First published 2012
Katie Pavlich investigates Operation Fast and Furious, the ATF gun operation that placed weapons in the hands of Mexican drug cartels. The program resulted in the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, killed with a federally supplied firearm. Pavlich documents how the Justice Department supervised this operation and traces the Obama administration's subsequent cover-up efforts. She examines Attorney General Eric Holder's shifting testimony under oath and reveals documentary evidence that contradicts White House claims of ignorance. The book tracks retaliation against whistleblowers who exposed the operation and explores connections to broader Second Amendment policies. Pavlich argues that Fast and Furious represents a constitutional crisis involving an administration willing to sacrifice lives for ideological objectives. Her investigation reveals the mounting casualties from the operation and examines why officials like Janet Napolitano faced potential perjury charges.
Genres: crime, action, non-fiction, american-history
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: constitutional-crisis, cover-up
Setting: Mexico
Period: 21st-century
224 pages · Hardcover · Regnery Publishing
Content warnings: death, violence