{"id":2026079,"date":"2023-09-08T16:13:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T20:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/matt-gaetz-accuses-atf-of-violating-federal-law-intimidating-congressional-witnesses\/"},"modified":"2023-09-08T16:15:55","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T20:15:55","slug":"matt-gaetz-accuses-atf-of-violating-federal-law-intimidating-congressional-witnesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/matt-gaetz-accuses-atf-of-violating-federal-law-intimidating-congressional-witnesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Gaetz alleges ATF violated federal law, intimidated witnesses."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmatt-gaetz-accuses-atf-of-violating-federal-law-intimidating-congressional-witnesses%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2026079&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Who Watches the Watchmen? Matt\u200b Gaetz Takes \u200bon ATF<\/h2>\n<p>There is a question that dates back to the Roman Empire which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/matt-gaetz-accuses-atf-of-violating-federal-law-intimidating-congressional-witnesses\/\" title=\"Matt Gaetz alleges ATF violated federal law, intimidated witnesses.\">remains \u2063relevant\u2063 today<\/a>. The original Latin quote is now often translated,\u200c \u201cWho watches \u2062the watchmen?\u201d\u2062 It\u2019s\u2063 a reminder that even law enforcement\u200b needs consistent\u200c oversight to\u2064 prevent \u2063corruption.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s become clear that in the\u200d United States, our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/evidence-mounts-that-capitol-breach-was-pre-planned-eroding-incitement-allegation-in-trump-impeachment-trial\/\" title=\"Evidence Mounts that Capitol Breach Was Pre-Planned, Eroding Incitement Allegation in Trump Impeachment Trial\">federal law enforcement agencies<\/a> no longer pursue justice, but act\u200d as the muscle for political racketeers. As the government abuses its power, who\u2062 is there to watch \u200dthe \u2064watchmen now?<\/p>\n<p>Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of \u200dFlorida is\u2064 one person who\u2062 not\u200c only recognizes \u2064that \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dhs-identifies-311-child-victims-of-sexual-exploitation\/\" title=\"DHS finds 311 child victims of sexual exploitation.\">law \u200benforcement agencies<\/a> are committing crimes, he is actually doing something about it. In \u200ca letter, Gaetz confronted the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms\u2063 and Explosives about alleged\u200d retaliatory actions taken against a witness who testified before\u2062 Congress regarding ATF misconduct. Gaetz is\u2064 demanding answers from ATF Director \u200cSteven Dettelbach that could expose\u2063 illegal actions by the \u2064AFT.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/2nd-amendment\/2023\/09\/07\/exclusive-rep-matt-gaetz-blasts-atf-allegedly-retaliating-against-congressional-witness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Breitbart News<\/a> \u2064reported the person targeted by the ATF was \u200cChris Smith of Gulf Coast Gun in Florida, a constituent of \u200bGaetz. \u201cATF\u2019s \u200bvisit to Smith\u2019s business came after Smith provided testimony\u200c at Gaetz\u2019s \u2064\u2018Field Hearing on \u2062the Weaponization of\u2063 the Bureau\u2063 of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and \u2062Explosives,\u2019\u201d the outlet reported.<\/p>\n<p>Gaetz and Republican Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/op-ed-marjorie-taylor-greene-exactly-middle-america-needs-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Marjorie Taylor\u2063 Greene<\/a> of Georgia led the <a href=\"https:\/\/gaetz.house.gov\/media\/videos\/live-fl-01-congressman-matt-gaetz-presents-atf-accountability-field-hearing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Field Hearing<\/a> on\u2064 June 26.<\/p>\n<p>In \u200ba Thursday post on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/people-who-trash-their-family-in-public-cant-be-trusted\/\" title=\"Don't trust those who publicly criticize their own family.\">social\u200d media platform<\/a> X, formerly known as Twitter, Gaetz described the\u200c ATF\u2019s apparent acts of revenge \u200bagainst\u2064 Smith.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Yesterday, I was informed of retaliation and harassment by <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ATFHQ?\">@ATFHQ<\/a> \u2062agents\u200b against congressional witness Chris Smith, owner of Gulf Coast \u2064Gun in Milton, Florida.<\/p>\n<p>He testified at a congressional field hearing \u2064I hosted on the weaponization of the ATF and its heightened targeting of\u2026 \u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SP2Ybj8r1f\">pic.twitter.com\/SP2Ybj8r1f<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rep. Matt Gaetz\u2062 (@RepMattGaetz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepMattGaetz\/status\/1699859227085271120?\">September\u2063 7, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cIn an alleged \u200cviolation of federal law, ATF agents showed up at his business to aggressively \u200daudit and harass him over a license he has\u2062 only held for six months and\u200c has yet to use. Because Mr. Smith has not \u200cyet used the license, the agents had nothing to inspect and had no choice but to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition, Gaetz also noted \u200bthe \u2063ATF made an unjustified\u2062 visit to the home of \u200dthe \u200dgun store\u2019s manager,\u200d and sent him \u2063an ominous message:\u200c \u201cDon\u2019t worry, we know where you \u200bwork.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gaetz\u2019s allegation is the ATF broke federal law by \u2064doing multiple inspections on a\u200c Congressional witness. In his letter \u2062to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/bidens-atf-director-admits-not-expert-firearms-tobacco-explosives\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dettelbach<\/a>, Gaetz cites\u200c the Firearm Owners Protection Act of\u200d 1986. This legislation states ATF \u200dcompliance inspections are to take place \u201cnot more than once during any twelve-month period.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In his <a href=\"https:\/\/gaetz.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/gaetz.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/atf-letter.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">letter<\/a>, Gaetz noted \u201cThe ATF \u200chad \u2064previously audited Chris\u2019 retail license within the last year, and it follows that given the ATF\u2062 is\u200b forbidden\u2062 from auditing the\u200d same\u2062 business twice in one year, the only excuse the ATF had to harass Chris \u200bfurther was\u2062 to audit a new, unused manufacturer\u2019s license.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The letter provided\u2063 a list of six questions to which Gaetz wanted \u200canswers,\u200b including, \u201cWho at the ATF made the decision to audit the unused license\u200d of a congressional whistleblower after giving his testimony?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another query \u2063was, \u201cWhat rules, regulations, \u2062or other agency documents does the \u2064ATF rely upon for its apparent position that multiple licenses for a single licensee\u2062 subjects the \u2064licensee \u200bto multiple warrantless \u200cinspections within a \u200b12-month \u200bperiod? Please provide \u2064those documents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With the way the federal government \u2064has acted\u200c in recent\u2062 years, it will\u2062 be\u2063 surprising if Gaetz receives any straightforward answers\u200b to his legitimate questions.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Gaetz is at least trying to create accountability. Using his platform in Congress to challenge\u2062 corrupted entities, ranging\u2062 from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/matt-gaetz-introduces-bill-shut-uspss-covert-spy-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">U.S. Postal Service<\/a> to \u2064the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/matt-gaetz-humiliates-fbi-director-testimony-house-judiciary-committee-hearing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FBI<\/a>, Gaetz \u2064should get credit for his efforts to drain the swamp in the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n<p>Gaetz\u2019s attacks on the\u200d swamp have \u2062led to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/matt-gaetz-cleared-doj-officially-decides-not-charge-congressman-investigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">retaliation<\/a> against him as well. \u200cGaetz\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wear-armor-god-matt-gaetz-credits-faith-guided-dark-times\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">faith-based<\/a> response was the \u2062sort \u2064of thing that could probably\u2064 only\u200c make his opponents\u200b hate him more.<\/p>\n<p>The issues Gaetz focuses on\u200c show that he gets it. The bureaucracy needs to be held accountable. It should never be used as \u2062a weapon\u2063 to\u2062 go \u2062after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/archives-lawyer-center-trump-raid-previously-targeted-another-republican-president\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">political<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/bidens-doj-threatening-lock-peaceful-pro-life-protesters-prison-11-years\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">issue-based<\/a> opponents.<\/p>\n<p>Gaetz is watching\u200b the watchmen, and trying to make them answer to\u2062 the American people.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/matt-gaetz-accuses-atf-violating-federal-law-intimidating-congressional-witnesses\/\">Matt Gaetz\u2062 Accuses\u200c ATF of Violating \u200cFederal Law, Intimidating Congressional \u2063Witnesses<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\">The Western Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There&#8217;s an age-old question from the Roman Empire that still holds significance today: &#8220;Who watches the watchmen?&#8221; This Latin phrase emphasizes the necessity of ongoing supervision to curb corruption within law enforcement. In the United States, it has become evident that federal law enforcement agencies lack this essential oversight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2035,"featured_media":2026080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2026079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2026079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2035"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2026079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2026079\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2026080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2026079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2026079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2026079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}