So the choices are: was this deliberately malicious on BATFE's part,

or incompetence?
I saw the word go out on the wire that the ATF had released unredacted emails from the responses they received to their "Shotgun study" (and yes I use the term "study" in the loosest of possible terms).

I downloaded the poorly planned 516 page PDF and immediately searched for a distinct portion of my email address. It was not found. I know I submitted an email to the BATF on this matter, and I also knew that I had received an acknowledgment from the ATF confirming receipt of my email.
Or possibly one of the distractions from Gunwalker they'd like to get going?


Speaking of which, there's a long post at Sipsey Street that's, well, important. Borrowing one part,
It is ironic in the extreme that a report released for the short-term goal of deflecting what in the final analysis was minor criticism from the DOJ's Office of Inspector General will, I believe, prove to be the Gunwalker coverup artists' ultimate downfall. For this report is THE "outline for Gunwalker hearing questions."

Project Gunrunner existed before the Obama administration took power. But the executive summary of this internal report makes plain why and when Gunrunner became Gunwalker.

In response to the increased trafficking of firearms from the United States to Mexico, ATF developed Project Gunrunner, a firearms trafficking and firearms-related border violence strategy designed to deny drug trafficking organizations access to U.S. firearms. Initially implemented in our four primary Southwest border field divisions, Project Gunrunner has evolved into a national strategy as we have seen Mexican cartels reach further into the interior of the United States to acquire firearms in support of their lucrative drug trafficking operations.

It is important to note that this revised strategy does not replace Project Gunrunner. It is intended to complement Project Gunrunner and where appropriate clarify and expand Gunrunner capabilities and tactics. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.)

This document is not intended to provide detailed guidance concerning how to conduct cross border trafficking investigations; but rather is intended to be used by ATF personnel to ensure that investigative activity aligns with ATF strategic goals. Personnel should refer to ATF orders and publications, such as the recently revised Firearms Trafficking Guide, as well as training provided by the Office of Training and Professional Development for specific tactical and investigative guidance.

Since 2006, there has been a significant increase in drug and firearms-related violence in Mexico and increasingly along our Southwest border. Governments on both sides of the border have begun to view the evolution of cartel inspired violence in terms of criminal activity that increasingly threatens the stability of the Mexican state. Impacting this trend along our Southwest border, particularly in the post-9/11 world, requires new energy, vision and creativity. Over the past few years the White House, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security and even the U.S. Northern Command have developed various strategies and policies designed to leverage the full capabilities of the U.S. Government in this effort. It is essential that our efforts support the strategies and policies of the President and the Attorney General and where possible, complement the strategies of other agencies. (Emphasis supplied, MBV.

Read those last three sentences again. "It is essential that our efforts support the strategies and policies of the President and the Attorney General and where possible, complement the strategies of other agencies."

Whatever happened in the Gunwalker scandal, the ATF thought it was dancing to its political master's tune.
From near the end:
Here we have the entire point of the White House policymakers when they envisioned this back in early 2009. Always, always, they have coveted another "Assault Weapons" Ban and a "Gun Show Loophole" law. Their appetite was politically unattainable. The Obamanoids needed a crisis to justify their conspiracy to subvert the Second Amendment. So they set the ATF the task of aggravating a bad situation into a more bloody crisis that could be exploited, and gave them the additional task of documenting the body count as they did so, attempting to make their case that it was American civilian market firearms that were being used to do all the killing.

After all, what could go wrong? The ATF controlled all the statistics coming out of E-Traces from Mexico, right? What could go wrong? Who could upset that plan? Courageous whistleblowers like John Dodson, that's who. Absent the whistleblowers this bloody conspiracy would still be kicking along, bolstering the demands for law-abiding American firearm owners to give up more of their liberty in the "public good."