Jack Kurtz/The Arizona Republic
Dennis Burke's resignation comes days after he testified before a Congressional committee about his office's role in the ATF gun-smuggling operation known as "Fast and Furious."
Dennis Burke, the United States Attorney for Arizona since 2009, resigned Tuesday morning.
Burke's resignation, effective immediately, is one of several personnel moves made in the wake of a federal gun-trafficking investigation that put hundreds of rifles and handguns from Arizona into the hands of criminals in Mexico. Burke's office provided legal guidance to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on the flawed initiative called Operation Fast and Furious.
The news comes on the same day as a new acting director was named to oversee the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives following congressional hearings into Fast and Furious, an operation that was aimed at major gun-trafficking networks in the Southwest.
Burke's resignation was announced to his staff Tuesday morning, said former state Attorney General Grant Woods.
"I think Dennis has had more on his plate in two years than anyone that I can ever remember who assumed a top prosecutorial post," Woods said. "If you go in with nothing unusual, you have a full plate. Then you add to that the (Jared) Loughner case, the (Maricopa) County corruption case, the Fast and Furious controversy, all of the border issues and border cases that they've pursued, it's been pretty amazing -- like nothing I've ever seen."
Woods said Burke had "done an excellent job and I think he probably welcomes the chance to take a breather."
Former Arizona Sen. Dennis DeConcini said if the resignation is tied to Fast and Furious, it would be a misguided effort to lay blame on Burke.
"If his resignation is tied to Fast and Furious, it's ridiculous. It would be absolutely outrageous for 'Justice Main' to take it out on Dennis and make him the fall guy," DeConcini said. "It's just typical Washington cronyism. It just shows you how incompetent government can be to save themselves. It appears they screwed up, based on congressional hearings."
Ann Scheel will serve as acting U.S. Attorney for Arizona, under the Vacancies Reform Act and by virtue of her position as first assistant.
In a letter of resignation to President Obama, Burke said:
"The work in every corner of this office - your work - has been significant and impressive. When I first came to this office a decade ago as a line AUSA (Assistant United States Attorney), I knew this was an excellent office and did important work."
Burke added, "My long tenure in public service has been intensely gratifying. It has also been intensely demanding. For me, it is the right time to move on to pursue other aspects of my career and my life and allow the office to move ahead."
Questions about the Fast and Furious program began to emerge in the spring as a member of Congress began pressing ATF officials for answers about an operation that was designed to track small-time gun buyers until the guns reached the hands of major weapons traffickers along the southwestern border.
Instead, ATF agents ended up arresting low-level suspects and nearly 2,000 of the weapons were unaccounted for, with nearly two-thirds of those guns likely in Mexico, according to testimony federal firearms investigators gave to a House committee in June.
Investigators also confirmed that two of the weapons connected to the ATF operations were found at the scene of a December gunbattle near Rio Rico, Ariz., that left Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry dead.
Terry's slaying effectively ended the operation.
Dozens of so-called straw buyers have been arrested, and more than 10,000 guns confiscated. However, the ATF came in for criticism from the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General last year because Project Gun Runner was catching only the straw buyers -- small fish in the smuggling business.
At a news conference in February, the ATF in Phoenix announced that 34 suspects had been indicted and that U.S. agents had seized 375 weapons as part of Operation Fast and Furious. None of those arrested was a significant cartel figure.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has pressed the ATF for two months to disclose details of Project Gun Runner and to justify a policy that allowed weapons into a nation where there were more than 36,000 drug-related murders in four years.
Last month, William McMahon, the head of ATF's Western region, testified that the agency had good intentions when it launched Operation Fast and Furious in 2009. But looking back, there are things ATF would have done differently, he said.
Appearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, McMahon said he was committed to dismantling criminal networks on both sides of the border and that "in our zeal to do so, and in the heat of battle, mistakes were made. And for that I apologize."
Burke is not alone in having his career altered by the fallout from the Fast and Furious investigation.
William Newell, former special agent in charge of the ATF, was headed to work in Mexico as a federal liaison before the controversy erupted and has since been reassigned to a position in Washington, D.C.
McMahon and Special Agent David Voth were also laterally transferred from operational positions and moved into administrative roles, according to the ATF.
Dennis Burke, the United States Attorney for Arizona since 2009, resigned Tuesday morning.
Burke's resignation, effective immediately, is one of several personnel moves made in the wake of a federal gun-trafficking investigation that put hundreds of rifles and handguns from Arizona into the hands of criminals in Mexico. Burke's office provided legal guidance to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on the flawed initiative called Operation Fast and Furious.
The news comes on the same day as a new acting director was named to oversee the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives following congressional hearings into Fast and Furious, an operation that was aimed at major gun-trafficking networks in the Southwest.
Burke's resignation was announced to his staff Tuesday morning, said former state Attorney General Grant Woods.
"I think Dennis has had more on his plate in two years than anyone that I can ever remember who assumed a top prosecutorial post," Woods said. "If you go in with nothing unusual, you have a full plate. Then you add to that the (Jared) Loughner case, the (Maricopa) County corruption case, the Fast and Furious controversy, all of the border issues and border cases that they've pursued, it's been pretty amazing -- like nothing I've ever seen."
Woods said Burke had "done an excellent job and I think he probably welcomes the chance to take a breather."
Former Arizona Sen. Dennis DeConcini said if the resignation is tied to Fast and Furious, it would be a misguided effort to lay blame on Burke.
"If his resignation is tied to Fast and Furious, it's ridiculous. It would be absolutely outrageous for 'Justice Main' to take it out on Dennis and make him the fall guy," DeConcini said. "It's just typical Washington cronyism. It just shows you how incompetent government can be to save themselves. It appears they screwed up, based on congressional hearings."
Ann Scheel will serve as acting U.S. Attorney for Arizona, under the Vacancies Reform Act and by virtue of her position as first assistant.
In a letter of resignation to President Obama, Burke said:
"The work in every corner of this office - your work - has been significant and impressive. When I first came to this office a decade ago as a line AUSA (Assistant United States Attorney), I knew this was an excellent office and did important work."
Burke added, "My long tenure in public service has been intensely gratifying. It has also been intensely demanding. For me, it is the right time to move on to pursue other aspects of my career and my life and allow the office to move ahead."
Questions about the Fast and Furious program began to emerge in the spring as a member of Congress began pressing ATF officials for answers about an operation that was designed to track small-time gun buyers until the guns reached the hands of major weapons traffickers along the southwestern border.
Instead, ATF agents ended up arresting low-level suspects and nearly 2,000 of the weapons were unaccounted for, with nearly two-thirds of those guns likely in Mexico, according to testimony federal firearms investigators gave to a House committee in June.
Investigators also confirmed that two of the weapons connected to the ATF operations were found at the scene of a December gunbattle near Rio Rico, Ariz., that left Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry dead.
Terry's slaying effectively ended the operation.
Dozens of so-called straw buyers have been arrested, and more than 10,000 guns confiscated. However, the ATF came in for criticism from the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General last year because Project Gun Runner was catching only the straw buyers -- small fish in the smuggling business.
At a news conference in February, the ATF in Phoenix announced that 34 suspects had been indicted and that U.S. agents had seized 375 weapons as part of Operation Fast and Furious. None of those arrested was a significant cartel figure.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has pressed the ATF for two months to disclose details of Project Gun Runner and to justify a policy that allowed weapons into a nation where there were more than 36,000 drug-related murders in four years.
Last month, William McMahon, the head of ATF's Western region, testified that the agency had good intentions when it launched Operation Fast and Furious in 2009. But looking back, there are things ATF would have done differently, he said.
Appearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, McMahon said he was committed to dismantling criminal networks on both sides of the border and that "in our zeal to do so, and in the heat of battle, mistakes were made. And for that I apologize."
Burke is not alone in having his career altered by the fallout from the Fast and Furious investigation.
William Newell, former special agent in charge of the ATF, was headed to work in Mexico as a federal liaison before the controversy erupted and has since been reassigned to a position in Washington, D.C.
McMahon and Special Agent David Voth were also laterally transferred from operational positions and moved into administrative roles, according to the ATF.
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