Sharyl Attkisson
6/1/2014
Judicial Watch, the conservative watchdog group that has successfully sued the federal government in multiple instances for unlawful Freedom of Information (FOI) responses, is taking on a new case. This one is on behalf of Fast and Furious whistleblower: Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Special Agent John Dodson.
The complaint filed against the Department of Justice last week seeks a range of communications, including emails between former Justice Department spokesman Tracy Schmaler and reporter Katherine Eban, who authored a now-discredited article in Fortune that attacked Dodson and defended his superiors in the infamous gunwalking case.
The lawsuit states that Dodson filed three FOI requests on Sept. 24, 2012; that under the law, the Justice Department owed him responses by Nov. 21, 2012; and that more than a year and a half later, it hasn’t provided the required materials. The Justice Department has been equally unhelpful regarding longstanding FOI requests from me regarding Fast and Furious and other cases.
It is not up to the federal government’s discretion as to whether it makes available public documents. The law requires appropriate disclosure whether requests are made by members of the media or the public…
The article continues at SharylAttkisson.com
Related: From October 2013: Family of Brian Terry Responds to ATF Censorship of Fast and Furious Whistleblower John Dodson
…”The family of slain U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry stands behind ATF whistleblower John Dodson and supports his attempts to publish his manuscript pertaining to the flawed gun trafficking investigation known as Operation Fast and Furious. Recently, ATF officials told Dodson that he was prohibited from releasing his memoir because it would have a negative impact on morale in the Phoenix office of the ATF and would have a detrimental effect on ATF’s relationships with the DEA and the FBI. Do we really need to remind ATF leadership that the men that killed Brian Terry were carrying weapons supplied to them by ATF during Operation Fast and Furious, an investigation that both President Obama and Attorney General Holder have publicly called ill-conceived? This latest incident reignites concerns that ATF leadership is again seeking to avoid responsibility for the deadly errors made in allowing the flawed gun walking tactics,” President of the Brian Terry Foundation Ralph Terry said in a statement. “This should not be an issue of what some in ATF call “an opportunity for Dodson to get rich” rather it should be about accountability and transparency. ATF leadership has yet another opportunity to close an ugly chapter in its history by letting John Dodson publish his memoirs and tell the story of Operation Fast and Furious with the goal of never repeating the same mistakes. The Terry family and the American public deserve to hear what Dodson has to say. They also need to know that ATF has learned from its mistakes.”…
Read the whole thing.
