. >> reporter: six months ago today border patrol agent brian terry was gunned down.ay three senior agents sat beside his mom, cousin and sister and said their agency may be to blame. >> i'm sorry for your loss. >> reporter: two of the gowns found at scene of the murder were part of thousands they allegedly thousands gun traffickers to buy. they called it letting guns walk, a tactic they hoped would lead them to drug king pins. agents who disagreed blew the whistle. >> to walk a single gun is an idiotic move. we were giving guns to people who were killing people. >> reporter: the first reports of gun walking started to surface after terry's murder. asked if they were true they said hell no, surprising those who worked for him. >> i was shocked because it was a lie. >> reporter: he didn't respond to her interview request. also under attack the justice department which oversees the at. the assistant attorney said the agency is cooperating congress but a representative said information is being withheld. >> you should be ashamed. >> the pages go on like this, you gave us

josephine terry, the mother of the late border patrol agent brian terry. ms. michelle terry is the sister of the late border patrol agent brian terry. the cousin of brian terry. the committee would also like to recognize other members of agent terry's family, including his father, kent terry, who was unable to be he today. his stepmother carolyn terry, his older brother kent terry jr., and his younger sister kelly terry willis. our thoughts today are with agent terry and his entire family as they continue to mourn the untimely passing of their loved one. our remaining witnesses on the second panel are mr. john doddson, special agent in the phoenix division of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives. excuse me. mr. bolindo, lee as he's known is a special agent in the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives. and mr. peter porcelli is the supervisor of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives. ladies and gentlemen, pursuant to the rules of our committee, all witnesses are to be sworn in order to testify. would you plea

brian hatari. ms. michele terrie is the sister of the late border patrol agent brian terry. br mr. robert heyer is the cousin of the border patrol agent ryan terry. the committee would also like to recognize other members of agent terryterry. the committee would also like to recognize other members of agent terry's family, including his father, kent terry, who was unable to be here today. his stepmother carolyn terry, his older brother kent terry jr., and his younger sister kelly terry willis. our thoughts today are with agent terry and his entire family as they continue to mourn the untimely passing of their loved one. our remaining witnesses on the second panel are mr. john doddson, a special agent in the phoenix division of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives. excuse me. mr. bolindo, lee as he's known is a special agent in the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives. and mr. peter porcelli is the supervisor of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives. ladies and gentlemen, pursuant to the rules of our committee, all witnesses are

agents is to interdict guns, to stop the gun trafficking from mexico. >> reporter: when brian terry wasunned down last september, he had already mailed christmas gifts. secret service agent robert higher is his cousin. >> the gifts that terry picked out with such thought and care began to arrive in the mail in the same week. with each delivery, we felt the indescribable pain of brian's death. >> reporter: terry's family wants someone to accept responsibility. the department of justice inspector general is investigating, and scott, any gun walking that was taking place has now been halted. >> pelley: thank you, sharyl. you probably couldn't tell from the look on his face but this picture was taken on the day john edwards was arraigned on criminal charges. it's his mug shot released today by the u.s. marshall's service. released today by the u.s. marshalls service. edwards pleaded not guilty to charges he illegally used campaign funds to keep his mistress in hiding. in syria, some soldiers are refusing orders to shoot women and children. syria syr in syria, some soldiers are refusing orde

his name was brian terry, shot dead less than two weeks before christmas. >> brian's attention to detail had insured that all the christmas gifts he had meticulously selected for his family had already been bought and sent in the mail prior to his arrival. brian did ultimately come home that christmas. we buried him not far from the house that he was raised in just prior to christmas day. >> that's brian terry's cousin who's a secret service agent testifying before the house oversight committee. this all started with an atf operation called fast and furious aimed at tracking the flow of guns like these into mexico. but it all went terribly wrong. the atf lost track of at least 1800 weapons that went into mexico, including the weapon that ended up being used to kill agent terry. now, this was a high-level operation. it's the kind of operation that an attorney general may sign off on on even someone in the white house. but so far no one has taken responsibility. there's late word tonight in washington that head of the atf may actually lose his job over this. but neither he nor his bosses h

-- brian terry? >> i am here as strictly family today and not as a secret service agent. >> peter portelli, you of all mentioned about the prosecution's use the including in new york. you buy a gun, you knowingly sell it to a third party, you lie about it, it leads to murder. isn't that how you get connected to the trial in addition to the trigger polar? >> yes, sir. >> is pretty unusual to have the murder, a high-profile murder of a border patrol agent and you don't roll up everyone involved in up to the prosecution? >> in all fairness, i don't know what steps the fbi has taken in their investigation. that in information has not been relate to me at any point. >> mrs. terry, we will do everything we can to get full information and full prosecution. we want whatever would be the greatest relief we can give you to let you know that this won't happen again. >> thank you. we now recognize the ranking member for his questions. >> i want to thank all of you for being here today. and to the terry family, w

we told you last week about the murder of border patrol agent brian terry. ht there. he was killed in a gun fight along the arizona-mexico border last december. the weapon used to kill him was purchased in the united states, but what's really stunning is that it was incontinuationly allowed into mexico by u.s. authorities. see it was an operation called fast and furious. the idea was to monitor gun trafficking, link them to mexican drug cartels and then make arrests in mexico. but once the sales were made, atf whistle blowers say that agents had actually no way of knowing where the guns ended up. and unbelievably, their mexican counterparts, who were supposed to make the arrests, they were never even told about this operation. so a program meant to stop gun smuggling actually -- no one in the u.s. government has admitted they aprove this program and no one has taken responsible. the acting director of the bureau after alcohol, tobacco and firearms kenneth nelson is expected to resign in the next day or two. keeping them honest tonight, he may just be the fall

to you, that out of nowhere, there's this fast and furious program that results in the death of brian terry? >> it is obviously some of the testimony that was provided today is of great concern to the justice department and that is why we are investigating it through the office of the inspector general and cooperating with this committee's investigation. >> is this the first time you've heard any of that testimony? >> i've been generally aware of it, in my role as head of the office of legislative affairs, i have obviously been aware of this for a number of months. >> when you say you're generally aware, what does that mean? >> i've been involved in producing responses to letters. i've been in discussions about how to comply with the committee's subpoena. so i have been aware. i must say, i was very pleased to be here today to hear personally all of the testimony that was provided. >> and before i get on to my last question, did you hear the issue they raised regarding retaliation? >> i did. i thank you, congresswoman. i want to assure the committee, i think a number of members raised this,

i'm grateful to agent brian terry's family for being here today, and i wish to express my sympathy for hope that we can get the terry family the answers that they deserve. i also want to thank the brave people who are testifying from the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms. these federal agents. i know that they are here to tell the unvannished truth. i also know that that can be very tough since they still work for the atf. these agents already risk their lives to keep us safe. they shouldn't have to risk their jobs as well, and continuing to highlight what congressman said, any attempt to retaliate against them for their testimony today would be up fair, unwise, and unlawful, and let me add to what congressman cummings said, and it's a personal front to this senator. when i became ranking member of the judiciary committee in jap, this was the first oversight issue to land on my desk. several other senators' offices contacted my office to pass along these allegations about an atf case called operation fast and furious. at first, the allegation sounded too shocking to believe, but

. >> by the grace of god, could have been more than brian terry lost because of this. >> yes, sir. >> just briefly, i have a couple of seconds. is there anything you think your brother would want this committee to know about his life and service? >> brian was about making a differencend justice and i just feel that this country owes it to him because he spent his whole life fighting this country some way or another. >> i agree and he is a hero. i yield back. >> thank the gentleman. go to the gentleman from arizona. >> mrs. terry and family, i am deeply sorry. as a father, i don't know, i can just feel that pain. and i hope what i say next does not aggravate that in advance. okay? for the law enforcement folks, when you first heard about the shootings of congressman gabrielle giffords, was there a level of anxiety from atf that one of the weapons might trace back to operations of fast and furious? >> yes, sir. >> yes, sir. >> where did this anxiety come from and from whom specifically? >> sir, i received a phone call from my public information officer who was a friend o mine who said t

i said brian kelly and i met brian terry. >> i will be brief, given the timeline. yes, it is prudent and open? situation that the committee will hear from the justice department before making it public. >> as i listen to you it seems like i'm always reminded of this book, the speed of trust. it talks about how important it is, and he talks about how important it is to establish a trusting relationship. and it sounds like what you're saying is you must have to have some trust going on here to get to the point of negotiations, that is between the committee and the justice department it is that a reasonable conclusion? >> i certainly think the justice department should try hard to earn the committees trust, but yes, it has a relationship of trust. >> just one more question, mr. chairman. i don't see any harm in taking this debt. our decision is better informed in the task and have other committees sought the department before releasing documents public we? >> very much so. >> i didn't hear you. >> guess. before releasing documents publicly, if there's a stated justice

well, we know about boarder agent brian terry, where two of the guns were found nearby. whistle-blowers said they showed up at crime scenes in mexico. i can tell you that at a hearing last week, atf agents testified that when they heard that congresswoman gabrielle giffords had been shot, they all looked at one another in horror, with the fear that this was one of the "fast and furious" guns that had been used there. it turns out that was not the case, however. joe? >> i would assume there are some wild reactions from the family members of the border agent who was killed. >> reporter: well, they were at this hearing last week. the mother of the border agent says she was flabbergasted when she heard about this, and a cousin of the atf agent said it was his hope and wish that everybody who was responsible for the killing of brian terry would be held to account. he was promised that would be the case. what was a little bit unclear from the testimony and the response is what that included. does that mean simply the people who were using those guns or could that involve the p

brian terry's mother was shocked when she found out. >> i was just flabbergasted.eve it at first. >> reporter: three whistle-blowing agents from the phoenix atf office said supervisors did not allow them to intercept weapons bought by so-called straw buys for cartels and criminals. the goal was to wait until the weapons surfaced at crime scenes in mexico and then bring down an entire arms trafficking organization. but the agents say such a tactic often used in drug cases was a colossal mistake, a catastrophic disaster when used with weapons. >> we weren't giving guns to people who were hunting bear, we were giving guns to people who were killing other humans. >> rather than meet the wolf head on, we sharpened his teeth, added number to his claw, all the while we sat by watching, tracking, and noting as he became a more efficient and effective predator. >> a republican congressional staff reports that the program was authorized at the highest levels of the justice department. >> we're investigating you, your organization. we want to know what felony stupid bad judgm

host: brian terry, correct? guest: brian terry. at the scene, them found two ak-47 style firearms, which essentially came from this operation. they were from this gunshot that was being monitored by the a.t.f., and suspects that were being monitored by the a.t.f., and they lost track of them. host: east hartford, connecticut, on our republican line. ray, go ahead, good morning. caller: good morning. my question, obvious am it's a manous time to solve narcotics or drugs through the u.s. it's got to be stopped. i'm thinking that from the remarks earlier that the mexican officials are having a problem with the arms they're facing, and i'm wondering if any effort has been made to improve the quality of the equipment that the mexican officials are using to deal with this problem, such as body armor or ar nored vehicles. i'm thinking that might be money well spent. guest: well, the u.s. has actually, because of the problem that you point out, the u.s. has increased the amount of assistance it provided. it provided a lot more -- better te

to you, that out of nowhere, there's this fast and furious program that results in the death of brian terry? >> it is obviously some of the testimony that was provided today is of great concern to the justice department and that is why we are investigating it through the office of the inspector general and cooperating with this committee's investigation. >> is this the first time you've heard any of that testimony? >> i've been generally aware of it, in my role as head of the office of legislative affairs, i have obviously been aware of this for a number of months. >> when you say you're generally aware, what does that mean? >> i've been involved in producing responses to letters. i've been in discussions about how to comply with the committee's subpoena. so i have been aware. i must say, i was very pleased to be here today to hear personally all of the testimony that was provided. >> and before i get on to my last question, did you hear the issue they raised regarding retaliation? >> i did. i thank you, congresswoman. i want to assure the committee, i think a number of members raised this,

civilians in mexico and even responsible for the death of a 40-year-old border patrol agent named brian terry. together with senator grassley, i have sent 16 letters to department of justice and atf requesting information on this program. after giving the administration enough time to respond to a formal request, it has become clear that the compulsory process was needed. on march 31st i authorized a subpoena for material documents needed to conduct thorough investigations into this matter. to date, the administration has provided only a handful of documents, all of which, i repeat, all of which were already publicly available on the internet. while withholding those that provide real answers. our committee was asked whether we would come for an in camera interview or in camera observation of additional documents. we went only to find out that those documents were so redacted as to be useless, even for in camera review. since that time as many as 31 democratic members of congress have expressed their serious concerns about the administration's response to this committee's investigation. these

border agent brian terry. >> brian's attention to detail had ensured that all of the christmas giftshe had meticulously selected for his family had already been bought and sent in the mail prior to his arrival. brian did ultimately come home that christmas. we buried him not far from the house that he was raised in just prior to christmas day. >> drew griffin of cnn's special investigations unit, has been chasing this story. so, i mean, i guess the first question off the bat, what was the government thinking, putting weapons into the hands of cartel members? >> you know, it's such a stupid and absurd program, it's hard to imagine anyone ever thought it was a great idea. here was idea. the problem was guns going to fuel the violence of the cartels in mexico. so the atf officials thought if we could track these guns and see where they are going, maybe we can arrest the cartel leaders who are using these guns. the problem they allowed illegal gun purchases made in the u.s. and then the guns literally walked across the border. ak-47s. no way to track them once they were in mexico. and me

brian perry was gunned down. today three sitting a.t.f. senior agents sat beside terry's cousin, mom and sister and said their agency may be to blame. two of the guns found at the scene of terry's murder were part of thousands the a.t.f. alleged gun traffickers to purchase. the a.t.f. called it yeting guns walked a tactic that they hoped would lead them to criminals. >> it is an idiotic move. >> reporter: after the murder first reports of gun walking began to surface. asked if they were true billy mcmullen told reporters, hell, no, surprising those who worked for him. >> i was appalled because it was a blatant lie. >> reporter: muell didn't respond to our interview requests. also under attack the justice department which overseas the a.t.f. the assistant attorney general says the agency is cooperating with congress but a representative says information is being withheld. >> you should be ashamed of yourself. the pages go on like this forever. how dare you make an opening statement of cooperation. who authorized this injustice? >> i don't know the answer to the question. >

border patrol agent brian terry was gunned down four days before christmas.rian picked out with such thought and care began to arrive in the mail the same we week. with each delivery we felt the indescribable pain of brian's death. but at the same time also remembered his amazing love and spirit. >> reporter: yet terry's mom and other family members told congress that today, six months later, they've been given virtually no meaningful information about his death. two guns found at the scene had been let on to the street a year before in the controversial atf operation meant to target cartel kingpins. three atf agents objected saying all it did was put lives at risk. special agent lee cosas says the government is trying to keep terry's murder investigation separate from the gun walking probe. >> to reduce their liability in our atf's role in this murder. >> to walk a single gun is in my opinion an idiotic move. we weren't giving guns to people hunting bear. we were giving guns to people killing other humans. >> reporter: assistant attorney general ronald white

on the cake is when two of the weapons associated with this program showed up near the body of brian terry killed just a few miles from the mexican border, brooke. >> jeanne, might this go beyond the atf? there was a congressional report saying the program was authorized not only at the highest levels of the atf but the highest levels of the department of justice here. might other people be forced out? are a >> reporter: some people might, but we just don't know what the upshot of the investigations are going to be. right now the inspector general of the department of justice are looking at this as well as the congressional and atf investigators are looking at this. all of those investigation,in process although we certainly heard that members of congress said that higher-ups in the justice department had to know about this. we do not have any specific information about that yet, brooke. >> did anyone really think that they could track these guns once they walked, once they got down to mexico, and use the information to prosecute a massive gun-running operation? >> reporter: well, we heard

. >> reporter: when border patrol agent brian terry was killed last year near the border, two guns were and firearms allowed the gun to wipds up in the hands of criminals. >> i was flabbergasted. i did not believe it at first. >> three whistle blowing agents say supervisors did not allow them to intercept weapons bought by so-called straw buyers for cartels and criminals. the goal was to wait until the weapons surfaced at crime scenes in mexico and bring down the entire arms trafficking soe organization. but that was a mistake. >> we were not giving guns to people who were hunting bears, but they were killing other humans. >> we sat idly by watching and tracking and noting as he became a more efficient predator. >> the program was authorized at the highest levels of the justice department. >> we're investigating you, your organization. we want to know what bad judgment led to allowing this program at the highest levels? >> justice department official says he was unable to say who authorized the program but the attorney general wants to get to the bottom of it and the department's inspec

two assault rifles were also found at the murder scene of border patrol agent brian terry last decemberin the stash of suspected drug cartel members who shot at a mexican government helicopter in recent weeks. all weapons believed to be sold on atf's watch in the plan to let them walk on the streets and lead them to the big fish in the drug cartels. the lead atf agent in that controversial case was mcallister in last week's hearing, the agent said she ignored their concerns. >> eyewitness special agents dodds and special agent mcallister prepared to attend the funeral of a slain agent or fer after he or she was killed one of those purchased firearms. >> reporter: yesterday, atf awarded mcallister the national atf life-saving award. nobody from atf would tell us exactly what that award is for. later today, a bipartisan team from congress will fly to mexico as the next phase of their investigation moves south of the border. >> a former whistle-blower at atf got his termination papers yesterday? >> reporter: i wouldn't say he a is current whistle-blower. he started a site that is largely r

including two such weapons in connection with the murder of border patrol agent brian terry. after seeking information from the justice department, i was repeatedly told that the a.t.f. did not knowingly allow these sales. working with congressman issa, who's chairman of the house government oversight committee, we released information that showed that the initial denials were false. this risky policy was in fact implemented at a.t.f. and the justice department. despite the seriousness of the whistle-blowers' allegations and my repeated inquiries, the justice department continued to deny me access to the documents. as a result, i urged my colleagues to oppose cloture on james cole to be deputy attorney general. well, that cloture opposition worked, and we have since reached an agreement with the justice department and senator leahy that will guarantee my access to vital documents, information, and witnesses regarding this a.t.f. operation. i also understand that senator chambliss has reach an agreement on obtaining the information he has sought on behalf of the intelligence c

most notably, two turned up last december at the murder of border patrol agent, brian terry, in arizonae of the weapons were recently found at a drug cartel shooting of a mexican drug helicopter. insider appeared awed by the scale. six months into the investigate, a senior atf attorney commented, every time i read this case, i'm amazed at the amount of firearms we're talking about. acting atf director kenneth melson and hoover were said to be briefed weekly on the investigation. special agent john doddson worried about all those guns hitting the streets. >> i don't think anybody really fathoms how long we're going to be dealing with this. i mean, the gun is not going to go away. it's not a one-time use. >> reporter: doddson and two other atf agents will testify at a hearing next wednesday. monday's hearing will explore whether the justice department obstructed justice in withholding information from congressional investigators. that agency says it is cooperating with the inspector general's probe. chris? >> the atf policy of clipping the little guy in order to land your big fish has tra

it hasn't, but two of the guns turned up near the body of slain border patrol agent brian terry.n wasn't present as a fire congressional hearing just last week but was raked over the coals for allegedly watching live video feeds of fast and furious gun sales on his computer. >> who authorized this program that was so felony stupid that got people killed. >> reporter: now melson is expected to lose his job. >> i think it would be a shame if melson's departure is the only one and that he would be the one that presumably is solely responsible because we have a feeling it's much broader and maybe goes a lot higher than just melson. >> reporter: the head of the atf chicago bureau will meet with attorney general eric holder tuesday. lawmakers officials say they will discuss the possibility of the replacement of the director. melson continues to focus on leading the agency and refused to comment on what it called speculations. >> is he controversial, trafer, this supposed new acting head? >> he was. president obama nominated him to be pearlnent head of the atf. at the time the nra said

kimberly terry is in hayward and will have more at 6:00. >>> the brian stowe beating investigation has taken another turn tonight. on friday, we reported that sources in los angeles told nbc that police have a dodgers jersey and evidence with stowe's blood on it. that source is not backing down investigators believe the jerseys and brought to the cleaners by the only person named as suspect, that would be gee vanny ramirez. today officials close to the case told "the los angeles times" that the dodgers jersey did not have stowe's blood on it. those sources said a jersey had been turned in to police, testing showed neither stowe's norah mere rez's dna on. ramirez has not been charged and his lawyers insist he's a victim of mistaken identity. >>> if you thought congressman anthony weiner's scandal couldn't get any worse, think again. a gossip website tmz.com released provocative new photos of the lawmaker taken inside a gym at the u.s. capitol and sent to at least one woman. some of those pictures, he was almost naked. many are stand big the congressman but outside the new york office to

. >> by the grace of god, could have been more than brian terry lost because of this. >> yes, sir. >> just briefly, i have a couple of seconds. is there anything you think your brother would want this committee to know about his life and service? >> brian was about making a difference and justice and i just feel that this country owes it to him because he spent his whole life fighting this country some way or another. >> i agree and he is a hero. i yield back. >> thank the gentleman. go to the gentleman from arizona. >> mrs. terry and family, i am deeply sorry. as a father, i don't know, i can just feel that pain. and i hope what i say next does not aggravate that in advance. okay? for the law enforcement folks, when you first heard about the shootings of congressman gabrielle giffords, was there a level of anxiety from atf that one of the weapons might trace back to operations of fast and furious? >> yes, sir. >> yes, sir. >> where did this anxiety come from and from whom specifically? >> sir, i received a phone call from my public information officer who was a friend of mine who sai

weapons linked to the operation known as fast and furious were found near where border patrol agent brian terrie was killed late last year. this hearing is four hours. >> [inaudible conversations]