Posted on 09/08/2006 10:27:53 AM PDT by radar101
Members of Congress petitioning the president to pardon two U.S. Border Patrol agents convicted of assaulting an illegal alien who was trying to smuggle drugs into the U.S. are now calling for an investigation of the U.S. attorney who prosecuted the agents.
"These were good agents doing their job," said Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.). "There is something that stinks to high heaven."
On Feb. 17, 2005, U.S. Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean were on duty when they encountered Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila in a van carrying 743 pounds of marijuana. When the agents tried to stop Aldrete-Davila, he fled. Unable to shake the pursuing agents, he abandoned his van and continued running toward Mexico.
The agents' version of what happened next contradicts Aldrete-Davila's testimony. The one thing all agree on is that, while fleeing on foot, the illegal alien and drug smuggler was shot. Aldrete-Davila was treated at a hospital in El Paso and then returned to Mexico.
After learning of the shooting, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton sought out Aldrete-Davila in Mexico and offered him immunity from prosecution if he would return to the United States to testify against Ramos and Compean.
The initial immunity offer covered Aldrete-Davila's illegal entry into the U.S., the drug smuggling and his unlawful flight from the agents to avoid arrest. Sutton expanded the immunity to include a subsequent drug offense, when Aldrete-Davila tried to smuggle another 1,000 pounds of marijuana into the United States.
"The Justice Department says they don't have the resources to secure our borders, but somehow they found the resources to send agents to Mexico to find Aldrete-Davila and prosecute these agents," Tancredo said.
Rep. Red Poe (R-Texas) said the Justice Department is "on the wrong side" of this case.
"It appears as though they are working for the government of Mexico instead of the government of the United States," Poe said. "Instead of prosecuting [the agents], they should be giving them a medal."
Sentencing hearings for the agents have been postponed twice and are now scheduled for Oct. 18. They each face from five to 20 years in prison.
"It will absolutely be a sin, it will be a crime if these agents go to jail," said Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.).
Jones has discussed the case with Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and the White House. He told Cybercast News Service that "Something is not right. Washington, D.C. needs to look into that office's activities."
"We need to start asking questions and go down to Texas and find out if there is a problem," he added, noting that there is a history of Sutton pursuing cases against law enforcement officials. "If the American people rally behind these two agents, then we can certainly look into the actions of the federal office down in Texas."
Sutton's office did not return phone calls requesting comment for this article.
You are a disgrace to this forum. Why Mr. Robinson allows you to stay here spewing your anti-American bile is beyond me.
These guys wanted this whole thing to not appear in the record, and went way out of their way to make sure it disappeared, to the point of committing felonies. That's not the behavior of someone fitting the description of "trying to secure our borders, and keep drugs away from our kids."
Only if it was asked, and that would depend on the defense pretrial motions. If they demanded limited scope on the witness' testimony, then anything beyond what actually happened--i.e., the "why" questions--would be ruled inadmissable.
I'm using it to make a point.
So, you willing to shoot someone for mere possession? Yes or no.
What anti-American bile? The agents committed felonies and should be punished.
Link it, Newbie.
American. Thanks for signing up this week and supporting felonious acts.
It is. Conservatives generally expect law enforcement personnel to obey the law.
Yet here we have most of the posters supporting dope smugglers over the US Border patrol.
Expecting law enforcement personnel to obey the law is not supporting the dope smugglers.
It's really quite confusing.
It's really quite confusing that you're unable to figure out that law enforcement personnel breaking the law is an extremely bad thing.
So you're saying that, if you were in the Border Patrol, you would be unwilling to obey the laws you would be sworn to uphold?
Agreed, but that doesn't excuse the agents criminal action.
What is the price of allowing law enforcement personnel to freely disobey the law?
You don't know that's what happened. You believe the word of a drugrunner?
I've read enough about this case to know that what the agents did is felonious, and a pretty serious one--as serious as the felonies committed by Lon Horiuchi.
You believe the word of a drugrunner?
Not especially. However, destroying evidence and concealing their actions while on duty tends to cause me to believe the Border Patrol agents.
Correction to #198:
Not especially. However, destroying evidence and concealing their actions while on duty tends to cause me to NOT believe the Border Patrol agents.
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