The truth about the Fast and Furious scandal

[goodhue]

48. I'm not sure it's an error

As I understand it, federal law does not outlaw gun trafficking unless the firearm is intended to be used to commit a crime.
Or at least that is what the US attorneys in Pheonix thought . . .

http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2012/06/27/fast-and-furious-truth/

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It was nearly impossible in Arizona to bring a case against a straw purchaser. The federal prosecutors there did not consider the purchase of a huge volume of guns, or their handoff to a third party, sufficient evidence to seize them. A buyer who certified that the guns were for himself, then handed them off minutes later, hadn't necessarily lied and was free to change his mind. Even if a suspect bought 10 guns that were recovered days later at a Mexican crime scene, this didn't mean the initial purchase had been illegal. To these prosecutors, the pattern proved little. Instead, agents needed to link specific evidence of intent to commit a crime to each gun they wanted to seize.

None of the ATF agents doubted that the Fast and Furious guns were being purchased to commit crimes in Mexico. But that was nearly impossible to prove to prosecutors' satisfaction. And agents could not seize guns or arrest suspects after being directed not to do so by a prosecutor.

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