U.S. Attorney in Phoenix adds insult to injury of slain agent’s family

United States Attorney Dennis Burke in Phoenix, a key figure in the Operation Fast and Furious scandal that exploded following the December 2010 murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, has filed a motion opposing the Terry family’s requested intervention as “crime victims” in the criminal case against alleged gun trafficker Jaime Avila.

Northwest gun rights activists have been following the Fast and Furious scandal here, here and here. Even the Hunting-Washington members are watching this story unfold. My colleague, National Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea, broke the story about the Terry family’s latest trouble, and Fox News’ William Lajeunesse is also reporting it.

Fox News interviewed a former U.S. Attorney in Florida, Kendall Coffey, who cast serious doubt on Burke’s position:

“The government’s already been put on notice that they might be facing a wrongful death action by the family. And you have to wonder if the government’s efforts to deny the family the status of ‘crime victims’ is part of a strategy to avoid legal responsibility for some of the tragic mistakes of Operation Fast and Furious.”—Former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey

Two rifles purchased by Avila were recovered from the scene of Brian Terry’s slaying in southern Arizona. Avila is one of 20 people indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s office months ago in the Operation Fast and Furious investigation. Terry’s parents, Kent and Josephine Terry, want the court to consider them victims of the crime, but Burke is opposing the measure.

Independent blogger Mike Vanderboegh calls it “the banality of evil.”

While Fox News reported that such motions as the one filed on behalf of the Terry family are “routinely approved” by prosecutors, Burke is claiming that they are not crime victims as defined by the federal Crime Victim Rights Act.

“Government leaders responsible for the tragic mistakes of Operation Fast and Furious have a lot of explaining to do before Congress. But at the same time, they still have a duty under federal law to give answers, to consult and extend respect to the family.”—Kendall Coffey, to Fox News

This latest chapter in the Fast and Furious controversy further solidifies the impression that the Justice Department under Attorney General Eric Holder is engaged in a cover-up of the botched gun trafficking sting. Thursday’s Los Angeles Times reported that documentation it obtained, and that has been obtained by the Congressional investigation, shows the Justice Department “provided the initial impetus for what became Fast and Furious.”

Members of the Terry family testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in early June. They revealed what appeared to be almost complete indifference by the Justice Department to their requests for information about how Brian Terry died and the circumstances surrounding his murder.

Fox News reported that Burke and his deputy, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory Hurley, who reportedly was in charge of the Fast and Furious investigation with ATF special agents in Phoenix, may be called to testify before Congressman Darrell Issa’s House committee next month, but an Issa staffer could not confirm that. Issa did tell NRA News recently that he wants to hold at least two more Fast and Furious hearings this year, but no timeline has been set, nor have any possible witnesses been identified.

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