Government admits lying about jailed border agents (DHS fesses up - Rep. Poe ticked!)

World Net Daily ^ | February 6, 2007 | Jerome R. Corsi

[calcowgirl]

Inspector confronted on Capitol Hill, says promised 'proof' does not exist

A Department of Homeland Security official admitted today the agency misled Congress when it contended it possessed investigative reports proving Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean confessed guilt and declared they "wanted to shoot some Mexicans" prior to the incident that led to their imprisonment.

The admission came during the testimony of DHS Inspector General Richard L. Skinner before the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, according to Michael Green, press secretary for Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas.

Culberson was questioning Skinner about a meeting DHS officials had Sept. 26 with him and three other Republican congressman from Texas, Reps. Ted Poe, Michael McCaul and Kenny Marchant.

WND previously reported that at that meeting the DHS Inspector General's office asserted it had documentary evidence Ramos and Compean:

1. confessed to knowingly shooting at an unarmed suspect;

2. stated during the interrogation they did not believe the suspect was a threat to them at the time of the shooting;

3. stated that day they "wanted to shoot a Mexican";

4. were belligerent to investigators;

5. destroyed evidence and lied to investigators.

Under questioning by Culberson, Skinner admitted DHS did not in fact have investigative reports to back up the claims: "The person who told you that misinformed you," Skinner reportedly replied.

This prompted a startled and angry response from the congressman.

"You lied to me and you lied to all of us," Culberson charged. "Your office tried to paint a picture of Ramos and Compean as dirty cops, and now you come before this committee and tell us you never had the information to back up those claims."

Ramos and Compean began prison sentences last month after their actions in the shooting of a drug smuggler who was granted immunity to testify against them.

Responding to Skinner's testimony yesterday, Poe said it "explains why DHS has been stonewalling Congress."

"DHS didn't turn over the reports to us to back up their September 26 accusations for one simple reason – the reports never existed," the Texas congressman said.

"Why did it take DHS four months to admit their error?" he asked. "I wonder how much more has DHS told the public and Congress about Ramos and Compean that simply isn't true?"

Poe said he's determined to get to the bottom of DHS's claim.

"I expect this new revelation will lead to a lot more questions before we're done," he said.

Andy Ramirez, who has been involved with the case as chairman of Friends of the Border Patrol, told WND the DHS's actions "represent obstruction of justice, and they should be held in contempt of Congress, and, if possible, prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

"This admission today is yet more proof of how they are willing to distort the facts, as I have charged all along, in order to ensure a conviction," he said.

[Cicero]

With the situation disintegrating so rapidly so soon after the trial, it's actually time for the Attorney General to step down and let someone else in there to roll some heads.

The more I think about it, the more I agree with you. For whatever reason, this guy has been a total disaster as Attorney General. Thank God he wasn't named to the Supreme Court. And if Bush has any ideas in that direction, he had better disabuse himself of them quickly. It would make the Miers affair look like a kindergarten party.

[Chena]

And with that ignorant statement, I officially give up. This is a story that defies common sense, reason, and facts. There are too many people who have little interest in the truth, and only care for the cause. And too many others who seem to care for the truth but do nothing to correct the bizarre misstatements of others on their side. I entered this battle because I want the truth, and you can't get the truth if lies are given the time of day. I was warned that it was a pointless task, but I thrive on pointless tasks. But even I have my limits, and I have reached them. Don't take this personally, your comment isn't even that odd. But to deconstruct why it is an ignorant claim would take linking to too many other stories, and quoting too many things, to be worth it to me anymore. If the pro-BP-agent folks ever come up with a fact, they will get their way -- I have little doubt that the system will work. I further doubt the agents will be pardoned unless the facts break the way the defense wants them to break, which I don't expect to happen. But I certainly would be pleased to find the smuggler a scumbag liar, and the two BP agents innocent. Unfortunately, I can't join the conspiracy because to do so I apparently have to destroy the lives of literally DOZENS of other fine men and woman who work for our government, all of who have been called lying scumbags and worse in the "cause" of freeing these two men. And I simply don't buy the consipiray theory. My point in all this has been to back you all down from sensationalist claims. If you could refute my points, your arguments would be so much stronger, and you might get mainstream media attention. My fear is that this, like so many other far-right zealous causes, will only make republicans look more stupid. In an odd way, the more proof you all can find, the less likely that is (although I still don't see the logic in essentially condeming all the people you need to win over in order to get your way). Truth be told, a blind man could make a hole in one, and maybe the defenders will turn out to have a case. I doubt it, I won't mind it, but they aren't getting there with the arguments and stuff they've thrown around so far. But don't stop, just try to stay in the real world guys.

Well said, well said!

[Issaquahking]

ENSIGN REQUESTS HEARING FOR ACCUSED BORDER PATROL AGENTS

Friday, September 15, 2006

Washington, D.C. – Senator John Ensign, in a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, is asking for a hearing on the case of two U.S. Border Patrol agents convicted in the shooting of an alleged drug smuggler in Texas. Ensign says he wants the incident more thoroughly investigated before the convicted agents are sentenced.

“I believe that Congress should thoroughly investigate the unanswered questions involving this incident. This incident does involve allegations of wrong doing by the agents. It also raises concerns about whether a conviction of the agents is just given the facts of the case. I believe that Congress should also investigate this matter to ensure that this case does not negatively affect Border Patrol morale and the agency's efforts to retain and attract highly qualified personnel or threaten the effectiveness of the agency in a manner that undermines national security. We should also seek to ensure that this case does not lead to the reluctance of Border Patrol agents to defend themselves in already dangerous, and sometimes life threatening, situations,” Ensign wrote.

The U.S. Border Patrol agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, have been found guilty of using excessive force and are scheduled to be sentenced October 19. The incident involves the shooting of an alleged drug smuggler near Fabens, Texas, last February. Ensign said he wants to make sure the agents have been treated fairly and that the matter has been sufficiently investigated.

“Earlier this year, I traveled to Yuma, Arizona, and spent a day with the Border Patrol along the United States-Mexico border. I was able to see first hand the difficult circumstances facing the Border Patrol and was very impressed with the job that this agency plays in the protection of our nation. Every day, the men and women of the Border Patrol are forced to deal with heavily armed drug smugglers and human smugglers as well as the threat of terrorism,” Ensign wrote.

Ensign was contacted by Agent Compean’s relatives, who live in Nevada.

Reference

[hinckley buzzard]

DHS Inspector General Skinner must be a Patrick Fitzgerald Fellow at the Michael Nifong School of Law and Ethics.

[muawiyah]

Your arguments are sound, but they are a lot like those used by folks who still have a pre-911 viewpoint ~ they simply aren't operative anymore.

Whether the guy was beaten a little or beaten a lot, the fact that he was beaten at all makes all the nut-ball, kookoo fringe ideas advanced in this case take on the patina of veracity.

There is no way a modern warden of a federal penitentiary turns a former federal cop loose in the general population within a few days of his arrival.

I can believe this woman is totally incompetent, and maybe her subordinates figured this was a way to call attention to her in the most negative way possible so that she loses her job and goes back to a cubby-hole on 2nd Street in DC. But what about Gonzales? This is a high profile case. Who can believe that he and his little friend Sutton (the prosecutor) would let this happen so soon. So, maybe Gonzales and Sutton are also incompetent.

Should we be surprised?

[MarkL]

I'm a strong believer in "law and order," and I'm willing to give prosecutors and the police the "benefit of the doubt." However, when some government worker, whether police, prosecutor, or anyone else in the employ of the government, purposely misleads the courts, knowingly falsifies evidence, our outright lies, then whatever the result of that trial happens to be, needs to be conferred on that government worker. For instance, if an innocent man is convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison due to a lying government official, or falsified evidence, whoever planted that evidence or lied, needs to spend that 10 years in prison.

Mark

[taxed2death]

"stupid hick texan that he is."

CT born Yankee, no?

[Sue Bob]

"Do you really think everybody fills those forms out perfectly?"

No, I don't. Statutory and regulatory law has become so extensive that NO ONE can follow everything perfectly and everyone can, most likely, be found in violation of something.

The problem arises when the government takes such violation and criminalizes them.

If you were responding to my post on this thread, that was a copy of the law under which the DHS employee might be prosecutable--for lying to Congressmen investigating DHS.

[SoCalPol]

Hard to tell the numbers, but we already have tens of thousands of illegals here now and adding to the numbers daily.

Why is it with other disasters FEMA, etc. come in and give aid to the states. Our state is in national disaster mode. worse than any flood or hurricane. This one goes on daily for yrs. and the cost and lost of out American Identity is going fast.

[Arizona Carolyn]

No that was Sanchez who worked in the Tucson sector and reported this to HLS who took the initial report based on what they were told by Sanchez... Andy Ramirez, who has closely followed the case as chairman of the group Friends of the Border Patrol is friendly to these men.

[Enterprise]

"Uhh what the heck does Congress have to do with their appeals process in I think the 5th circuit????"

So that I can better understand, is it acceptable to you to have Government officials lying about this case to Congress? Yes or No please.

" If you're for freeing two convicted felons while they are appealing then you'd have to empty out half of the prisons to accommodate all of the other convicted felons also in some process of their appeals process."

I am not in favor of that.

"I've been laughing at some of these posts"

Write to their families then, and tell them you think that their husbands being imprisoned and beaten is a riot. Go ahead, I dare you.

[hellbender]

Were you the guy who sneered (in another thread) that the jury was expressing remorse about convicting Ramos & Compean because the jurors had been threatened by the BP union? (Someone actually posted that, if not you.) There is absolutely no evidence of that. There IS abundant evidence that the families of the two BP agents were threatened by Mexican criminals. It was completely predictable that they would be in danger in prison; most cops are. Yet this was allowed to happen. If Ramos & Compean deserved 12 years for shooting a drug courier while doing their duty, what should be the sentence for the prison officials who let this happen? How much for the perjurers at DHS? What if the agents are killed? Should the responsible officials get the death penalty?

[Arizona Carolyn]

Maybe we could transport a few their directions..

[CAluvdubya]

BTW, how are the tens of dozens of illegals camped out down the way from you doing.

The warmer weather has made the canyon "the" place to be...as usual!

[Chena]

I keep hearing people refer to "the fact" that this happened, or that happend, and what I've been wondering is where these "facts" are coming from?

I thought that Ramos was supposed to be in solitary confinement. His family was against that so maybe they insisted that he be held with the general population at the prison? I don't know. Just looking for true facts and answers.

[Arizona Carolyn]

Of course, 3000 a day equates to a million a year -- in one state. How many jobs do we have that American's won't do? /s

[NapkinUser]

"It is not yet an irregularity that the transcript is not yet available. Not yet."

Lou Dobbs has a prosecutor on his show today who is neutral on this case who was saying the transcripts not yet being available is ridiculous.

[Arizona Carolyn]

How do you know he has "minor" bumps and scrapes? He hasn't been allowed to see a MD even though the prison nurse said he should be seen by one and receive x-rays.

[angelsonmyside]

ping

[TheeOhioInfidel]

"It is far past time for Gonzales to appoint a special prosecutor to look into the actions of the Government and its officials in this dirty case."

They can investigate him while they're at it.