We can only hope...
that this will actually lead to appropriate "legal liabilities" but personally, I doubt that Bloomy will take it as anything more than a "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" and a token slap on the wrist.
U.S. ATTORNEY LETTER TO BLOOMBERG ‘A SIGNIFICANT VICTORY,’ SAYS SAF
For Immediate Release: 2/8/2007
BELLEVUE, WA – A letter to the office of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg from the U.S. Department of Justice scolding the mayor’s infamous 2006 gun sting operation and advising that Bloomberg’s administration could face “potential legal liabilities” over such stings was called a “significant victory” against the Big Apple mayor’s anti-gun antics by the Second Amendment Foundation.
Earlier this week, SAF was advised by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that the agency is investigating Bloomberg’s multi-state sting operation “in order to determine if violations of Federal firearms laws have occurred.”
“This new development,” said SAF founder Alan M. Gottlieb, “adds insult to injury for Bloomberg. We were adamant early on that this vigilante attack on gun dealers by Bloomberg and his posse of private investigators went way beyond his legal authority. Now it appears the Justice Department believes likewise.”
The New York Daily News reported Thursday that Michael Battle, director of the executive office for United States Attorneys at the Department of Justice, sent the letter warning Bloomberg’s administration that it could face “potential legal liabilities” if such sting operations continue. Battle also said the Justice Department will not be filing criminal charges against any of the 15 gun dealers targeted by Bloomberg’s 2006 lawsuits over alleged “straw man” purchases. Such operations lack “proper law enforcement authority,” Battle’s letter stated.
“Bloomberg’s house of cards is starting to crumble,” Gottlieb stated. “This underscores why SAF called upon Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to investigate Bloomberg’s rogue operation last August, and why we were delighted to learn earlier this week that ATF is conducting a thorough investigation of this enterprise.
“It is both sad and revealing,” Gottlieb added, “that more than 150 mayors around the country have been drawn into Bloomberg’s folly by joining his anti-gun mayors’ coalition. That group’s launching pad was this bogus gun sting, which is now imploding. Every one of these city leaders is now linked to this misadventure. These mayors let their anti-gun bias, rather than good sense, lull them into joining and supporting what is becoming a colossal blunder, and now might be a good time to reconsider that participation.”
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nations oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 600,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.
-END-
See the Second Amendment Foundation or, if you'd like to read comments that folks have made (or leave one yourself) visit the Free Republic reprint of the article.
U.S. ATTORNEY LETTER TO BLOOMBERG ‘A SIGNIFICANT VICTORY,’ SAYS SAF
For Immediate Release: 2/8/2007
BELLEVUE, WA – A letter to the office of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg from the U.S. Department of Justice scolding the mayor’s infamous 2006 gun sting operation and advising that Bloomberg’s administration could face “potential legal liabilities” over such stings was called a “significant victory” against the Big Apple mayor’s anti-gun antics by the Second Amendment Foundation.
Earlier this week, SAF was advised by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that the agency is investigating Bloomberg’s multi-state sting operation “in order to determine if violations of Federal firearms laws have occurred.”
“This new development,” said SAF founder Alan M. Gottlieb, “adds insult to injury for Bloomberg. We were adamant early on that this vigilante attack on gun dealers by Bloomberg and his posse of private investigators went way beyond his legal authority. Now it appears the Justice Department believes likewise.”
The New York Daily News reported Thursday that Michael Battle, director of the executive office for United States Attorneys at the Department of Justice, sent the letter warning Bloomberg’s administration that it could face “potential legal liabilities” if such sting operations continue. Battle also said the Justice Department will not be filing criminal charges against any of the 15 gun dealers targeted by Bloomberg’s 2006 lawsuits over alleged “straw man” purchases. Such operations lack “proper law enforcement authority,” Battle’s letter stated.
“Bloomberg’s house of cards is starting to crumble,” Gottlieb stated. “This underscores why SAF called upon Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to investigate Bloomberg’s rogue operation last August, and why we were delighted to learn earlier this week that ATF is conducting a thorough investigation of this enterprise.
“It is both sad and revealing,” Gottlieb added, “that more than 150 mayors around the country have been drawn into Bloomberg’s folly by joining his anti-gun mayors’ coalition. That group’s launching pad was this bogus gun sting, which is now imploding. Every one of these city leaders is now linked to this misadventure. These mayors let their anti-gun bias, rather than good sense, lull them into joining and supporting what is becoming a colossal blunder, and now might be a good time to reconsider that participation.”
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nations oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 600,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.
-END-
See the Second Amendment Foundation or, if you'd like to read comments that folks have made (or leave one yourself) visit the Free Republic reprint of the article.
posted by quidni | 6:38 PM
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