ATF

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin files motion to reconsider erroneous order in Arkansas's lawsuit challenging unlawful ATF rule

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement after filing a motion for reconsideration in a lawsuit challenging the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ new unlawful rule expanding the definition of who must become a federally licensed firearms dealer:

“On May 1, I co-led a multistate lawsuit challenging the ATF’s rule that radically expanded the definition of who must be a federally licensed firearms dealer. I filed suit against the ATF because only Congress can make laws, and Congress has never passed into law the ATF’s dramatic new expansion of firearms dealer license requirements.

“Last week, a federal district court in Little Rock ordered our case to be transferred to a federal district court in Kansas. That order dismissed Arkansas from the case on the grounds that the state would financially benefit from the ATF rule. But that’s not the case, and the Little Rock court’s order only concluded otherwise by ignoring basic tax law. That’s why we’ve asked the Kansas court to reconsider and correct the Little Rock court’s flawed order.

“Moreover, in ordering our case’s immediate transfer, the Little Rock order also violated Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals precedent requiring ‘district court clerks [to] … wait a reasonable period before transferring case files after a transfer order is entered.’ That precedent exists to ensure the Eighth Circuit can review and correct erroneous transfer orders before they become effective, yet the Little Rock order unlawfully short-circuited that process, depriving Arkansas of the opportunity to obtain reversal of the district court’s erroneous order.

“The ATF’s unlawful rule is yet another in a long line of federal overreaches by the Biden administration. This rule harms Arkansans, and Arkansas’s standing in the case should never have been in question. I look forward to continuing to defend the people of Arkansas—even if an erroneous ruling requires me to do so in Kansas.”

To read the brief in support of motion for reconsideration, click here.

For a printer-friendly version of this release, click here.

House Judiciary Committee chair calls for investigation into Malinowski raid

KUAR | By Daniel Breen

Congressional leaders are calling for more information about an early morning raid which led to the shooting death of former Clinton National Airport Executive Director Bryan Malinowski.

Malinowski was killed in a shootout with federal agents last month. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had attempted to serve a search warrant on Malinowski’s residence, which led to the shooting.

On Monday, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH, and the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to ATF Director Steven Dettelbach saying the committee is investigating the raid.

House Judiciary Committee chair calls for investigation into Malinowski raid

AG Griffin says ATF should release Malinowski body cam footage

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Attorney General Tim Griffin said the government footage from a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives [ATF] raid on the home of Little Rock Airport Director Bryan Malinowski should be released immediately. Malinowski died in a shootout with authorities.

Appearing on Talk Business & Politics and Capitol View this Sunday (April 14), the state’s top law enforcement and legal officer said he has been troubled by the few facts that have come out so far on the high-profile raid that took place on March 19.

“As someone who couldn’t be a bigger law enforcement supporter, when our government acts in a particular way that raises questions, we have an obligation to say [something]… My understanding, having looked at the ATF rules is that they generally require a body cam when there’s a preplanned raid, right? Why? Well, because information from a camera helps fill the vacuum of conspiracy and all this other stuff. So record it with a body cam that’s required and then there’s policy that it shall be released as soon as possible,” Griffin said.