WASHINGTON (AP) — Two senior Justice Department officials are leaving their jobs, after the release of a report that faulted the agency's handling of a gun-trafficking probe in Arizona.
The probe, called Operation fast and Furious, resulted in hundreds of weapons turning up at crime scenes in the U.S. and Mexico.
The inspector general's report cited misguided strategies, errors in judgment and management failures during the bungled operation. More than a dozen people were referred for possible disciplinary action for their roles in the probe and an earlier investigation that was carried out during the George W. Bush administration.
The report didn't criticize Attorney General Eric Holder, but it said lower-level officials should have briefed him about the investigation much earlier.
One of those criticized in the report, Kenneth Melson, retired upon release of the report. He was the former acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The report said he "made too many assumptions about the case."
And Justice Department career attorney Jason Weinstein has resigned. He was a deputy assistant attorney general in the department's criminal division in Washington. The report said he was in a position to see the similar "inappropriate tactics" used in the two probes.
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APPHOTO WX110: FILE - In this Aug. 13, 2009, file photo, acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson speaks during a news conference in San Antonio. The Justice Department's internal watchdog on Wednesday, Sept. 19, 20012, faulted the agency for misguided strategies, errors in judgment and management failures during a bungled gun-trafficking probe in Arizona that resulted in hundreds of weapons turning up at crime scenes in the U.S. and Mexico. One of those criticized in the report, Melson, who headed that office during the Fast and Furious investigation, retired upon release of the report.(AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) (13 Aug 2009)
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