Alicia Hope
An accomplice is someone who knowingly, voluntarily, and with common interest, participates in the commission of a crime, and can be charged with the same crime(s) for which the accused will be tried; complicity means association in a wrongful act; principal means anyone involved in committing a crime; an accessory before the fact aids, incites, or abets but is not physically present; an accessory after the fact receives, comforts, relieves, or assists a felon to avoid apprehension and conviction.
Complicity is a concept that can be abused by prosecutors. Only a few basic restrictions exist: (1) the law does not recognize accomplices to any misdemeanor or the crime of treason; (2) an accomplice must normally be physically present during commission of the crime, but advice or words of encouragement beforehand as well as providing material assistance afterwards will create a liability; (3) no one can be convicted on the uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice alone; and (4) persons giving post-crime aid are punished less severely than those furnishing precrime aid.
Case law has ruled the following are examples of accomplice actus reus:
(1) acting as a lookout
(2) providing guns, supplies, or instruments of crime (even under color of financial transaction if seller is aware of purpose)
(3) driving a getaway vehicle
(4) sending the victim to the principal
(5) preventing warnings from reaching the victim (but not merely failing to disclose the occurrence of a crime to authorities)
Based on that standard, the ATF, DOJ and DHS could be charged and tried as accomplices in the murder of Mexican cartel members, innocent bystanders, border agents, Mexican police and ATF agents.
In an effort to bust Mexican drug cartels, the federal agency in charge of regulating the gun market and cracking down on gun crime allowed thousands of guns to enter into Mexico and fall into the hands of criminals, according to a report by CBS News.
Not only WAS THE ATF involved but the "gunwalking" scheme was condoned by the Dept. of Justice as well as Homeland Security! Where's the justice? Where's the security?
These guns could have killed hundreds or even thousands of people. How will we ever know the real numbers? Who's going to investigate? Is the DOJ going to investigate itself?
Are we looking at the problem-reaction-solution paradigm? After all, Nero burned Rome, blamed it on the Christians and then savagely butchered the innocent. The 9/11 false flag attack was blamed on Muslims and they were and are still being butchered with high tech swords. What was the U.S. government's real end game with the "gunwalking" campaign?
The ATF provided material assistance(guns) to criminals and gangs in Mexico and that material assistance led to the murder of border agents and possibly Mexican police!!! Maybe, even innocent bystanders were killed. Who is going to investigate? Shouldn't the families of all of the murdered victims sue the ATF et al for being complicit in such an evil, abhorrent, and irresponsible act?
The government's participation is what creates the liability! If you or I sell a firearm illegally to someone and they go out and kill someone, we would be held accountable! Why don't the same rules apply to the ATF et al?
The ATF whistleblower, John Dodson, told CBS that the strategy to monitor weapons purchased by suspected smugglers instead of seizing them was approved all the way up to the Justice Department and was kept secret from the government of Mexico. The Justice Department—of which ATF is a division—has denied the allegations.
Recent incidents of violence against U.S. Border Patrol agents suggest that intentionally or otherwise, U.S. guns are still falling into the wrong hands. Last month, two U.S. Border Patrol agents were shot in Mexico with an AK-47 smuggled from Texas. One of those agents died. In December, another Border Patrol agent was killed near the Mexico border. Two guns were found at the scene of the killing, both purchased by a suspected gun smuggler who ATF had reportedly been monitoring but had taken no action against. According to the Los Angeles Times and CPI, hundreds of these weapons are still out there!
Rene Jaquez, another ATF agent, corroborates Dodson's claim by saying, "I think this incidence is probably one of the darkest days in ATF's history."
Jaquez is the second sitting ATF agent to come forward and speak out about the controversy.
Jaquez says one of the most difficult things for him is believing that his own agency inadvertently put innocent lives at risk. Jaquez has family - uncles, aunts, father and sister - living in Mexico. "Any one of us could have been shot with one of those guns."
Jaquez says he's left wondering whether runaway violence in Mexico can be partly blamed on the agency tasked with stopping it.
The ATF wasn't working alone on the case known as "Fast and Furious." Documents show ATF had conference calls with "DHS" (Homeland Security). "USMS" (U.S. Marshals) and DEA. An "ICE," or Customs agent, was on ATF's Fast and Furious team. They were advised by an "AUSA," or Assistant U.S. Attorney under the Justice Department.
Of course, POTUS Obama claims that he knew nothing of the program! Ditto for AG Eric Holder!
"Well first of all I did not authorize it. Eric Holder the Attorney General did not authorize it. He's been very clear that our policy is to catch gun runners and put 'em into jail," Mr. Obama said of the controversial ATF operation called "Fast and Furious."
Darren Gil, lead ATF official in Mexico at the time, was told by his superior that the operation was approved even higher than ATF Director Kenneth Melson!
"Is the director aware of this," Gil asked the supervisor. Gil says his supervisor answered "Yes, the director's aware of it. Not only is the director aware of it, D.O.J.'s aware of it... Department of Justice was aware of it."
Gil goes on to say senior Justice official Lanny Breuer and several of his deputies visited Mexico amid the controversy last summer, and spoke to ATF staff generally about a big trafficking case that they claimed was "getting good results." Gil says Melson, ATF's Acting Director, also visited Mexico City. Gil's Deputy Attache and his Analyst questioned Melson about the case that surrounding all the weapons showing up in Mexico. "His response was 'it's a good case, it's still going on,'" recalls Gil, "and we'll close it down as soon as we possibly can."
Obviously, saying that they didn't know the guns would be used to kill is not going to be a valid defense especially when you factor in the point that the guns were given to known murderers!
If this was going to be some sort of twisted attack on the 2nd amendment, it won't work now because the cat is out of the bag thanks to 2 very brave whistleblowers!
"The (Mexican) government's looking at (ATF agents) potentially bringing weapons into their country, which in many cases is an act of war." Gil says by not explaining that ATF agents in Mexico weren't part of Fast and Furious, ATF executives are putting the agents in danger. "They're leaving my guys out in Mexico alone, and they're not doing the right thing."