Jason Weinstein’s Justice Department career was derailed by ‘Fast and Furious’

He said the earlier investigation, Wide Receiver, did not cross his mind.

“The notion that I’d in any way tolerate a tactic like this is beyond absurd. I was the only one to raise concerns about the earlier operation,” Weinstein said.

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Weinstein knew he’d lost on Sept. 18, the day before the report became public. He read the final version in Bromwich’s office on New York Avenue.

Some changes had been made, but the 471-page report singled out Weinstein as the “most senior person” at Justice who should have recognized that guns were getting into the hands of criminals because similar tactics had been used in the earlier case.

He and others in the department are faulted in the letter-writing process for “too readily” accepting assurances from the people running the investigation and for failing to “develop an independent understanding of the information that was relevant to the allegations.”

The report said Weinstein “failed to act in the best interests of the Department by advocating for ATF rather than responsibly gathering information about its activities.”

Weinstein’s reading of the wiretap cover memos alone, the report says, “should have caused him to read the affidavit and ask questions about the operational details” of Fast and Furious.

As tough as the report was, it did not call for Weinstein’s removal. Breuer, the criminal division chief, urged him to stay on the job, Weinstein said. But Weinstein resigned the morning the report came out.

“I didn’t want to be a distraction, and I needed the freedom to fight back,” he said in an interview in October. “It was surreal. You feel like you’re watching it on TV happen to someone else.”

Weinstein’s concern about becoming a distraction to Justice seemed to be validated the day after the report was released as he watched Issa during a televised hearing: “Well, Jason Weinstein should have been gone a year and a half ago. The housecleaning should have happened a year and a half ago.”

Saying goodbye

At the Elephant and Castle pub across Pennsylvania Avenue from the Justice Department, about 75 former co-workers gathered one brisk evening days after Thanksgiving to toast Weinstein. Breuer served as master of ceremonies, several in attendance said.

As guests munched on potato skins and wings at a cash bar, there were lengthy, upbeat tributes to Weinstein’s work.

No one mentioned Fast and Furious.

Many of Weinstein’s former colleagues — federal law enforcement agents, prosecutors and other lawyers — say they are distraught about his public-service career being cut short. The portrayal of Weinstein on the Hill and in the inspector general report is at odds with the person they know.

“This bears no resemblance to the Jason that I know and what he would have done and what I’ve seen him do over and over again,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Smith, who prosecuted a notorious hitman with Weinstein in Baltimore. “He’s one of those people who instinctively always knows right from wrong.”

After he resigned, it took Weinstein two weeks to return e-mails and phone messages from former colleagues. He took the time to clean out the garage and get a haircut. He’s looking for a job.

“In a thousand years, you don’t expect this phase of your career to end this way,” Weinstein said. “But there’s a badge of honor for surviving these things, and I’m determined to earn it.”

Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report.