The ATF is Not an Old Agency

At least, in its current incarnation. The modern ATF, however, is fairly new.

This only hit my radar due to a post in Wilder, Wealthy, and Wise. BTW, you need to bookmark that site. In addition to tackling topics often not covered in other blogs, it's just one of the funniest sites around.

It only started after the 1968 Gun Control legislation. And, that legislation came about after several assassinations of public figures.

Before that, ATF was a part of the Treasury Dept. It's been shifted from department to department several times, finally landing at Treasury.

And, that's important. A large part of its function is to raise revenue for the federal government. The agency:

ATF Special Agents have some of the broadest authority of any federal agency; 18 U.S.C. § 3051 empowers them to enforce any statute in the United States Code. Specifically, ATF Special Agents have lead investigative authority on any federal crime committed with a firearm or explosive, as well as investigative authority over regulatory referrals and cigarette smuggling. ATF Special Agents also often enforce violations of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, and have the statutory authority to conduct narcotics cases independently of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, or any other agency. All ATF Special Agents require a Top Secret (TS) security clearance, and in many instances, need a higher level, TS/SCI (Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information) clearance. In order to get a security clearance, all potential ATF Special Agents must pass a detailed series of Single Scope Background Investigations (SSBI). ATF Special Agents consistently rank at the top or near the top of all federal agencies in cases referred for prosecution, arrests made, and average time per defendant on an annual basis.^[14] Special Agents currently comprise around 2,400 of the Agency's approximately 5,000 personnel.

I could be paranoid, but, the agency needs to be looked at for infiltration by Deep State personnel. That broad reach, coupled with the ability to investigate cases that would seem to be the responsibility of other agencies, makes them a likely target for Deep State takeover.