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.
Congressman Culberson needs our support to get to the bottom of this stinking case.
Phone: (713) 682-8828
They don't have individual cells, they sleep in big dormitories. Think a gymnasium with lots and lots of bunk beds. Oh and no room service either.
This has been the final straw for me. He dug himself deeper with only a 50% funding request for the border fence.
What is your interest in continuing to badger people on this thread?
What's in it for you? What are you getting out of the experience?
Your ability to have any critical thinking skills are weak. You show up, shoot from the hip, and ride off, ha, ha, big laugh. At least some of the others here, that seem to be against the agents, are respectful, and do research, check facts, etc. Most of all, the majority, bring along a reference. Your shallowness amazes me.
Bush owes nothing to the Consevatives and nationalists any more. He is not going to be up for any election to anything again.
Where did you get this idea?
Obviously, Skinner is the liar. In the course of his illustrious career he has worked for FEMA AND the State Department - 'nuff said.
"How low can he go?"
How much more of his base can he piss off....?"
THE SIGNS HAVE BEEN THERE FROM THE BEGINNING,
and have continued through the last 6 years in
a million manifestations: the WOT was the one thing
that redeemed all the other things his base gradually came to
dislike about him. He is responsible for waaaaaaaaayy
too much "cognitive dissonance"---I guess he thought
no one would notice that he seemed in many ways to be vying to be the Democrat Party's new Golden Boy.
Bush has spent ALL the "political capital" he boasted of having after the last election, and now he's borrowing capital from EVERYONE,literally and figuratively, and they're all charging rates like a Mafia loan shark.
And he's paying those rates. A disaster.
It will be much more convenient for the prosecution and for the DHS honchos if the fellows don't survive very long in Prison.
"I'm not the one who started hurtling insults, hey dummy. I have done considerable research on this matter, I've read all of the posts on all the many many threads about this subject matter. My bottom line is, their story didn't make any sense to me. And I'm certainly not going to swallow everything that WND creates and accept it as gospel. Take your own advice, think for yourself."
Can you prove that Ted Poe and the others quoted in this article did not really say what's written? You know this is true and your using "I don't believe it so there" as a lame excuse.
It would be more impressive if you didn't believe whatever Johnny Sutton says so much at the same time.
Badger??? We don't need no stinkin' badgers!!! Mostly I'm tired of seeing the same dang threads on this matter over and over and over again, every couple of minutes there's a new thread about something supposedly new that WND just put up. Give it a rest folks. The fate of the world does not rest with these two and there are far more egregious cases of so-called injustice to get upset about anyways.
It's a real bummer when a Duke/lacrosse hustle is being done by guys ostensibly on our side. But, then, this administration and the Republicans in the Senate put an inordinate amount of value on the welfare of the illegals. It's like my lefty old bud always said before 94-"If you don't like the people in Washington, go out and elect your own guys," but the problem is that when we succeed in that endeavor and elect our guys and they take their Congressional seats they ain't our guys any more.
Hah, they are POLITICIANS people, they'd throw their grandmothers into the Mississippi if it got them re-elected. Can you prove that what Ted Poe and the others quoted in the article did say what's written??? Were you there??? No?? Then you are just accepting 3rd and 4th hand accounts made by people with agendas. Not what I'd say is the best method for collecting sound information.
Was any of this introduced at the trial? If not, What bearing does it have on the appeal?
Maybe not if they would be embarrassing to the Court.
Don't bother, Arnold will soon be part of this vast conspiracy in about 20 posts I wager.
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