Republican lawmakers are also calling on the Obama administration to strengthen the bureau's leadership, according to news outlets.

"Republican congressional investigators have concluded that five senior ATF officials ... are collectively responsible for the failed Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation that was 'marred by missteps, poor judgments and inherently reckless strategy,' " the Los Angeles Times reports.

The newspaper says that conclusion is the key point in a report due for release later this week from staff for Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Hill, which says it too has seen the report, writes that it "[calls] on the Obama administration and the Senate to bolster the leadership of the ATF — which has been without a permanent director for six years — in order to move beyond the failed gun-tracking operation that led House Republicans to place Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress last month."

For more on Fast and Furious, see our previous posts — many by NPR Justice correspondent Carrie Johnson.

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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