Harris-led office, ATF stonewalling probe into 'collusion' with anti-gun group lawsuit: House Oversight chair
The White House anti-gun violence office "overseen" by VP Harris may have focused less on gun crimes and more on targeting a legal gun maker, a House Republican charges.
Vice President Kamala Harris is campaigning on what she characterizes as a record of a tough former prosecutor. But a White House office she has "overseen" may have focused less on gun crimes and more on targeting a legal gun manufacturer.
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee says the Biden-Harris administration is stonewalling an investigation into potential "collusion" with a gun control group founded by billionaire former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to boost Chicago’s lawsuit against Glock Inc.
Since June, neither the White House nor the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, better known as the ATF, has responded to multiple inquiries from the committee.
The ATF missed its most recent deadline to respond to the committee on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
"The American people should be very concerned that, rather than prosecuting criminals, the Biden-Harris White House is colluding with anti-Second Amendment groups, and rather than responding to serious congressional requests with transparency, the White House is choosing to not comply with our request," Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital.
The committee has been investigating the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention's communications with the Everytown for Gun Safety regarding a lawsuit by the city of Chicago against Glock, a firearms manufacturer.
The controversy could also play into the presidential race.
In September 2023, a White House press release announced, "The new Office of Gun Violence Prevention will be overseen by Vice President Harris, who has been a key leader in the Biden-Harris Administration’s effort to end our nation’s gun violence epidemic." Biden named Stefanie Feldman director of the office.
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"The White House’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention, overseen by Vice President Harris, is stonewalling the Oversight Committee’s investigation into potential collusion by White House officials with anti-Second Amendment groups despite our multiple requests," Comer continued.
Neither the White House nor the ATF responded to multiple inquiries from Fox News Digital for this story.
In June, Comer wrote to Dettelbach and Feldman to inquire about a case in which the administration was communicating with the Bloomberg-founded Everytown for Gun Safety, which was providing legal assistance to the city of Chicago for its lawsuit against Glock, a firearms manufacturer.
Then, in mid-August, Comer wrote to ATF Director Steven Dettelbach after the committee learned that the ATF had used encrypted apps and text messages to communicate with officials in the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
"The committee has also failed to receive documents requested from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives related to its communication with the White House," Comer said. "We are not going to allow the White House to get away with ignoring these requests and will continue to ensure accountability."
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Chicago sued Glock in Cook County Circuit Court, attempting to restrict alterations that can happen with the guns after they are sold. The illegal alterations happened after the sale of the guns, but the plaintiff contends the company willfully sold pistols that can be converted into fully automatic weapons. Criminals use a piece called an auto sear to convert the weapon. The lawsuit asserts that Glock turned a blind eye to the alterations that criminals make.
The White House met with representatives from Glock and requested the company change its pistol designs, the Oversight Committee found.
Chicago filed the lawsuit in March. That same day, Everytown for Gun Safety President John Feinblatt posted on X: "Federal officials recently contacted Glock to discuss implementing new ways to modify Glock pistols to make it harder for Glock switches to be installed. Rather than help, Glock falsely insisted there is nothing they can do."
In a June 14 letter to Feldman, the director of the White House office on guns, Comer wrote, "Because this was a private meeting between Glock and the White House, Mr. Feinblatt seemed to have inside access to the White House meeting which raises questions about collusion with your Office."
Comer asked for "communications between any individual at the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Everytown for Gun Safety, and Everytown Law" related to Glock and Chicago.
In a June letter to the ATF director, Comer noted that Glock firearms are popular among both ATF agents and the Chicago Police Department.
"By this logic, the government could accuse nearly any manufacturer of liability for illegal alteration or misuse of their products," Comer wrote.
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"The committee has learned that agents within your own agency, as well as the Chicago Police Department (and an estimated 65 percent of law enforcement agencies across the country), carry Glocks as their primary sidearm," Comer’s letter to the ATF director continued. "One of the reasons Glocks are appealing to law enforcement is their design, which has garnered a reputation as one of the most reliable handguns available."
The city of Chicago, Everytown for Gun Safety and Glock Inc. did not respond to inquiries for this story.
In July, Chicago and Everytown requested dismissal of the original complaint, then filed an expanded complaint that included Glock-related companies and two gun stores.
