Special Agent John Dodson, who became a whistleblower in 2011
when he approached Republican lawmakers in Congress with details
of a botched attempt by the ATF to allow sales of firearms in
order to build a case against Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel,
has already penned a book on the saga, though it was unclear on
Monday whether it will ever see the light of day.
“This would have a negative impact on morale in the Phoenix
[field division] and would have a detremental [sic] effect on our
relationships with [the Drug Enforcement Administration] and
FBI,” the ATF’s rejection letter stated.
Current restrictions prevent federal employees from profiting
from “any source other than the government for teaching,
speaking or writing that relates to the employee’s official
duties,” ruling out the possibility for Dodson to cash in on
any book deal.
According to officials who spoke with the Washington Post, the
ATF is currently evaluating whether Dodson’s book divulges any
“law enforcement sensitive” information. Dodson could be
allowed to publish his book while receiving no monetary
compensation.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Dodson
on the matter, filed a protest on Monday with the ATF’s Deputy
Director Thomas Brandon over his agency’s efforts to block the
book’s publishing, citing a violation of Dodson’s constitutional
rights.
“It was Agent Dodson’s disclosures that helped bring the
operational failures at the Phoenix field division to light. As a
knowledgeable and informed ‘insider’ who was directly involved in
Operation Fast and Furious, Agent Dodson will add significantly
to the national conversation about gun policy,” writes the
ACLU.
Senator Charles Grassley and Representative Darrell Issa, two
Republicans who spearheaded a Congressional investigation into
the ATF’s “Fast and Furious” operation, have written a foreword
for Dodson’s book.
Responding to the ATF’s rejection of Dodson’s book, Grassley
noted that “this isn’t the first time somebody from the ATF
or another government agency has written a book.”
“Just because the ATF leadership doesn’t like the content of
the book doesn’t mean they should be able to prevent the author
from giving his side of the story,” adds Grassley.
Sen. Grassley, Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member, and
Rep. Issa, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
Chairman, produced an expansive joint report on “Fast and
Furious” consisting of over 2,000 pages of dozens of
interviews and a review of more than 10,000 pages of documents.
That Congressional inquiry also led to accusations that the
Justice Department had withheld documents and denied access to
witnesses, which culminated in Attorney General Eric Holder being
held in contempt of Congress in June of 2012. The investigation
also led to the resignation of Arizona US Attorney Dennis Burke
and the reassignment of ATF acting director Kenneth Melson.
Dodson, who began to write his book last year, sought permission
for external employment allowing him to secure a publisher in
June, according to the Washington Times.
A manuscript was presented to Dodson’s superior in Washington in
May, and to an immediate superior in Arizona in July. According
to documents first reported by the Washington Times his request
was rejected first in Arizona in July, and backed by the ATF’s
head in that office four days later.
Testimony presented by Dodson of his first day of undercover work
in Phoenix was possibly some of the most embarrassing for the
ATF. While trailing a suspected gun runner who had just purchased
10 semiautomatic rifles from a Phoenix gun store, Dodson and
another agent sought permission to seize the guns, but were
rebuffed by superiors who hoped to instead trace the firearms
back to more significant figures within the Sinaloa drug cartel.
Dodson and some fellow ATF agents disagreed with what they
considered a large volume of arms being allowed to flow into
Mexico in the “gun walking” sting program. In one case,
two AK-47 semiautomatic rifles sold at a Phoenix gun store
monitored by the ATF were linked to the deadly Arizona shooting
of US Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in December of 2010.
“Fast and Furious” was launched in the fall of 2009, at
which point the ATF estimated that 90 percent of firearms
recovered for tracing by Mexican authorities struggling to deal
with spiking cartel violence were originating in the US.
Copyright: RT