Posted on 02/06/2007 6:18:29 PM PST by calcowgirl
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:
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.
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.
His lawyer confirmed tonight on BOR that it was after lights out, Saturday evening when they were all supposed to be in lockdown for the night. BOR kept questioning her on how these people managed to get a key and get to him and she couldn't tell, said he was awakened from a sound sleep to the beating and the Warden will not speak to the attorneys' or BOR on how this happened... Ramos told his attorney they used steel-toed boots.... someone else confirmed this would only be possible if this was an 'inside" job (so to speak)...
Remember that cop killer that all the liberals wanted released.
This seems to be the conservative version.
The trial ended. It's over. They can appeal if they want, but I will have no part of this unless they choose me on the next jury.
I guess that's pretty good incentive not to screw up and get sent to "pound you in the a$$" federal prison. Based upon what I've read, they were offered a plea agreement which would have gotten them probation. They flipped them the bird and thought they'd take their chances with 12 of their peers. Man that's gotta suck to have to think about that for the next 11 and 12 years respectively.
Right now our council is trying to work out a way for our police to actually start doing raids on local businesses. They applied for one of the grants with HLS to train officers to work with ICE -- the grants are there, the POTUS is holding them. Arpaio is complaining about the same thing down in Maricopa County. Interesting, our local builders association is actually in favor of the police getting rid of illegals being used on job sites, said it's time the builders use people here legally or pay the consequences.
DOBBS: Thank you very much, Casey.
Casey Wian.
Joining me now with more on this case is our senior legal analyst and former prosecutor, Jeffrey Toobin.
Jeffrey, thanks for being here. And let's go through this.
Let's start with, first, the fact that federal officials put him into a general population with the very people that he was defending the country against -- known convicted drug smugglers, illegal aliens. I mean what the -- what in the world is going on?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: It's dangerous to be a law enforcement official in prison. That's something everyone knows. Unfortunately, they have some experience with that. But the prisoners themselves have a difficult decision to make, because do they take the risk in general population, or do they live segregated, which is a very difficult existence in and of itself?
DOBBS: Well, let's go to a number of other issues, because we had a number of congressmen warning that precisely this would happen. It has happened. We have got at this point a tepid response, at best, from the administration.
Let's go to some of the facts.
One, because White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said we're waiting for full transcripts so that we'll all be armed with the facts, I'm sure that if Mr. Snow would be so kind, he could watch this broadcast and learn a lot of the facts. And by the way, that prosecution was made by the executive branch's Justice Department. So if he wanted facts, the president could have them instantaneously.
Why in the world are we waiting on a transcript nearly a year after the end of the trial?
TOOBIN: This is bizarre. Perhaps not a phrase we want to use today, but it is not rocket science to produce transcripts. Every trial has a court reporter.
DOBBS: Right.
TOOBIN: You can't have an appeal before you have the full transcript. I mean, it's simply inexcusable not to have transcripts this late after a trial.
DOBBS: Ten months later, an appeal is being held up, the effectiveness of it. The fact is that the public doesn't have access to that. We don't have access to it. We can't even get it through Freedom of Information or any other way because this idiotic system will not give us the transcript of a trial that is so controversial.
TOOBIN: Well, and -- you know, the justice system stops in its tracks, because an appeals court can't evaluate a trial until they can read what happened. So it is totally unexpected. I've never seen this long for a transcript.
"I'll say I wish he had better lawyers."
You're right. Every question Bill asked his lawyer was simple, and she couldn't answer one. I couldn't believe it.
We have one good (Kyl) and an alien... (McCain).
Interesting, because his female attorney said he was sleeping. Guess his attorney's not being able to see and talk to him in person so far is telling here.
LOL! I can just imagine! It even happens to people with rather ordinary names. I have a friend who happens to have the exact same name (middle initial too) and birthdate as another person who happens to go to the same medical clinic as my friend. It's created quite a mess for them at times. I told her if she ever goes in for yet another surgery, she'd better use a permanent marker on her body and scribble words of advice and identification to her surgeon.
Must be true then, defense lawyers never lie. I guess they don't have a single doctor allocated to the entire correctional facility. Bush budget cuts probably.
Someone knowledgeable has already posted that there are alternatives other than general population and solitary confinement, so you'll have to think up another lame excuse for pretending to be "open-minded" in the midst of a crisis and a continuing meltdown of the government's credibility.
>It wouldn't surprise me at all if a guy who was arrested multiple times for domestic abuse would say he wanted to "shoot some Mexicans."<
I think that is ridiculous because Ramos is a Latino himself.
There is a common thread here that doesn't take a mental giant to follow the bouncing balls back to why this is happening.
If you are innocent, why would you take any plea agreeements?
newzjunkey just had this up on the CA board
Roger Hedgecock will have Jerome R. Corsi, the WND reporter, on the Rush Limbaugh show tomorrow to talk about the testimony story.
Roger Hedgecock is one of the local San Diego Talk show hosts and Rush's No. 1 sub.
Thank you again for the additional information. I missed BOR tonight but it will replay later. I was especially curious about the allegation of "steel-toed boots" being used. I found it highly unlikely that inmates are allowed to wear them, for obvious reasons.
But if it was an "inside job" to rough Ramos up, one must ask, "why"?
I've been following it sort of but am no fan of WND as you know.
Do any of you FReepers REALLY believe the US can not stop the flow of illegal drugs into this country? If you ask me, there are some highly placed elected officials on the take from the drug cartels. This case has a LOT more to it than meets the eye?
It was sad, wasn't it. I think better attorney's these guys wouldn't be sitting where they are right now.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.