After more than 18 months investigating the Fast and Furious gunwalking operation of the Obama administration and less than two weeks after Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt of Congress for not complying with a subpoena related to documents about the operation, an indictment has been unsealed that charges five fugitives with the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.
According to Talking Points Memo:
A superseding indictment made public on Monday from Nov. 7, 2011 charges a total of six defendants with crimes related to Terry’s death. Manuel Osorio-Arellanes (also known as “Paye”), Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes (also known as “Laco”) and Lionel Portillo-Meza are charged with Terry’s death. The sixth defendant, Rito Osorio-Arellanes, is charged with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (he was in custody before Terry was murdered).
The FBI is offering $1 million for information leading to the arrests of four of the accused fugitives. Holder said in a statement that the government “we will stop at nothing to bring those responsible for his murder to justice.”
U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said at a press conference that the “atmospherics” surrounding the Terry case “have not distracted from the efforts of this prosecution team.”
Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said, “It’s clear the timing has to do with the House of Representatives holding Eric Holder in contempt for not turning over information. Again, I applaud the fact that we are going public and we are trying to make it clear that these people are among Mexico’s most wanted. But at the same time, the timing is very dubious.”
However, Brian Terry’s family is not satisfied with the announcement. “Today’s developments certainly mean that the criminal prosecution of Brian Terry’s killers is moving forward,” said Patrick McGroger, the Terry family attorney. “However, the accountability aspect of Operation Fast and Furious, the flawed ATF/DOJ gun trafficking investigation that put weapons into the hands of the men that killed Brian Terry, remains stalled. The Terry family once again asks that the Attorney General and the Department of Justice comply with the request for documents made by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee so that all Americans can know who approved of the operation in order that those individuals can be held accountable for their decisions.”
So what the Terry family wants and I believe what Americans should demand is not just a poster that looks like the one here:
Rather it should include at least two other people as well:
Correction*-I previously reported that six men were charged in Agent Terry’s death. The correct number is five. The sixth man mentioned, Rito Osorio-Arellanes, was in custody and had pleaded to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery. While it is related, he is not charged with first degree murder. The title and article have been corrected to reflect this.
