High ranking U.S. Department of Justice officials deliberately leaked a document in an effort to discredit an employee who helped expose the “Fast and Furious” gun smuggling scandal. John Dodson, a special agent for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), was the target of the leak, according to a new 21-page report by the DOJ’s inspector general. The report names former U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke as the source of the leak, and also says five DOJ officials said “they had some direct knowledge of the disclosure.”
In addition, Matthew Boyle of Breitbart.com reports, the IG report details e-mails related to the leak by former DOJ public affairs director Tracey Schmaler, “who resigned her position at the DOJ after emails … showed that she worked with leftwing advocacy group Media Matters for America to smear whistleblowers.” Attorney General Eric Holder was widely criticized for the ATF’s Operation Fast and Furious, a failed “sting” effort that smuggled illegal guns to drug gangs in Mexico, resulting in the deaths of innocent Mexicans and at least one U.S. border agent.
READ MORE:
- Matthew Boyle, Breitbart.com: Breaking — Report: DOJ Leaked Docs to Smear Fast & Furious Whistleblower, Says IG
- U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General: Report of Investigation Concerning the Improper Disclosure of U.s. Department of Justice to a Member of the Media
