Operation Fast and Furious: A guide to the botched gun-trafficking sting

How did a flubbed federal law enforcement operation named after a cheesy movie become a high-stakes Washington showdown? Read on

On Jan. 25, 2011, the special agent in chart of ATF Phoenix speaks
(Image credit: AP Photo/Matt York)

If you'd never heard of Operation Fast and Furious until last week, says David Graham at The Atlantic, "you probably don't read much conservative media" or watch Fox News. The failed 2009-2011 "gunwalking" operation has been a hot topic of conversation on the Right since the fatal shooting of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in December 2010, but the mainstream media has largely ignored the issue. Of course, that changed last week when President Obama asserted executive privilege to shield some Fast and Furious documents sought by House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), and Issa's committee voted along party lines to cite Attorney General Eric Holder for contempt of Congress. But what is Operation Fast and Furious, exactly? Here's what you should know:

Briefly, what's the story?

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