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I don't have that answer, but I too welcome it asap. I can only guess that they want to conduct a thorough review and not make any premature statements (again).

I know we agreed to let the fact-finding process play out and to readdress the Operation Castaway gunwalking allegations when an official release of facts is credibly made, which we all hope happens sooner than later. However, I just want to make a couple quick observations of Mr. Codrea's below article regarding the primary target, Mr. Crumpler. Mr. Crumpler is currently a convicted felon who voluntarily plead guilty to dealing firearms without a license (firearms trafficking) and is currently incarcerated as a result of an ATF investigation, Operation Castaway. Thus, Mr. Crumpler would certainly not be a fan of ATF, and he even stated that his goal in coming forward now (after the gunwalking allegations surfaced) is to get an early release from prison (despite already receiving substantial assistance credit) as well as to somehow receive his numerous seized firearms and money back from ATF. Even Mr. Codrea stated in this article that "no representations to accuracy or credibility are being made...", and we have to seriously question Mr. Crumpler's credibility and motivation. In any event, Mr. Crumpler wrote that most of his purchases and sales took place during the last half of 2009 and early January 2010, and ATF stopped him and solicited his cooperation in late January 2010. I believe that this shows that ATF moved quickly on Mr. Crumpler and perfected a complex, international firearms trafficking investigation in very little time (we all know how time consuming a complex firearms trafficking investigation normally takes), which is inconsistent with Mr. Crumpler's purported belief that ATF must have been watching him a long time. Mr. Crumpler merely speculates that ATF must have been aware of firearms being illegally exported; however, he admits that ICE (actually ATF and ICE) confiscated numerous weapons during the time of his cooperation (contrary to the recent false gunwalking allegations). Furthermore, Mr. Crumpler admits that ATF recently contacted his wife to assure her that Mr. Crumpler's case is not similar to the Fast and Furious case as reported in the news because ATF actually confiscated the firearms that Mr. Crumpler transferred. I am confident that we will find out that the numerous reported firearms exported to other countries (including Honduras) by Mr. Crumpler and his associates actually occurred prior to ATF's operation and unbeknownst to ATF. Mr. Crumpler’s attorney in this criminal matter actually became very knowledgeable of the investigation and prosecution, and last week he reported to The Tampa Tribune that he does not believe the recent gunwalking allegations regarding Operation Castaway. In the same article, which is linked below, The Tribune reported that these guns apparently wound up in the hands of criminals before Operation Castaway was even launched, according to federal court records.


http://www2.tbo.com/...scru-ar-243657/

Microscope: I am not the ONLY person in Tampa who doesn't know that guns got walked. EVERYONE in the Tampa Division with any direct or firsthand knowledge knows that guns weren't walked, and there are numerous directly knowledgable Tampa personnel (agents, IOIs, Intel, support staff, etc) who have been discussing that recently and are also troubled by the false allegations. I am just the ONLY person in Tampa (or elsewhere) who took the initiative to post the truth here (hoping the truth would be embraced). I haven't seen any Tampa "sources" personally post the (false) allegations here, including any source who has stated that they have direct or firsthand knowledge that guns walked, and that is because no one credibly can. It now seems that it is unclear that "Operation Castaway" is actually the alleged case. Like I stated, it is misinformation that people believe to be true or want to be true to support an agenda, and the spread of the misinformation has snowballed out of control.

I believe we have all exhausted this disagreement a long time ago with no progress. So, let's just agree to let the fact finding process play out and we can readdress this when the truth officially emerges (in a credible manner).

Microscope and Sandy: I am confident that the recently released allegations about gunwalking activity actually does concern Operation Castaway, and I know firsthand (as does the other dozens of ATF agents, local police, and IOIs intimately involved with the investigation) that the allegations are false. There were so many law enforcement personnel involved with the investigation that the truth that gunwalking did not occur certainly has and will continue to surface (it is just a matter of how it will be disseminate by ATF in a believable manner). I don't have or need a "source" providing me with that information. Tampa is a small division, and everyone knows everyone. I cannot imagine that there would be another major international firearms trafficking investigation involving Honduras without everyone in the division knowing about it, myself included. Since the investigation tapped into a large portion of the entire division's resources and personnel, I truly believe that, as investigative discussions circulated to and among non-participants, information was embellished and/or misstated. Through reading these posts and certain online blogs, it is obvious that certain Tampa agents actually do believe the Operation Castaway gunwalking allegations; however, again, the allegations are not true and the "sources" are merely releasing misinformation (that they incorrectly believe to be true). I understand the hesitancy to believe these gunwalking denials (I was just as disgusted as anyone with the F&F operation and its aftermath), and I hope that ATF management will immediately find a believable way to assure you, Congress, and the public that the allegations are false. This can't happen soon enough. In the meantime, any ATF agent here can always feel free to contact any member of the investigative team for direct assurances.

Seriously Microscope? You already had the last word, and you are stating nothing new here. In your previous post you stated "If I am proven wrong I will be the first person to post here and say so. I challenge you to do the same." Well Microscope, I'll happily take that challenge and I look forward to your admission (I wouldn't take such a strong stance and risk my credibility if I was wrong, and there are enough people on this site who know my identity). I would have no reason to make this up. If I was in management, I certainly wouldn't try to convince a group of management haters on an anti-management website; why would I care about any of you if I was management? I tried to get my peer agents some comforting information because I thought they deserved the truth about Operation Castway after everything that we have been through with Fast and Furious and it's aftermath. I am not trying to protect anyone, certainly not anyone from management, but I do hope to protect the integrity of the investigation and maybe salvage perhaps a tiny bit of any possible remaining dignity of ATF. My posts were intended to inform fellow street agents, but based on some of these replies I regret even bothering. I guess we'll have to wait for the truth to emerge, but stop using information from the misinformed. Yes, your sources are indeed misinformed, and again I invite you or them to reach out to me to discuss further offline (and you can feel free to remain anonymous)