National Rifle Association's CEO Wayne LaPierre says Attorney General Eric Holder should step down for allowing an operation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that involved the sale of guns to suspicious customers with ties to Mexican drug cartels, says Politico. ATF allegedly encouraged gun dealers to sell multiple firearms to known and suspected criminals as part of a sting operation to crack down on gunrunning. Speaking to the NRA convention that concluded in Pittsburgh over the weekend, LaPierre said two assault rifles that the ATF “let walk” were found at the crime scene where a border patrol agent was gunned down in December.
Holder has said he did not authorize the operation. Said LaPierre: “He's the attorney general of the United States of America — the highest law-enforcement officer in our land. Who's in charge? If he didn't know, then who's minding the store? If Holder didn't know, Holder has got to go.” Justice Department spokesman Matt Miller said Holder “takes seriously the concerns that have been raised, and that's why he has asked the inspector general to get to the bottom of it. He has also made it clear to the law enforcement agencies and prosecutors working along the Southwest Border that no one in the Department should allow guns to illegally cross the border into Mexico.”