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Terry family: Prosecution ‘moving forward,’ but Fast and Furious accountability still stalled

Matthew Boyle Investigative Reporter
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The family members of slain Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry said on Monday that they are pleased Attorney General Eric Holder unsealed the indictments of his accused killers, but pressed Holder to release all Operation Fast and Furious documents requested by congressional investigators.

“Today’s developments certainly mean that the criminal prosecution of Brian Terry’s killers is moving forward,” Terry family attorney Patrick McGroder said in a statement. “However, the accountability aspect of Operation Fast and Furious, the flawed ATF/DOJ gun trafficking investigation that put weapons into the hands of the men that killed Brian Terry, remains stalled.”

“The Terry family once again asks that the attorney general and the Department of Justice comply with the request for documents made by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee so that all Americans can know who approved of the operation in order that those individuals can be held accountable for their decisions,” McGroder added. “Agent Terry died as a hero protecting this country; he and his family rightly deserve a full and thorough explanation of how Operation Fast and Furious came to be.”

Robert Heyer, Brian Terry’s cousin and the chairman of the Brian Terry Foundation, said that “it has been a difficult 18 months for the family since Brian Terry was murdered in December of 2010, and today’s announcement provides hope that justice will eventually be served.”

“The Terry family would like to thank U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy and her team of prosecutors, along with the special agents of the FBI’s Tucson Office and the Mexico City legal attaché, who have continued to pursue leads in the murder case that ultimately led to the additional indictments of the four fugitive defendants,” Heyer said. “The Terry family would also like to thank the government of Mexico for their assistance in the investigation. It is the family’s hope that the unsealing of details in the case, the identification of the four fugitives and the issuance of reward monies will lead to the eventual capture of all individuals responsible for the murder of Agent Terry.”

Holder, who is in criminal and civil contempt of Congress, is offering a $1 million reward to anyone who helps the FBI with “information leading to the arrest of [the] four fugitives.” The fifth person charged with Terry’s killing — and a sixth who was connected with that crime but has already been charged with a lesser crime — have been in custody since December 2010.

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