Ken Melson, the acting deputy director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, will announce later today that he’s stepping down as the head of ATF amidst probes of a controversial anti-gun trafficking program, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Melson was expected to share the news in a conference call with supervisors of the bureau’s offices at 11:30 am, the newspaper said.
As head of ATF, Melson oversaw the Fast and Furious scandal, an effort intended to curve gun trafficking on the Mexican border. Many guns that were allowed to “walk” ended up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels.
Fast and Furious and Project Gunrunner have been under investigation by the Justice Department’s Inspector General and the House Oversight Committee headed up by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA). A Justice Department spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. More background on the Fast and Furious scandal here.
