Of Arms and the Law

Navigation
About Me
Contact Me
Archives
XML Feed
Home


Law Review Articles
Firearm Owner's Protection Act
Armed Citizens, Citizen Armies
2nd Amendment & Historiography
The Lecture Notes of St. George Tucker
Original Popular Understanding of the 14th Amendment
Originalism and its Tools


2nd Amendment Discussions

1982 Senate Judiciary Comm. Report
2004 Dept of Justice Report
US v. Emerson (5th Cir. 2001)

Click here to join the NRA (or renew your membership) online! Special discount: annual membership $25 (reg. $35) for a great magazine and benefits.

Recommended Websites
Ammo.com, deals on ammunition
Scopesfield: rifle scope guide
Ohioans for Concealed Carry
Clean Up ATF (heartburn for headquarters)
Concealed Carry Today
Knives Infinity, blades of all types
Buckeye Firearms Association
NFA Owners' Association
Leatherman Multi-tools And Knives
The Nuge Board
Dave Kopel
Steve Halbrook
Gunblog community
Dave Hardy
Bardwell's NFA Page
2nd Amendment Documentary
Clayton Cramer
Constitutional Classics
Law Reviews
NRA news online
Sporting Outdoors blog
Blogroll
Instapundit
Upland Feathers
Instapunk
Volokh Conspiracy
Alphecca
Gun Rights
Gun Trust Lawyer NFA blog
The Big Bore Chronicles
Good for the Country
Knife Rights.org
Geeks with Guns
Hugh Hewitt
How Appealing
Moorewatch
Moorelies
The Price of Liberty
Search
Email Subscription
Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

 

Credits
Powered by Movable Type 6.8.7
Site Design by Sekimori

« Newspaper "study" of Florida's no-retreat law | Main | Pro gun academics get favorable coverage »

Fast and Furious--wiretap authorizations

Posted by David Hardy · 6 June 2012 09:59 AM

My friend Bob Sanders -- who retired from ATF HQ many years back -- predicted that the Fast and Furious wiretap authorization requests would be critical. ATF virtually never uses wiretaps, he pointed out, and so the persons seeking authorization would be unable to claim lack of memory, it was likely the only one they'd ever done, and would try to inform as many people as possible to guard against error and to CYA if one was made. Rep. Issa got his hands on those requests and, as predicted, found a treasure trove. From what his letter of yesterday relates, they show that officials up to an Assistant Attorney General were fully informed that guns were being allowed to go to the Mexican drug cartels.

· BATFE

1 Comment | Leave a comment

L. J. O'Neale | June 7, 2012 8:59 AM | Reply

Although the application for an interception of wire communications (wiretap) is made by a federal prosecutor (typically a local Assistant U. S. Attorney) to a federal judge, the application is thoroughly reviewed by main Justice in Washington, and must be approved by an Assistant Attorney General or higher. (The affidavit in support of the application, which is part of the application, is sworn to by the investigating agent.) The review is (or was, when I was a federal prosecutor) detailed and rigorous: the application (affidavit, really) must show the crimes under investigation, the targets of the interception, and necessity, which means a detailing of the investigative methods used and why they have failed or are too risky to attempt. Further, the order is only good for 30 days. To continue, the extension applications have to show what results have been obtained and why the applicant thinks that there is yet more to be had. It is inconceivable (and that word means what I think it means) that a wiretap could have been obtained without the local agents and prosecutors, and main Justice, being fully aware of the contents.

Leave a comment