A top official for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today told U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3) that the agency did not play a role in requesting private information from the state of Missouri about individuals holding concealed carry weapons licenses (CCW) and that there was no joint venture with the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General (SSA OIG) to obtain that data.
 
Luetkemeyer said the official made those assurances in a 15-minute telephone conversation in Washington, D.C. less than 12 hours after Luetkemeyer had sent a series of questions to the federal agency about whether the agency played a role in seeking the information of more than 160,000 concealed carry permits holders in Missouri.

The issue of whether ATF was involved surfaced yesterday after an email dated January 23, 2013, was made public indicating that a special agent with the SSA OIG was seeking the private information as part of a joint investigation between the ATF and the SSA OIG into potential Social Security fraud. The email was sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol and raised questions about whether or not certain Missourians could be disqualified from owning a gun or possessing a CCW permit. 
 
“It has been made clear to me that the ATF had absolutely no interest in the private information of Missourians and that the agency was in no way involved in a joint venture with the SSA OIG. According to the ATF, they believe the mention of their agency in the email in question, written by an intelligence analyst at the Missouri Information Analysis Center, was the result of the analyst’s attempt to add weight to the request of an SSA OIG investigator sent to the state, but that’s where it ended,” Luetkemeyer said. “I remain determined to get to the bottom of this issue by meeting in person tomorrow in Washington with Social Security Administration Inspector General Patrick O’Carroll, Jr. and his staff and getting both written and verbal answers to some very troubling questions.”