LEVERAGE: Melson Out at ATF, Moves to Main Justice. The Gunwalker Cover-Up Continues

Acting ATF Director Ken Melson indicated from the start of the Operation Fast and Furious scandal that he had no intention of being the fall guy for Eric Holder's Justice Department. It appears he still retains enough leverage—he knows who authorized Operation Fast and Furious, which the DOJ, DHS, Treasury and White House still refuse to answer—to ensure that he wasn't fired, and was instead just moved closer where his bought silence can be monitored.

Sources say ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson is being moved out of the top job at the Bureau. It's not yet publicly known where he would go, but sources inside the Justice Department believe one option is a transfer to a position at Department of Justice headquarters. The Justice Department had no immediate comment, and did not confirm the move.

Melson's move would be another in a number of high-level personnel shifts, as the Inspector General continues investigating the so-called gunwalker scandal at the Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Thousands of weapons were smuggled to the Sinaloa cartel with U.S. government protection provided by the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, elements of other agencies and the probable involvement if not direction of the Obama White House, and not a soul involved has so much as been fired.

The perps have all be transferred to main Justice, where their silence is all but assured.

This is a blatant cover-up of a RICO-investigation worthy crime perpetrated by the highest levels of government, and it is increasingly obvious that the Obama Administration has every intention of getting away with this without any accountability whatsoever, regardless of the number of lives this operation cost.

Update: Emailed statement from Grassley's office:

"Today's announcement is an admission by the Obama administration that serious mistakes were made in Operation Fast and Furious, and is a step in the right direction that they are continuing to limit any further damage that people involved in this disastrous strategy can do.

"There's a lot of blame to go around. As our investigation moves forward, and we get to the bottom of this policy, I wouldn't be surprised to see more fall out beyond the resignations and new assignments announced today.

"The Justice Department and the ATF have yet to answer a majority of the questions and still must produce many of the documents Congressman Issa and I have asked for. We're looking for a full accounting from the Justice Department as to who knew what and when, so we can be sure that this ill-advised strategy never happens again."

I'd summarize that as "nice try, Barack, but this isn't over yet."