for the main reason that it’s such a desirable commodity in Mexico."

The main reason WASR-10's are imported into the US is.....so they can be smuggled to Mexico? Relating to the cartel wars, I also did not know the 90's were so turbulent. Many thanks for the links, interesting reading. The lack of convictions of straw buyers due to not being worth messing with was an eye opener.