Letter to Congressman Issa: Sandra E. Davis

Dear Congressman Issa,

I wanted to personally thank you for all the work you have put into the "Fast and Furious" investigation. You have done so much more than pay us the usual political lip service we are used to. You have actually brought many of us to the point where we feel a glimmer of hope for the first time in decades that ATF might be cleaned up. That is quite an accomplishment as we tend to be a jaded bunch for sure.

Over the years we at ATF have seen so much corruption, incompetence, and vicious retaliation from our so-called leaders, that where the rest of the world is shocked at the current disaster, many of us are not. What we are is exhausted. Until there is true accountability in the leadership of ATF, I’m afraid there will always be another Ruby Ridge, Waco Texas, or Fast & Furious. And I don’t just mean accountability for those who are currently involved in the latest disaster, I mean a new system of accountability for their buddies who are waiting in the wings to replace them and who will just continue to use this agency as their own personal sledge hammer to destroy anyone who would dare stand up to them when they violate the very laws they took an oath to uphold. At ATF, you better not even suggest something may be a bad idea if it’s not what HQ wants to hear. So basically, we don’t have our best and brightest making very critical decisions. The best and the brightest aren’t even allowed to have input if it’s not what ATF leaders want to hear. You have met just a few of the ATF officials making these critical decisions and I could tell you were not impressed.

I saw the look of pure disgust on your face when you were listening to Bill Newell testify before you recently, but he is just the one you see. Behind Newell there are more just like him ready to take his place. To give you a clear example of why this problem is much deeper than Fast & Furious, just look at what happened after the failed Waco raid. The top two ATF Law Enforcement (LE) officials at that time were Daniel Hartnett and his deputy director Dan Conroy. These two lied before congress (per the official Treasury Department report) and did everything they could to cover up their parts in the failed raid. It was no surprise to many of us at ATF. When Daniel Hartnett was the second highest ranking official at ATF LE he was cited by an EEOC judge to be guilty of perjury, conspiracy to cover up an illegal activity, and reprisal. I was the complainant in that case. That EEOC decision became final years before Waco. What happened to Hartnett after the EEOC decision? He was promoted to the highest position in ATF LE and this is where congress found him during the Waco congressional hearings. What happened to Harnett after he lied to congress over Waco? Nothing. He simply retired with a full pension from what I understand.

Congressman Issa, I pray you are the one who finally stops this madness once and for all. There have been so many congressmen and senators through the years who have taken a quick glimpse at ATF, written a form letter, and then walked off and left us to fight these very powerful and high ranking officials with no support whatsoever. And if you think they are arrogantly defiant now, you should see them when the spotlight is no longer focused in their direction. And even if all the current leaders involved in Fast & Furious are forced out of the agency, their buddies, whom they have mentored and promoted through the years, will simply pick up where they left off. As long as the hierarchy at ATF never feels any pain from their corrupt and/or incompetent actions, nothing will ever change, and I can promise you, the chances are high that we will all see another Fast & Furious.

Please stay the course. You have no idea how much hope you have given us.

Sincerely...

Sandra E. Davis