The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Perez reports that the Justice Department Inspector General’s probe of the botched ATF investigation known as Fast and Furious has led to a criminal investigation into the accidental disclosure of court-sealed wiretap applications.
Perez reports that Joshua Levy, a lawyer for an ATF supervisor who oversaw the Arizona-based operation, “inadvertently included court-sealed material in a batch of documents he turned over to the congressional investigators.” Congressional staffers reportedly told Levy of his error but declined to return the documents.
The mistaken disclosure stands in stark contrast to Rep. Darrell Issa’s account of how the Oversight Committee received sealed court documents. He said earlier this month that the documents came from “whistle-blowers that are tired of your stonewalling.” Issa claims the documents show that senior Justice Department officials were aware of the “gunwalking” tactics being used, an assertion disputed by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and Attorney General Eric Holder, who is facing a contempt vote this afternoon.
An Issa spokeswoman did not immediately respond to request for comment.
