announce federal charges against a texas man i would legibly purchased and resold multiple firearms and have been linked to homicide, aggravated assault and drug trafficking in the u.s. and canada by the attorney general also support for the bipartisan gum proposal that was negotiated in the senate. >> good afternoon. i am joined today by a tip deputy director richardson. u.s. attorney for the northern district of texas, chad meacham, atf special agent in charge, jack. atf dallas task force officer lance. the justice department is leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to protect communities from violent crime and the gun violence that often drives it. as part of the departmentwide anti- violent crime strategy we launch last year, we are marshaling the resources of every one of our u.s. attorneys offices, law enforcement agencies, grantmaking entities and other components to work in partnership with state and local law enforcement to disrupt violent crime. we are cracking down on the criminal drug trafficking pipelines that flood our communities with illegal drugs. we've set up strike forces to disrupt those networks from start to finish. for more ever illegal guns originate to wherever they are used to commit violent crimes. and we have instructed our federal prosecutors and law enforcement agents to prioritize prosecutions of those who are responsible for the greatest gun violence. those include repeat offenders who are the major drivers of violent crime. they also include those who illegally traffic firearms and those who act as purchasers. the case we are announcing today is just one example of those efforts. today the justice department is announcing an indictment in the northern district of texas charging an individual with illegally dealing in firearms. law enforcement ultimately immediately recover those guns in multiple cities in texas, and baltimore, maryland and in canada. the defendant was arrested last friday, june 10. has been charged with one count of dealing in firearms without a license and three counts of making false statements during the purchase of a firearm. the indictment charges that the defendant purchased at least 92 firearm spread primarily handguns from federally licensed firearms dealers. it alleges 75 of those of firearms were purchased from a single dealer in the span of just six months. that dealer has relinquished its federal firearms license to atf. the indictment also states law enforcement required -- recovered 16 of the firearms in the incidents including homicide, aggravated assault, and drug trafficking. almost all of those guns were recovered incidents occurring within one year of purchase. at least one of those guns was recovered by law enforcement seven days, just one week after it was bought. data from atf national integrated ballistics information network, showed the firearms the defendant allegedly purchased were linked to multiple shootings in the dallas-fort worth area. one of the firearms originally purchased by the defendant was linked to two separate aggravated assaults and one incident of unlawfully carrying of a firearm. the incident also -- the indictment also charges that three separate times over a three month period last year the defendant falsely stated she will federal firearms licensee that he was the actual transfer and buyer of the firearms. when in fact he was not. those of firearms include a taurus 9-millimeter pistol, a glock 9 millimeters pistol. and that glock 40 caliber pistol. investigation is ongoing. i want to thank and recognize the prosecutors and law enforcement teams across the department whose exceptional work resulted in this indictment. including u.s. attorney's office the northern district of texas. an atf dallas field division. as i said, this case is just one example of the efforts the justice department is taking to protect our communities from violent crime from the illegal gun trafficking that often drives it. just last month in the southern district of new york we charge a couple who allege purchases 68 guns as part of an interstate gun trafficking conspiracy heard earlier this year in the central district of california we charge an individual with illegally selling 89 firearms including 53 ghost guns as well as nearly 16 pounds of methamphetamine. earlier this year the district of connecticut we charge an individual who purchase at least 18 firearms in georgia and who had others purchased even more on his behalf. he then illegally provided them to individuals in connecticut. some of those firearms ended up in the hands of gang members. also this year end the district of maryland we charge for individuals after they allegedly sold an undercover officer 24 handguns including 20 ghost guns as well as confirmed and suspected machine gun conversion devices, several of which have been 3d printed. and in april of this year, i announce superseding indictment charging 12 individuals with conspiracy to illegally traffic over 90 guns across state lines into the city of chicago. in that case the traffic guns were linked to a mass shooting and other shootings in the chicago area in which multiple people were injured and several killed. as these examples make very clear, if you put illegal guns on our streets or into the hands of violent offenders, the justice department will spare nor no resource to hold you accountable. the justice department is committing to do our part to end the plague of gun violence. we strongly support congresses efforts to do so as well. in recent weeks, mass shooting after mass shooting has taken the lives of children in their classrooms, beloved community members during their grocery shopping, and worshipers at gathering at their church. so, as her agents and prosecutors works get crime "guns out" of our communities we are also committed to doing everything we can to support the bipartisan gun safety negotiations that are taking place in congress as we speak. finally, the case we announced today illustrates the critical role that atf plays in battling gun violence and saving lives. atf needs permanent leadership to continue carrying on that fight. and we urge the senate to ask what you can from the president's nominee to serve as director of atf. our agents and atf critical mission deserve nothing less. i'm now pleased at how the program over to the united states attorney chad meacham. >> thank you mr. attorney general. i am chad the united states attorney for the northern district of texas and i'm glad to be here with you all today. i knelt many of you have been shaken by the surge of gun crime across this country especially those crimes committed by people the system is already deemed dangerous. convicted felons, border targets and those with adjudicated mental health issues. criminals cannot commit gun crime without access to guns for the second memo protects the rights of law-abiding citizens but not prohibited persons ignore those who arm them. the u.s. attorney's office, atf dallas and the entire department of justice is working our level best to keep guns away from dangerous offenders before they can put your finger too. as jennifer garland just indicted a firearms dealer julie purchased almost 100 handguns many of which have turned up on the streets. the investigation indicates that one was recovered following up homicide in fort worth texas just 55 days after purchase. another was used during an assault near dallas. only 78 days after purchase. yet a third was left loaded and a vehicle with a young child just a 42 days after purchase. sixteen of the guns mr. hackworth originally purchased had been recovered incidents and crimes not involving him across the united states and in canada. most within a year purchase. the investigation indicates some had been used in more than one crime. as charge in the indictment, he had obtained guns from federally licensed firearms dealers falsely identified himself on atf forms is the actual transferee and then turned around and illegally provided them to others. federal law does not allow allege profiteers to engage in the business of doing firearms, devoting time and effort to obtaining and reselling guns for monetary gain without a license. when an unlicensed dealer purchases guns for others he allows the actual recipients to bypass background checks. aware or not of the recipients pass, and unlicensed dealer may well handle over guns to some of society's most dangerous individuals. prohibited persons like drug dealers, human traffickers, even murderers. selling to customers who could not pass background checks allows guns to be used in real crimes against real victims. people whose lives may never be the same. before i turn the podium over to my colleague from atf, i want to thank one more person to investigate or prosecute for the law enforcement agents literally had to work multiple cases backwards before the identity of someone becomes even known. you could only imagine the kind of dedication it takes to run each purchase and take all of that evidence and bring up the charge but i think prosecution team for their efforts. we might never know how many lives we say by following this allegedly illegal drug trafficking. next the podium atf special agent in charge and dallas jeff. >> thank you chad, general garland. hello good afternoon. i am the special agent in charge of atf dallas division. the bureau of alcohol tobacco fire explosives as a lead investigation illegal firearms trafficking, dells field dimension investigates these crimes in north texas, oklahoma and southern new mexico. atf is a sole agency in the knights is authorized to trace firearms for law enforcement. atf traced more than half a million crime guns nationwide in fy 21 part over the past three years the pattern emerged firearms were recovered throughout the united states and canada. those firearms were investigated and traced many had a single commonality. as the indictment charges have been purchased by hackworth. nine firearms in the dallas and were traced back to the ledge purchased by hackworth. another firearm recovered in longview texas was traced back to the ledge purchased by hackworth. additional fire recovery in baltimore was back to an alleged purchase. credibly were also traced back to an alleged purchase by hackworth. special agent the dallas area federal firearms licensees to cover the extent that purchase the indictment charges 20,192,021 hackworth purchase at least 92 firearms throughout the area. there aggravated assault homicide and drug trafficking illegal arms traffic is not a victimless crime. there are real consequences would individuals illegally engage the business of buying and selling firearms were atf will use all resources to truth strategically target identify legal firearm sales trafficking patterns and sources of crime guns. entropy legal flow fire arms to felons, and all persons who are otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law. our strategy is to impact violent crime in our communities to comprehensive pretty strive to identify not only those who commit violence throughout our neighborhoods, also those who provide tools to do so. this investigation is a prime example of us leveraging technology and partnerships to do just that. this is not just a job to us. we live in the same communities being ravaged by violent crime across the country. it is our calling to make communities safer. you can rest assured we will stop our pursuit of those just throughout our communities, thank you very much for your time. >> thank you, can you say this was part of a particular pattern this particular buyer in this in gun dealer just one entrepreneurial gun traffic. why hasn't the gun seller been charge? what's on the first question the charges are at they are there included in the indictment we don't charge anything more. but this is an ongoing investigation for the second question i will ask the u.s. attorney. >> with regard to the dealer that's mentioned in particular that person has surrendered his license to sell firearms legally can no longer legally sell firearms in the united states. as general garland just said the investigation continues. but that is where we are at the stage. >> you guys just outlined how difficult it was to make a case like this for the senate riesling announced a deal for new legislation. the things it's not in there is any standalone statute that might go through some of this conduct. the attorney general, anyone on the states can you address the need for something like that would make the work a lot easier to go after these people who were doing these types of crimes? secondly, for you attorney general,. [inaudible] vigorously to the second one. others offered at the first question. the answer is there are a lot of things congress can do that will help fight the scourge of gun crime. but we do think the framework i read about this morning with respect to the bipartisan negotiations will be meaningful progress in that direction. enough your second question. >> i wanted to ask you whether you you have had a chance to look at the hearings or watch the hearing on capitol hill on the january 6 by the generous six committee. and if you have learned anything perhaps that could be useful in the justice department? >> i am watching and i will be watching all of the hearings. although i may not be able to watch all of it live. but i will be sure i'm watching all of it. and i can assure you the januare watching all the hearings as well. i will now count as your third question, i am not going to be able to give you an idea of my own personal responses to this or evidence coming out. want to explain a little bit more although i did start explaining a little bit more the last time we were altogether two weeks ago or so at the press conference. the justice department's long-standing position is we do not comment on an ongoing investigation. we do that both for the viability of our investigations and because it's the right thing to do with respect to the civil liberties the people under investigation. slightly more expansive, we have three reasons are coequal. one is that our investigations generally proceed quietly and in secret that we do not tell witnesses where we are. we do not want them to know. we want truthful answers as we approach. want to be able to do our subpoenas and search warrants without any risk. eventually that information comes out it comes out in the form of our search warrant affidavits comes out in our orders, comes out in the pleadings and eventually their charges. but for our investigations to proceed an efficient way we have learned over many, many years this is the way our investigation should go. secondly, this is what protects us civil liberties of people have not been charge. we don't impugn people until we actually charge them. this is part of the rule of law in america. and third there are people who we have a charge as you all know we have charge over eight and people knelt in connection with generous six. some of them have pled others are facing proceedings. for us to comment about evidence some of which regards them some of which regards others could affect their cases and could affect our ability to proceed in an effective way. that is the reason. it is the reason this is been the long-standing position of the justice department. >> attorney general not speak about a specific investigation, there vent open questions with regard to office of legal counselor and elsewhere in the justice department that is not public, that would limit prosecutors ability to pursue obstruction or conspiracy charges against people at the highest levels of this government or previous a government. what can you say about the existence of legal interpretations in that regard question requests at this point the investigation is proceeding current effects of law. we are not obstructed from continuing our investigation in any way. and we will continue to do that. there's nothing within the office of legal counsel that prevents us from doing an investigation for think most things you are referring to are well-known anyway. there is nothing coming in the way of our investigation. we are proceeding with full urgency with respect. as i have said many times before to hold all perpetrators were criminally responsible for january 6 accountable regardless of their level, their position regardless whether they were present at the events of januar. we are going to follow the facts wherever they lead. >> thank you. [background noises] >> the generous six public hearing continues they release evidence gathered in their investigation. tune in wednesday as the committee examines ledge pressure put on the justice department by donald trump and his allies to overturn the election results. watch live wednesday at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span three, c-span now our free mobile video app. or online at c-span.org. you can also visit our website c-span.org/january 62 arch previous hearings and other videos related to that day. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. >> over the week and senate negotiators announce they have reached a deal on what to include in a new gun safety bill. majority leader chuck schumer give his approval of the proposal and promised to bring that legislation up for a vote as soon as possible. we also heard more about the agreement from texas senator john cornyn who led negotiations on the republican side. ask madam president, tomorrow will mark three weeks since the devastating school shooting in uvalde, texas. over those last three weeks senators murphy from connecticut, et cetera sinema from arizona, hundred tillis of north carolina, and others have been working to identify steps congress should take to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future. this is not an easy debate. it is emotional. it