Posted on 01/17/2007 4:24:55 PM PST by Mr. Mojo
(CNSNews.com) - As two U.S. Border Patrol agents surrendered to federal marshals Wednesday afternoon to begin serving more than a decade in jail for shooting an illegal drug smuggler, a federal lawmaker and conservative advocacy group expressed outrage at President Bush for not pardoning the men.
"This is the worst betrayal of American defenders I have ever seen," Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said of the president.
"It's shameful this was done by someone who is in the Republican Party," the California Republican added in comments coinciding with the jailing of agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.
Rohrabacher said Bush "obviously thinks more about his agreements with Mexico than the lives of American people and backing up his defenders."
Ramos and Compean reportedly handed themselves over to the U.S. Marshal's office in El Paso, Texas, early Wednesday afternoon, facing the prospect of 11- and 12-year prison terms, respectively, for a string of offenses including the use of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence.
Steve Elliott, president of the conservative group Grassfire.org, also lashed out at Bush on Wednesday.
The American people "have a vivid picture of where the Bush administration really stands on border security," Elliott charged in a news release.
He described the crimes committed by Ramos and Compean as "so-called civil rights violations against an illegal alien drug smuggler who has been smuggling drugs into this country for years and was smuggling 743 pounds of marijuana at the time of the confrontation."
Elliott also argued that the U.S. attorney's office did not have to pursue the case, prosecute the men, "take the word of an illegal alien drug smuggler over that of our border agents" or give the illegal alien immunity.
"President Bush could have spoken out publicly in support of these agents and how their incarceration could further cripple our border security efforts," he added.
Instead, Elliot said, "when it came time to stand and be counted on the side of our border agents, the president's administration chose to side with a career illegal alien drug smuggler."
As Cybercast News Service previously reported, Ramos and Compean encountered Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila while on duty on Feb. 17, 2005. When they tried to stop him, he fled and was shot and wounded. 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.
Sutton later defended the decision, arguing that the agents did not have knowledge of any criminal activity involving Aldrete-Davila at the time they shot him.
Ramos and Compean were charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with serious bodily injury, discharge of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, willfully violating Aldrete-Davila's Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizure and obstruction of justice for intentionally defacing the crime scene, lying about the incident, and failing to report the truth.
During a press briefing last Friday, White House spokesman Tony Snow addressed the case and criticism at some length.
"According to the facts presented in court, you had an incident in which there was an attempt to pull somebody over. He finally got pulled over; somebody holds out a gun. Sort of scuffling ensues," Snow said.
"And what happens is you've got a fellow running away, and a couple of agents eventually in pursuit, firing 14 shots at him - I think 15, actually. Fourteen by one agent missed, one did strike him in the fleshy hindquarters," he added.
"Now, at the time this happened, they did not know if he was an illegal," Snow continued.
"They did not know that there were 700 pounds of marijuana [in Aldrete-Davila's van]. They didn't know any of those things. But instead you had this. They also had received arms training the day before that said if you have an incident like this, you must preserve the evidence and you must report it promptly," he said.
"Instead, according to court documents, they went around and picked up the shell casings. Furthermore, they asked one of their colleagues also to help pick up shell casings. They disposed of them," Snow added.
Snow noted that a jury convicted the agents on 11 out of 12 counts and defended the government's stance.
"This is not the case of the United States saying, we are not going to support people who go after drug dealers. Of course we are ... we also believe that the people who are working to secure that border themselves obey the law," he said.
That is factually untrue. By his own testimony, Compean was uninjured. By his own admission, the only blood on him was on his right hand, as a result of improperly holding his firearm while he was shooting.
Exactly! Uh..so too it should work for the Border-patrolmen.
sw
President Bush will probably pardon them upon leaving office.
-----Whatever happened to "Stop, or we'll shoot" at the border? You can smuggle 1/3 ton of weed and just run away if intercepted?
Bush isn't showing much leadership in this case. Or anything to do with the border, for that matter.-----
Yep. And I saw on FNC Bush just pardoned several convicted drug dealers and they weren't just small possessers. The WH/JD has been backing the drug dealer all the way against these BP agents. They back him in principle in his $5 million lawsuit for his Illegal civil rights being violated. Makes me want to puke.
Oh, do you have a private line into the White House? And even if he does, it's going to be a long two years for the two agents and their families.
Compean also had at least two arrests for domestic violence.
You are factually incorrect. Whenever CBP officers (which includes Border Patrol) use deadly force, whether they hit the target or not, on or off duty, the incident must be reported both orally and in writing.
Spot on and well said, Pukin Dog! There are far too many knee-jerk reactions and emotion based rants being posted on this story. IMO, one can support the border security and illegal immigration issue and still see that what these two border agents did was wrong, they knew it, tried to cover it up, and they deserved to be punished for it.
If those border agents had shot an American in the back, not knowing any more than they did in the case of the illegal Mexican, I'm willing to bet that those who are supporting the actions of these border agents would be singing a different tune.
And I don't blame these BP agents for picking up the shells - I imagine they sure as hell didn't expect ICE or the WH/JD to stand with them and they were right. Bush and Gonzalez is acting like the freakin ACLU, taking the absurd side of the criminal Illegal drug dealer. And Snow is backing him 100% at the press briefings. gag
Excellent post, ansel12. BTTT
sw
"IMO, one can support the border security and illegal immigration issue and still see that what these two border agents did was wrong, they knew it, tried to cover it up, and they deserved to be punished for it."
That pretty much defines the proper conservative position.
If I had wanted a man with no integrity in the White House, I would have voted for Clinton. Why would you want President Bush to be as morally corrupt as "klinton" was? Also, you might want to read more of the facts in the case against those border agents.
You can support and respect the jobs that our border agents do, and all law enforcement officers for that matter, without supporting a rogue cop gone bad.
I appreciate that and may I add that it should define the proper American position. :)
On what planet??
A "proper conservative" knows that granting invading foreign drug-smugglers immunity for their crimes against America in order to prosecute border patrol agents who shot him in the butt, thereby permitting said foreign drug-smuggler to sue the taxpayers for $5 million for violating HIS "civil rights," is suicidal liberalism.
My Mistake,,,Hang the Agents...I read about it on WND.
I believe it was Ramos, not Compean. And that has what to do with this case? Nothing. This information was only brought public by the US Gov't to smear the agents. In fact, Ramos' father-in-law has been one of his most vocal & loyal supporters. His wife is also very supportive, I have heard her numerous times on the radio. The Ramos family is living with their in-laws.
The public hears about unrelated deeds by the agents, yet the jury was not allowed to hear that the illegal alien was smuggling drugs when he was shot. The jury only heard that the scumbag was "working to support his family." They also did not hear that the same scumbag was later caught again smuggling 1,000 lbs of pot into the country. Of course, by then he had immunity & was not charged with the crime.
I'm sure you disagree with Bush pardoning a meth dealer last month, right?
I think 911 qualifies as a Border wake up call, don't you?
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