Sen. Rand Paul Still Apparently Waiting for Answers on ATF Monitoring Effort

A month ago, I wrote about how Sen. Rand Paul wanted answers. The ATF was monitoring people making lawful firearm purchases, which is a massive problem that cannot be overstated, and Paul wanted the agency to explain itself.

This should have been a major scandal, maybe half a step below something like Fast & Furious, if only because it hasn’t apparently resulted in arming drug cartels with weapons that are then used to kill innocent people.

But it’s not as far off as some might like to think, either.

Over at our sister site, Townhall, my friend Jeff Charles talked a bit about Paul wanting answers on Monday.

Paul sent a letter to the ATF’s Daniel Driscoll, the agency’s acting director, demanding more information about the program. He noted how the ATF, after accidentally releasing unredacted documents to GOA, tried to stop the organization from publishing the documents related to the program.

Based on limited public information, the NICS Audit Log Review (Monitoring) system appears to allow ATF agents to request monitoring of a target for time frames ranging from 30 to 180 days after providing identifying information and applicable or potential violations of statute. Upon approval, the ATF would receive alert(s) from the FBI using information in its National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The existence of this program, and the ATF’s longstanding push to conceal it from the public, raise questions about its general use and its potential to infringe on Americans’ civil liberties.

The lawmaker requested information on “the number of individuals for whom ATF is requesting or has requested NICS monitoring,” “Records demonstrating the purpose(s) for which each individual has been monitored,” and “Records discussing the legality of NICS monitoring.”

This program is reason # 4,982,128 while the ATF should be abolished. The agency has weaponized its position to infringe on the right to keep and bear arms on numerous occasions — especially under the Biden administration.

I’m in complete agreement with Jeff on this.

The ATF should be abolished, and it’s demonstrated all the reasons it should be. I’ll add, though, that we need legislative reform if we don’t want this popping up somewhere else along the line, since the ATF’s disappearance would just mean some other agency would enforce these laws.

However, let’s note that this was about a month ago when the news dropped. That’s when Paul started asking these hard questions.

Jeff wrote this on Monday, which tells us that between April 15th and today, there have been no answers presented.

Sure, there’s been some upheaval at the ATF this year, but that’s no excuse. A United States senator has demanded answers about the illegal monitoring of law-abiding American citizens engaged in lawful, non-threatening activity. They need to fork those over right the hell away.

The fact that they haven’t is beyond frustrating to me.

While the Bondi-era Department of Justice has been a pleasant surprise in many ways, this cannot be allowed to stand. We deserve answers from the administration. Yes, even if it predated them and they ended it. We deserve to know how long this went on, who was monitored and why, and who gave the go-ahead for an operation like this.

Heads should roll.

If it only happens figuratively, I guess I can learn to accept it.