Tuesday, March 29, 2011

CBS: Melson jerked from witness list! "It was Melson's decision not to testify."


"Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the Gunwalker man!"

ATF chief won't appear at Senate hearing in wake of "gunwalking" scandal

So far, Congress and the media haven't had much luck getting answers on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' ongoing "gunwalking" controversy.

The Department of Justice and ATF have missed repeated deadlines to turn over information and documents to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), who's investigating. ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson (at left) was scheduled to appear before a Senate hearing Thursday, in which he would likely have been asked questions about the scandal. However, CBS News has confirmed Melson has now been pulled from the hearing witness list.

We contacted the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to ask why Melson is no longer scheduled to appear. They referred us to the office of Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) who chairs the subcommittee holding the hearing. A press spokeswoman at the senator's office said it was Melson's decision not to testify, and that the subcommittee doesn't have jurisdiction over ATF.

Later, a spokesman told us in an email, "The Subcommittee had invited, but not confirmed, Mr. Melson as well as other officials from ATF to testify at the hearing this week. In the end, ATF declined to send a representative."

The gunwalking investigation may also have derailed any chance for Melson to have confirmation hearings anytime soon. President Obama made Melson, a former Justice Department attorney, acting director in April 2009. Sources on the Senate Judiciary Committee believed confirmation hearings for Melson were about to be scheduled before the gunwalking scandal broke. Now, they believe confirmation hearings for Melson will not happen in the near future.

All of Investigative Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson's reports, videos and articles can be found in one place at cbsnews.com/sharylattkisson.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

So what? Congress needs to have the balls to serve Melson with a Subpoena to appear.

What this does show is that Melson does have something to hide which adds weight to a decision to subpoena him. Could be he fully realizes this and just wants to go last so he can craft a story that matches what everybody else said...

Bob Katt

Gaviota said...

What's the MATTER with these people? How many times in the last hundred years have public employees gotten fired and/or gone to prison, not just over the crime, but over the cover-up?

Hell, my kids knew by the age of five that making a mistake earned a lecture, violating rules got a time out, but lying and covering up resulted in serious hard time.

Stupid Only Ones

Dennis308 said...

Representatives Issa and Smith will have to eventually Issue Congressional Subpoenas for Melson and the rest of the Gun-Walker jerks and force them to testify before Congress. I am hoping that they will be caught Perjuring themselves and that Smith and Issa have the Evidence in hand to convict them and their bosses.

Dennis
III
Texas

Dedicated_Dad said...

Is ANYBODY surprised by this?

ANYBODY?

Bueller??

Didn't think so...

Mark Matis said...

What makes ANY of you think that The One and his toadies are going to respond to ANY Congressional subpoena? Never mind that, in the Senate, such a subpoena would require approval by the Democrat in charge of the subpoenaing committee...

The stench is overwhelming. And I think you know by now what it smells like.