Bureau Of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms And Explosives | featured news

Attorney General Eric Holder lashed back Friday at Republican congressional leaders who suggested he misled a House committee when he testified earlier this year that he was not aware of details about a flawed federal gun investigation that allowed hundreds of weapons to flow to violent Mexican drug cartel enforcers.

Kenneth E. Melson, under fire in connection with the controversial Fast and Furious gun-trafficking investigation, announced Tuesday that he is stepping down as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, several sources tell The Times.

Kenneth Melson, the ATF's acting director, claims Justice Department officials refuse to release a telling internal report on the Fast and Furious operation. The Justice Department is trying to protect its political appointees from the Fast and Furious scandal by concealing an internal "smoking gun" report and other documents that acknowledge the role top officials played in the program that allowed firearms to flow illegally into Mexico, according to the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.