“The United States wins its point whenever justice is done its citizens in the courts.”

Jay, at long last, you've prevailed.  Congratulations!  It's been a tough road for you.

"In the court’s view, the actions of these ATF employees indisputably breached the covenant of good faith and fair dealing."  The Judge said it very well.

Now, if fellow ATF employees treat an agent like this, how do they treat ordinary citizens caught up in their web?  With "good faith and fair dealing"?   How about "Fast & Furious"?  

We must ask ourselves, "How did these ATF employees learn how to breach 'the covenant of good faith and fair dealing'?"  Where did they get that kind of training?  Is that the institutional culture?  Did those ATF employees practice on ordinary citizens before getting rewarded and promoted?

Every time an ATF employee swears to false and misleading information, and misrepresent the law in an affidavit presented to a Magistrate Judge, or give false testimony in court, are they in training for management?

Of course, there are ATF employees with integrity, good judgement, and who are honest.  But it's also clear that too many lack those traits.

Ya gotta love it!

It wasn't enough to be called “Troll”, “stupid”, “evil”, and the “defendant”, but now I'm a "bully", "lonely" and "needing attention", too!

Ya gotta love it!

"Who would have known about a case out there with SA Ortiz?"  Answer:  Anybody who reads it.  duh! 

Does anyone really think they aren't accountable for what they do?  In this day of massive amounts of information on the internet?

"What does posting some part of a testimony have to do with cleaning up ATF?"

OK, you asked:  From the CleanUpATF.org home page:

"Managers, Counsel, Internal Affairs and staff of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (BATFE or "ATF") have repeatedly given false testimony, concealed substantial waste, fraud and abuse, abused their lawful authority, and waged systematic campaigns of reprisal against their own employees that dare to speak out."

Does anyone think that "Managers, Counsel, Internal Affairs and staff" suddenly appear by magic? I think not.  By and large, they come up through the ranks.  And if they "give false testimony, conceal waste, fraud and abuse, abuse their lawful authority and wages systematic campaigns of reprisal" as managers, then they also did that as ordinary employees on their way up - and got promoted.

If ATF is going to be cleaned up, then such behavior should be identified and cleaned up throughout the ranks.  As it applies to retired managers, it also applies to other retired employees.  How many managers responsible for "Fast and Furious" have been allowed to retire?  Does retirement give them a pass?  Let's hope not.

If ATF is going to be cleaned up, then air the linen and CLEAN IT UP!

More food for thought:

Does anyone really think Criminal Defense Attorneys won't search rulings for case law and other useful legal information? 

Any ATF employee giving false testimony or misrepresenting facts or the law in a criminal case can expect a sharp Criminal Defense Attorney to find it – and use it – both in future criminal cases, and in appeals of older cases.

Ya gotta love it!  Is this called an ad hominem attack?  I think I just got flamed!

I responded to Observer’s request and posted some information I found on a public website.  As a result, I was called a “Troll”, “stupid”, “evil”, and the “defendant”….    Hell, if I were the defendant, I would have posted about misdeeds by another ATF employee in the ruling – by name – but didn’t.

I’ve been posting here for years longer than Fedupwrkr.  I try to avoid personal attacks, and I made no personal comment about Ortiz or his credibility because I don’t even know the man.  He may be the most outstanding agent ATF ever had – I wouldn’t know – and I couldn’t care less.

Now, don't shoot the messenger.......

There is no question.

One of the early comments (scroll back to the beginning) praised Senior Special Agent Ortiz (now retired from ATF) as being outstanding and ethical.  Well, this Judge seems to have a far different opinion. 

The quotes were taken directly from the Judge's ruling on a Motion to Suppress the Evidence - which has been published on Leagle.com.

"outstanding"?  "ethical"?   Really?  In a recent ruling by Federal Judge, James A. Parker:

"SA Ortiz's testimony ....... was inconsistent."

".....given SA Ortiz's extensive experience as an ATF agent in the criminal enforcement division, the Court cannot help but find that the misrepresentation was reckless."

"SA Ortiz had an obligation to refrain from making reckless, inaccurate statements....."

"......the Court finds......that this statement was reckless."

"After carefully reviewing the record, the Court concludes that SA Ortiz acted recklessly...."

"......the Court cannot help but find that the misrepresentation was reckless."

"The ATF agents involved in this case have repeatedly overlooked details that affect the accuracy of their statements."

"SA Ortiz's insouciant attitude is troubling to the Court. It demonstrates a disregard for his duty to accurately present the facts to the magistrate judge."