The Justice Department's inspector general said former federal prosecutor in Phoenix leaked an internal memo in an effort to retaliate against the whistleblower that exposed the botched "Fast and Furious" gun-smuggling scandal, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Dennis K. Burke, who resigned from the U.S. attorney's office following the scandal, admitted to investigators that he leaked a memo to a television producer in an effort to smear ATF Special Agent John Dodson. The leaked report suggested that Dodson once supported illegal gun sales as a way to track weapons to Mexican cartels, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz determined that Burke violated Justice Department Policy when he leaked the memo to Fox News.
"There was substantial evidence that Burke's motive for disclosing the memorandum was to retaliate against Special Agent Dodson, who two weeks earlier had testified before a Congressional committee regarding his concerns about Operation Fast and Furious," Horowitz said in his report on the matter.
The "Fast and Furious" scandal involved an attempt by ATF officers to trace the location of over 2,000 weapons back to Mexican cartels. According to CBS News, the ATF would allow licensed gun sellers to complete transactions with suspicious customers, even encouraged they engage in more business with the suspicious customers, and the gun dealers would then provide the serial number of the weapons to the ATF. The program fell apart when two of the guns were found at the crime scene of a shootout that killed Brian Terry, a U.S. border agent, according to the Washington Post.
Dodson decided to act as a whistleblower shortly after the death of Terry. Dodson gave an interview to CBS News, testified at a House hearing and contacted the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, to expose the failed gun program, according to The New York Times.
In an internal memo Burke blasted Dodson for exposing the program.
"Unbelievable," Burke said. "This guy called Grassley and CBS to unearth what he in fact was proposing to do himself. When you thought the hypocrisy of this whole matter had hit the limit already..."
Sen. Grassley released a statement noting that Dodson apologized for allowing guns to get away and criticizing Burke for attacking a "whistleblower who had the guts to come forward and tell Congress the truth about Operation Fast and Furious," according to The New York Times.
The Burke matter has been referred to the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility to determine if state bar association rules of conduct had been violated, according to the Los Angeles Times.
