WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — The head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) faced over three hours of grilling by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Thursday as Republicans demanded answers to what led to a deadly shootout with a Little Rock airport executive in March.
ATF Director Steven Dettelbach mostly deferred to the local investigation looking into the shooting inside the home of Bryan Malinowski when ATF agents served a search warrant as part of allegations the executive director of the Bill & Hilary Clinton National Airport was selling guns without a license.
Those deferrals created some heated exchanges as Republican panel members pressed for explanations of why Malinowski landed on the ATF's radar and why agents executed the search the way they did.
"Mr. Dettelbach, we're going to have questions about this and a host of other things the agency has done under your watch," Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said in his opening remarks of what was called an "oversight hearing."
Dettelbach said the bureau has helped respond to record amounts of gun crimes despite what he called budget cuts from the GOP-led house.
"The most common type of firearms trafficking now is dealing firearms for profit without a license," Dettelbach said.
Efforts to stop unlicensed trafficking are the main reason agents got a warrant to search Malinowski's west Little Rock home. By mid-March 2024, the highest-paid municipal employee had raised suspicions of investigators.
Over two and a half years, Malinowski bought 150 guns online and in person.
His reselling at gun shows, where no background check is required, put him in the sights of field agents based in New Orleans. The raid on March 19 aimed at seizing the weapons, but after arriving in 10 vehicles and blocking a doorbell camera, Malinowski and at least one agent exchanged gunfire.
Malinowski died in the hospital two days later. One agent was hit and recovered.
Since the deadly raid, the Malinowski family's attorney, Bud Cummins, describes Malinowski's gun sales as a hobby and protected by the Second Amendment. The lawyer and former federal prosecutor said that means Malinowski never broke any laws selling the way he did, even when a handful of weapons turned up at crime scenes later.
Supporters hoped Dettelbach could explain where lines have been drawn for when a hobbyist becomes a criminal in recent changes to ATF regulations.
"There's now more information than ever in the rule for specific content-based explanations," Dettelbach tried to explain to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R - Fla.)
"I think that for a regular person, 'more information than ever' is probably less helpful than 'if you sell three guns, you're not a dealer, and if you sell four guns, you are a dealer,'...right?" Rep. Gaetz replied.
Chairman Jordan wanted answers on tactics and procedures that led the agents to raid the home early in the morning to take Malinowski by surprise. He said investigators had opportunities to search without Malinowski at home, and the tactics led to the shooting.
"[You] disabled the doorbell camera, cut electricity to the house and you didn't wear body cameras," Rep. Jordan said. "What were you guys trying to hide?"
"The reason that we called for the investigation is that we're not trying to hide anything," Dettelbach replied. "The reason I'm not going to talk about what's going on in that investigation is to respect its independence."
That investigation Dettelbach referred to is being conducted by Arkansas State Police (ASP) and the prosecuting attorney based in Little Rock. The director repeatedly avoided providing specific answers because that investigation is not yet complete.
"I think he's being disingenuous," Cummins said after the hearing. "The ASP investigation specifically said it would not look at procedures or training or methods. So [Dettelbach] could easily answer those questions. It's simply shocking that he was unable to provide a definitive explanation of the crime Bryan was suspected of."
Democrats on the committee backed the director in his assertions that ATF is under pressure from GOP members to cut its budget and protect "every gun dealer" regardless of how many guns end up being used in crimes.
A particularly dramatic moment came when Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) asked Mare Malinowski, Bryan's wife, to stand up and then asked Dettelbach to apologize to her.
"I've already said that of course...of course, whenever these things happen, it's a tragedy," Dettelbach offered while turning to the woman two rows behind him at the witness table.