Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) has long been known for shining the spotlight on aspects of government others would prefer to remain dark--the Iowan has been a vocal supporter of whistleblowers Colleen Rowley and Jane Turner, and has been known for sticking his nose into the odd financial shenanigan or two. So it comes to no surprise that he'd apply his sleuthing skills to the ongoing scandal regarding the White House's role in the Justice Department's Fast and Furious program. Yet Grassley couldn't anticipate that his watchdog reputation would earn him kudos from Twitter users still upset over the deaths of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry--and 300 other individuals--directly as a result of the botched gun trafficking probe.

According to OhMyGov Analytics, 1,411 responses referencing Grassley were recorded on Twitter between June 15 and June 21--the bulk of it occurring on Thursday.

"Chuck Grassley is so right," @Conserv_Hunter said. "How can Barack Obama King of USA exert executive privilege on Justice docs he has never seen?"

"Thank you for standing up for the victims in F &F" @dkeithloyd56 said.

Earlier this year Grassley published a report, "Fatally Flawed", citing Fast and Furious as part of a series of questionable law enforcement operations executed by ATF personnel in Phoenix as well as the Arizona U.S. Attorney's office. On Wednesday, Grassley once again waded into the controversy over the gun walking probe, questioning the Obama Administration's motives for keeping the documents in question secret.

"I'm dumbfounded with this action of the president," Grassley told reporters via telephone. "This is gamesmanship. If this were a serious claim, they would have and should have raised it last night in our discussion."

Grassley denies any political motivation for his desire for the Justice Department documents to see the light of day. Justice Department officials claim that release of the documents would have 'damaging consequences'.

Some, though, didn't see the nuance.

"Tell us the truth," @polymath22 demanded of Grassley. "You are working for AZ gun dealers and punishing Holder for investigating them.  

Either way, what began as an attempt to stem the flow of guns across the U.S.-Mexican border, has turned into an election-year issue that could have far reaching implications for Obama and his Attorney General even if reelected.