ATF Whistleblower Who Spoke Out on Gunwalker Program Is Fired
Posted by Jim Hoft on Tuesday, June 28, 2011, 11:52 AM
It’s an Obama world…
In December Vince Cefalu of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms publicized the agency’s role in allowing thousands of guns to cross the U.S. border and fall into the hands of Mexican drug gangs.
Now agent Cefalu is without a job. The ATF terminated him this week.
FOX News reported:
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is being accused of retaliating against an agent who helped publicize the agency’s role in allowing thousands of guns to cross the U.S. border and fall into the hands of Mexican drug gangs.
The agent, Vince Cefalu, who has spoken out about the ATF’s so-called “Project Gunrunner” scandal, says he was served with termination papers just last week, and he calls the move politically motivated.
“Aside from Jay Dobyns, I don’t know of anyone that’s been more vocal about ATF mismanagement than me,” said Cefalu, a senior special agent based in Dublin, Calif. “That’s why this is happening.” Dobyns, an ATF special agent based in Tucson, has appeared several times on Fox News to discuss the scandal.
Cefalu first told FoxNews.com about the ATF’s embattled anti-gun smuggling operation in December, before the first reports on the story appeared in February. “Simply put, we knowingly let hundreds of guns and dozens of identified bad guys go across the border,” Cefalu said at the time.
Since then, Cefalu’s claims have been vindicated, as a number of agents with first-hand knowledge of the case came forward. The scandal over Project Gunrunner led to congressional hearings, a presidential reprimand – Obama called the operation “a serious mistake” – and speculation that ATF chief Ken Melson will resign.
Yet last week, Cefalu, who has worked for the agency for 24 years, was forced to turn in his gun and badge. He can appeal but will be on “paid administrative leave” during the process.
Radio Vice Online has more on the scandal.
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Published May 21, 2012 at 12:19 am - 33 Comments
wanumba commented:
Related, via INSTAPUNDIT today:
ATF distributed weapons showing up in Phoenix:
http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/assault-weapons-linked-to-atf-strategy-turn-up-in-valley-neighborhoods
Kingslayor commented:
Obummer the American spring is coming on your watch!!!!
Mahdi Al-Dajjal commented:
Just laid-off? When you betray powerful people on the Left, you typically end up with a bullet in your head and dumped in a wooded area in a park. Just ask Vince Foster!
Valerie commented:
The purpose of this firing is to get him out of the office, and away from sources of further information. They don’t care if they can’t make this firing stick.
rumcrook commented:
Aren’t there whistle blower laws that protect people like him? Or are those only honored when republicans are in charge?
bg commented:
++
OT..
Thomas Sowell
July 4th
[More than a hundred years ago, so-called "Progressives" began a campaign to undermine the Constitution's strict limitations on government, which stood in the way of self-anointed political crusaders imposing their grand schemes on all the rest of us. That effort to discredit the Constitution continues to this day, and the arguments haven't really changed much in a hundred years.
The cover story in the July 4th issue of Time magazine is a classic example
of this arrogance. It asks of the Constitution: "Does it still matter?"]
==
ohio commented:
It is time for a Special Prosecutor.
Joanne commented:
I don’t know if people are figuring this out, but the Obama administration is aiding and abetting criminals – illegal Mexicans and whatever rift-raft they come with. America is at war within itself. It is truly hard to believe a socialist is in Office, especially one that isn’t even Constitutionally eligible. WTH is going on in America.
Joanne commented:
Not only are they allowing criminals to cross through U.S. borders unchallenged, but they are arming them as well. You couldn’t make this crazy sh** up.
Mark commented:
What are the gutless Republicans doing? Nothing. Darrell Isa has been investigating this halfheartedly, but it does not appear at all certain it is going anywhere. Take Obama and his morons to the woodshed,
#1AMERICAN commented:
the odumbass marxist and his henchmen strike again….welcome to a new world with the zero in charge of everything and no constitution to get in the way….time to arm yourselves heavily
Wayne commented:
Like someone else commented on another site, “Remind me again how many people died as a result of Watergate.”
vityas commented:
Fight it.
He’s some kind of minority. What kind of name is Cefalu? Serbian? Croatian? Moldavian? Those are minorities. His lawyers can come up with something. Use our laws that are being used against us against them.
archer52 commented:
Sad.
The fact they fired him shows that the law and procedures don’t matter. “Ends justifies the means” How many examples of this must we witness before we clean house? 2012 should just be the start as we move out the deadwood from both parties.
If we don’t our nation is doomed, if it isn’t already sunk.
Wayne commented:
This wasn’t done to catch Mexican criminals. They stopped tracking the guns at the border and they did not even tell the Mexican government what was going on. It was done to help them get gun control laws enacted here in the US.
Cracker Mike commented:
My best advice to Cefalu, and Melson is to stay well away from Ft. Marcey Park. If we had an independant so called news media, they would be all over this with pics and profiles of the people killed by these ATF supplied guns. Profiles of family members with stories like: what will poor little Julio do now that evil American guns have murdered his papa. With the blame of course leveled precisely at innocent American Citizens. This “news media” are shameless liars facilitating and covering up for murderes while doing their best to subvert the Constitution. Everyone now knows the “media” are nothing but political whores.
wtd commented:
What caught my attention in this video was the ‘absence of a permanent director’ as the excuse for denying blame. Wouldn’t put it past the current resident of the oval office to delay permanent placements simply to create such a loophole for nefarious activity.
Rock commented:
Gatewaypundit, helped nail weiner to the cross this month. Here is a story that reaches into WTFs inner circle, Pajamas Media has been relentless with this story almost on a daily basis. We need to attack this in the blogs as effectively we did good old flapping in the wind weiner This can put a monkey wrench in the DC thugs operation in the run up to the 2012 elections.
We also need to remember it is the upper echelons of the ATF that are at fault here, do not let the progs build a rift between us and the many fine men and women who risk their lives for us and the Nation on a daily basis.
daryl commented:
ATF has owed Karma one for years in the goes around, comes around category.
Doug commented:
He was messin’ with the Chicago Thugs, and that’s not good for your health.
wanumba commented:
Obama’s love for Arizona showing:
Hackers distribute HOME addresses and home phone numbers of AZ law enforcement officers as Obama Justice Department ATF guns show up in Phoenix.
Nasty convergence of ostensibly random actions.
Lightwave commented:
We’re watching the end of Obama and the Democrats play out live. Stay on this story, people. It will be the END of the “President”.
lemonaide commented:
The cover up is in high gear. These people (all the way up to Holder) don’t respect the law — in fact, they have nothing but disdain for it and anyone who gets in their way. This cannot stand — it will not end well if Chicago style corruption is allowed to pervade the federal government. Got to tell you folks– we’re doomed if we don’t kick these clowns out in 2012.
Rock commented:
#22 June 28, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Lightwave commented:
We’re watching the end of Obama and the Democrats play out live. Stay on this story, people. It will be the END of the “President”.
……………………………………………………………………………………………..
I have been saying the same, but only if we keep pushing it every day. It worked on weiner it can work here if we keep the pressure on.
AuntieMadder commented:
To fire someone for whistle-blowing is illegal.
The Barky regime is out of control.
L.E. Liesner commented:
Everybody in the ATF including the top administrators should get pink slips. This bureauracy should be shut down, all of them have over stepped their authority. All of the politicians involved in this autrocity should be facing criminal charges, they are not above the law either. It’s time we take our country back of these corrupt individuals.
pagar commented:
Wonder if someone currently working for the US government will blow a whistle on this one?
“adding that the Oklahoma City Bombing appears to have been an earlier and far, far uglier version of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms’ “Operation: Fast and Furious,” an affair involving many of the same key players.”
http://bobmccarty.com/2011/06/27/lawyer-lists-four-possible-fbi-responses-to-federal-judge-re-missing-okc-bombing-tapes/
AuntieMadder commented:
What worries me is the thought that maybe we’re not watching the end of the Demonrat party, that the GOP remains silent not due to fear but because they, too, can be just as lawless as this bunch when it’s next their turn at bat if they just remain silent now.
AuntieMadder commented:
@ #8 – I find it hard to believe, too. Every day, I have to come to the realization all over again that it’s true.
aprilnovember811 commented:
This goes all the way to the White House. Like he told Sarah Brady, he is working on gun control under the radar. Darrell Issa said this was “Felony stupid.” This was a felony that Eric Holder and Barack Obama committed.
Molon Labe commented:
The entire sorry mess should be investigated and all Federal authorities who participated should be prosecuted. This ends in the Oval Office. Obama should be prosecuted.
The ATF officer who is being drummed out of his job should have his day in front of the Congress. The the ATF should be forced to answer the charges against them. Where is the justice.
This is the most lawless, criminal, corrupt administration ever. Obama equals fascism.
Federale commented:
I noticed that no one is saying why he was fired, not even Cefalu. Very interesting. It is very difficult to fire a Federal employee and it takes a long time. What is the justification for the termination?
I am thinking that he only came forward when he heard he was going to be fired or got caught doing something. Now he can claim he was fired for whistleblowing. Quite a common tactic among Federal employees going through the termination process. They also file pre-emptive racial discrimination complaints to stop being terminated.
Debbie commented:
How do We The People start an impeachment? What does it take to get this ass out of office and out of our country along with his supporting and proud wife? All I know is that since the left is out buying votes and importing aliens again we all better take voting serious since it is our only out in this country. Then press treason charges against all of these people in office that are trying to bring it down. Don’t they understand that what they are trying to accomplish wont give them any more power in the end….