cuchulainn
Member
From the Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4958-2003Nov21.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4958-2003Nov21.html
FBI Gets More Time on Gun Buys
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 22, 2003; Page A05
The Justice Department has ordered the FBI to increase scrutiny of suspected terrorists who attempt to purchase guns after discovering that a dozen individuals on the government's main terrorist watch list have bought firearms in the last eight months, according to officials and documents.
Under the new rules, the FBI will have as long as three days to run additional checks on prospective gun purchasers listed on the Violent Gang and Terrorist Organizations File, a database of more than 10,000 names that includes al Qaeda operatives and other militants, according to a memo this week from acting Deputy Attorney General Robert McCallum Jr.
McCallum also indicated in the memo to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III that only one prospective gun purchaser included on the terrorist list had been blocked from buying weapons since March. An FBI official said yesterday that 12 other suspects on the terrorist list were allowed to proceed with their purchases because they were not legally prohibited from buying firearms.
The Washington Post reported earlier this week that a new program alerts FBI counterterrorism agents when suspects on its terrorist watch list attempt to buy guns, but that regulations based on Attorney General John D. Ashcroft's interpretation of the Brady gun-control law prohibit them from obtaining any substantive details if the transaction is approved.
Justice officials say that the gun-control law does not allow the sharing of information on lawful gun purchases, even if it would allow counterterrorism agents to investigate or try to locate people on the terrorist watch list. The agents are, however, allowed to track purchasers who are blocked from buying guns because of felony convictions, arrest warrants or other criteria. Gun-control advocates argue that Ashcroft's interpretation endangers the public.
McCallum's memo, along with a Justice Department letter to Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), does not indicate that there will be any change in the ability of FBI agents to learn details about approved gun transactions by suspected terrorists. But they outline new procedures that will allow investigators more time to make sure the purchase cannot be stopped in other ways.
Lautenberg, who introduced legislation this week to expand the FBI's ability to investigate terrorism suspects who attempt to buy guns, said the new procedures fall short.
"The Justice Department treats it like a game, in which the FBI gets only three days to prove a negative before a terrorist gets to anonymously obtain firearms," Lautenberg said. "Why in the world does the FBI need to fight the Justice Department to find the location of a terrorist suspect who is obtaining weapons?"
The memo and letter do not provide any details about the 12 individuals listed on the terrorist watch list who were able to purchase weapons legally. But they indicate that another suspect on the list tried and failed twice to buy a weapon.
The first attempt was delayed because of a missing detail on a case record, giving authorities time to discover that an arrest warrant was pending. The same person apparently tried to buy a weapon a second time and was denied again.
© Copyright 2003 The Washington Post Company
