- Michael Sullivan (U.S. Attorney)
-
Michael Sullivan Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives In office
2006–2009Preceded by Edgar A. Domenech Succeeded by Ronald A. Carter United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts In office
2001–2009Preceded by Donald K. Stern Succeeded by Michael Loucks Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 7th Plymouth District In office
1991–1997Preceded by Emmet Hayes Succeeded by Kathleen Teahan Personal details Born October 3, 1954
Boston, MassachusettsNationality American Political party Republican Residence Abington, Massachusetts Alma mater Boston College
Suffolk University Law SchoolOccupation Attorney
PoliticianMichael J. Sullivan (born October 3, 1954 [1]) is the former United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.[2] He is also the former Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives[3] Prior to his appointment he served six years as the District Attorney for Plymouth County, Massachusetts, as well as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
Sullivan was notable for his prosecution of airport workers arrested at Logan Airport as part of "Operation Tarmac".[4] The Logan 19 were airport workers, arrested as part of Operation Tarmac, because they had lied about their nationality on the job applications. According to the Boston Phoenix:
- "It’s true that life has changed since September 11. But with one exception, every US attorney prosecuting Operation Tarmac cases has either reduced or dropped the charges. The exception? Massachusetts’s Sullivan, who is pursuing maximum legal penalties against the former Logan Airport employees swept up in Operation Tarmac. 'Ignoring the alleged criminal activity of illegal immigrants sends the wrong message to the rest of the world,' he tells the Phoenix."
Sullivan was the subject of an article in Fortune magazine, for his prosecution of fraud in the pharmaceutical industry.
Sullivan laid charges, in Boston, on November 23, 2005, against Abdullah Khadr, an Egyptian from Canada who is alleged to have sold arms to the Taliban.[1][2][3]
Tenure as ATF Director
In 2007, Sullivan was nominated by President George W. Bush to be the Director of the ATF. In 2006, this position had been made subject to the Senate confirmation process and Sullivan was the first nominee to be sent to the Senate.
Sullivan's nomination was blocked by a Senate hold placed by Senators David Vitter (R-La.), Michael Crapo (R-Idaho) and Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho). They expressed their concern that the ATF is hostile to small gun dealers, pursuing them over zealously for small paperwork infractions and driving law-abiding small retailers out of business. They said that Sullivan was indifferent to their concerns and "exhibits a lack of willingness to address these problems."[5]
Sullivan has been criticized frequently by one such affected gun dealer, Ryan Horsley of Red’s Trading Post, Twin Falls, Idaho, Idaho's oldest gun dealership.,[5] who writes on the blog Red's Trading Post. Horsley says that the ATF has a long track record of abusive behavior and Sullivan, as Acting Director, continued to defend the ATF's abusive actions without any indication of making changes.[6]
Sullivan was a keynote speaker and special guest at the 2007 Great Lakes Summit on Gun Violence conference.[7] This conference was organized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and funded by a $375,000 grant from the Joyce Foundation.[8] The report of the conference was titled "Taking a Stand: Reducing Gun Violence in Our Communities" and called for the passage of several gun bans and gun control measures.[7] The National Rifle Association has criticized the IACP report, calling it "a rubber stamp, bought and paid for, of the pre-existing agenda for gun ban groups." The report was produced with assistance from the Joyce Foundation's Communications Director and with contributions from gun control advocates such as Kristen Rand and Tom Diaz of the Violence Policy Center. The NRA has called the Joyce Foundation an activist foundation whose "shadowy web of huge donations" leads "straight to puppet strings that control the agenda of gun ban groups".[9]
Sullivan's confirmation was opposed by gun rights groups such as the Gun Owners of America,[10] Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms[11] and Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.[12] The NRA did not categorically state its opposition to the confirmation of Mr. Sullivan but expressed its concern over the ATF's "overly restrictive legal interpretations" and "overly zealous enforcement activities".[13]
Sullivan resigned as Acting Director effective January 20, 2009 to make way for incoming President Barack Obama to name his own nominee.[14]
References
- ^ 1991-1992 Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. http://www.archive.org/stream/publicofficersof19911992bost#page/224/mode/2up.
- ^ "U.S. Attorneys, District of Massachusetts". http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ma/usattorney.html.
- ^ "Michael J. Sullivan,Acting Director". http://www.atf.treas.gov/about/executive_staff/acting_dir_sullivan.htm.
- ^ "Prosecutorial abuse: US Attorney Michael Sullivan should drop the charges against the Logan 19". Boston Phoenix. 2002-05-09. http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/editorial/documents/02261124.htm.
- ^ a b Richard B. Schmitt (2008-02-25). "ATF nominee in the crossfire". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2008-05-24. http://web.archive.org/web/20080524044855/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-atf25feb25,1,4119857.story. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ "Senator Vitter continues to keep a hold on ATF Director Nominee". 2008-02-14. Archived from the original on 2008-02-21. http://web.archive.org/web/20080221215258/http://redstradingpost.blogspot.com/2008/02/senator-vitter-continues-to-keep-hold.html. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ a b "Taking a Stand: Reducing Gun Violence in Our Communities" (pdf). http://www.theiacp.org/documents/pdfs/Publications/ACF1875.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ The Joyce Foundation
- ^ Cox, Chris (12 2007). "Follow the Money" (in http://www.nrapublications.org/TAR/Money.asp). American Rifleman (National Rifle Association of America) 155 (12).
- ^ "Senate Close To Confirming A Ted Kennedy-style Liberal To BATFE". Gun Owners of America. http://www.gunowners.org/a120407.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ "CCRKBA urges Senate to withhold Sullivan confirmation at BATFE". CCRKBA. Archived from the original on 2008-02-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20080216061401/http://www.ccrkba.org/pub/rkba/press-releases/sullivan.confirmation.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ Aaron Zelman, Executive Director. "An Open Letter to the People of America". Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership. http://www.jpfo.org/filegen-n-z/zel-open-20071212.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ Chris W. Cox (2007-12-27). "Letter". pdf. National Rifle Association. http://www.nraila.org/pdfs/batfesullivan.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ "Sullivan resigns from post as acting ATF director". The Associated Press, via WHDH. 2009-01-13. http://www3.whdh.com:80/news/articles/local/BO101278/. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
- ^ Boston judge issued warrant for Abdullah Khadr, Vancouver Sun, December 20, 2005
- ^ Eldest son of family linked to terrorism arrested in Toronto, Boston Globe, December 18, 2005
- ^ Court papers: Suspect confessed to weapons buys for al-Qaida, Boston Globe, December 19, 2005
External links
Categories:- 1954 births
- Living people
- Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
- United States Attorneys for the District of Massachusetts
- Prople from Plymouth County, Massachusetts
- Boston College alumni
- Suffolk University Law School alumni
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
