Kenneth Melson, the acting director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is expected to step down because of a controversial gun-running investigation that allegedly allowed for weapons to be sold to suspected agents of Mexican drug cartels.


According to several sources, including the Boston Herald, a House hearing last week revealed that internal government documents confirmed that Melson was closely involved in overseeing the operation and received weekly briefings for the operation. The operation, which began in the fall of 2009 and was dubbed “Operation Fast and Furious,” was originally engineered to trace and stop the trafficking of illegal guns. Instead, it resulted in thousands of guns being funneled into the hands of Mexican cartels.

Sources say the ATF watched as more than 1,700 AK-47s and other high-powered rifles were dealt from Arizona gun dealers to straw purshasers and finally into Mexico and other border states, where many of them turned up at crime scenes. According to the Herald, documents released by Congress revealed that Melson asked for and received log-in information and a link to an Internet feed so he could watch some of the illegal straw purchases taking place in an Arizona gun store.


Melson has overseen the agency since April of 2009.


In related news, Andrew Traver, who was nominated by President Obama in November to be the permanent director of the ATF, is reportedly flying into Washington  to meet with the Justice Department, may be poised to become the acting director of the ATF. Traver, who has earned the label of being hostile to gun-owners, will face opposition from gun-rights groups and activists should he be asked to step in.