The timing of this memo suggests that it may have been at least partly in reaction to the Grassley letter, sent to then-ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson, on Jan. 31, 2011. In that letter, which may be read here, Grassley stated, “I understand that Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) George Gillette of the ATF’s Phoenix office questioned one of the individual agents who answered my staff’s questions about Project Gunrunner. ASAC Gillette allegedly accused the agent of misconduct related to his contacts with the Senate Judiciary Committee. This is exactly the wrong sort of reaction for the ATF. Rather than focusing on retaliating against whistleblowers, the ATF’s sole focus should be on finding and disclosing the truth as soon as possible.
“Whistleblowers are some of the most patriotic people I know—men and women who labor, often anonymously, to let Congress and the American people know when the Government isn’t working so we can fix it. As such, it would be prudent for you to remind ATF management about the value of protected disclosures to Congress and/or Inspectors General in accordance with the whistleblower protection laws. Absent such a clear communication from you, ATF management might be able to intimidate whistleblowers to prevent them from providing information to Congress.
“As you may be aware, obstructing a Congressional investigation is a crime…”
In his e-mail to this column, Grassley is referring to the now-infamous and “withdrawn” letter of Feb. 4, 2011 from then-Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich, in which Weich told the senator that allegations “that ATF ‘sanctioned’ or otherwise knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons to a straw purchaser who then transported them into Mexico—is false.” Attorney General Eric Holder has since acknowledged that statements in that letter were "inaccurate."
Earlier Tuesday Grassley, who ignited the first Capitol Hill inquiry into the Fast and Furious scandal 19 months ago, issued a statement underscoring his frustration with the Justice Department’s conduct throughout the investigation.
“It's inexcusable that the Justice Department withheld evidence of yet another red flag that ATF walked guns,” Grassley said. “As DOJ's denial was being crafted, some in ATF were alerting senior management that whistleblower protection guidance was in order because another agent had backed up the initial reports of gunwalking. The Justice Department is denying the public a full understanding of what it knew and when by sitting on documents like these that might be embarrassing. If the Justice Department ignored a red flag like this, what else did it ignore? Fortunately, the truth is coming out gradually through persistent efforts by whistleblowers, Congress, and the press, despite the Justice Department's best efforts to hide documents from the public.”
The Washington Guardian reported that Chait’s attorney, David Laufman, said his client had “specifically requested ATF lawyers draft the legal memo because he had learned some agents had taken their concerns about the Arizona gun sting to Congress and he did not want them punished for coming forward.” The e-mail memo was sent to Chait by Joel J. Roessner, an ATF associate chief counsel.
http://www.examiner.com/article/memo-shows-atf-recognized-red-flag-of-f-f-whistleblowerslink to meno
