Former Ariz. U.S. Attorney Admits Leaking 'Fast And Furious' Memo

Former Arizona U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke came forward Tuesday to take responsibility for his role in leaking a memo and talking points that cast aspersions on a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent who had blown the whistle to Congress about a botched gun-trafficking operation.

Burke, who left the Justice Department in August as congressional scrutiny over Operation Fast and Furious intensified, acknowledged his actions on the same day Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, pressed the attorney general about who "smeared" agent John Dodson. Grassley said the leak may have violated the Privacy Act and run afoul from repeated warnings from lawmakers not to go after whistleblowers at ATF.

Chuck Rosenberg, a lawyer for Burke, told NPR that "Dennis regrets his role in disclosing the memo but he's a stand-up guy and is willing to take responsibility for what he did. It was absolutely not Dennis's intent to retaliate against Special Agent Dodson or anyone else for the information they provided Congress."

Rosenberg added that Burke has been "cooperating fully with the Department of Justice and with the Congress and will continue to do so."

Burke disclosed his role in a letter to Acting Inspector General Cynthia Schnedar on Tuesday afternoon. The letter, signed by his attorneys, said that Burke got the sense a reporter had already become aware of a memo about Dodson and that Burke wanted "to give context to information the reporter already had." The attorneys wrote that because topics in the memo involved closed investigations, the document "was not subject to any limitations on disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act."

It's not clear who if anyone else at the Justice Department took part in sharing the information with reporters. An Inspector General investigation into the leak was first reported by NPR in July.

The Justice Department Inspector General and ethics watchdogs at the Office of Professional Responsibility are investigating the gun-trafficking operation, as is the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has called Attorney General Eric Holder to testify Dec. 8.

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