Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told lawmakers Thursday that she had not been notified by the Justice Department about a botched, international gun-tracking program has been linked to the death of a Border Patrol agent.
Appearing before the House Foreign Affairs committee, Clinton was questioned by Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) about the State Department’s involvement in the controversial Fast and Furious operation that has triggered hearings on Capitol Hill.
Mack asked Clinton if State had issued “the Justice Department a license or a written waiver in order to allow for the transfer of thousands of weapons across the U.S.-Mexico border?”
The secretary testified that State had “no record of any request for coordination. We have no record of any kind of notice or heads up.”
“My recollection is that I heard about it from the press,” Clinton added.
Claiming that it was the first time she had been asked that question, Clinton said that she had seen “no evidence” that such a waiver was granted and promised to investigate the matter further.
The Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives operation oversaw the sale of thousands of guns to known and suspected straw buyers for Mexican drug cartels. Two of the firearms were later found at the murder scene of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.
Lawmakers also questioned whether the shooting death of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata in Texas is linked to the program.
House Republicans have intensified their inquiry into the operation.
On Wednesday, Republicans blasted Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano during a hearing before the Judiciary Committee when she testified that she had not met with Attorney General Eric Holder about the Fast and Furious operation.
“For you to have two dead agents and to have never had a conversation with Eric Holder about Fast and Furious and about this is totally unacceptable,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah).
