Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), said he was "being gamed" by the Obama administration in his investigation into the controversial “Fast and Furious” gun-tracking operation.
"We have information that we have been given by third parties that then was redacted when the administration gave us their version of it. When you put them side-by-side we know we're being gamed and we think the time for games should be up," Issa said on Fox News Tuesday.
Along with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Issa, the chairman of the House Committee on Government and Oversight Reform, has doggedly pursued the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) for the past five months, issuing scores of subpoenas, interviewing dozens of government officials and publicly lambasting President Obama for not being more forthcoming about the "Fast and Furious" operation.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Tuesday that ATF acting director Kenneth Melson will be replaced. Melson is being transferred to the Office of Legal Policy, where he will be a senior adviser.
In a simultaneous move, the U.S. Attorney for Arizona, Dennis Burke, announced his resignation on Tuesday. Burke oversaw the legal aspects of the gun-tracking operation, providing advice to agents involved. Emory Hurley, an assistant U.S. attorney in Arizona, was also reassigned in the fallout.
Issa told Fox News that responsibility for the program reaches higher than the people already reassigned or asked to resign.
"It certainly goes up much higher than the three individuals who were transferred or dismissed ... more importantly those higher up have not yet said how they're going to make sure this doesn't happen again," Issa said.
Issa called for cooperation with the Justice Department going forward. He said he is planning to meet with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to attempt to reach a satisfactory conclusion to the investigation.
Watch Issa's Fox News interview about the ATF investigation here.
