Border Agents Revisited: Were Wrongfully Convicted Border Agents Set Up?

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Border Agents Revisited: Were Wrongfully Convicted Border Agents Set Up?
Bill Haymin

By Jeff Mazzella, President of CFIF

While families all over America were celebrating the Christmas holiday, two American families were preparing to say goodbye to their husbands and fathers.

In the rush to buy presents and trim the tree, you may have forgotten Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean -- at least it would seem that our government has forgotten about them -- or WANTS to forget about them.

Compean and Ramos are the two U.S. Border Agents wrongfully convicted and recently sentenced to a combined 23 years in prison for attempting to arrest Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, an illegal alien who was smuggling drugs from Mexico into the U.S.

The Agents spotted Davila driving a van, loaded down with 743 lbs of marijuana, already on American soil.

When Davila realized he was about to be captured, Davila abandoned the van and took off running toward the Mexican border. Ramos, a federal officer, tried to block his way. Davila knocked him down.

Compean, after seeing his partner on the ground, and seeing what he thought at that instant was Davila brandishing a nickel-plated pistol, opened fire. Davila turned and ran back across the Mexican border and escaped in another van -- apparently unhurt.

Some two weeks later, Johnny Sutton, the U.S. Attorney for that part of Texas, claimed that Davila's mother called the mother-in-law of a Border Agent in Arizona and told him that Davila had been shot in his illegal, dope-dealing rear by a Border Agent.

And Sutton -- apparently outraged that two law enforcement agents would actually try to enforce the law... apparently outraged that a dope dealing piece of scum was shot in the buttocks -- ordered a full-scale, no stone un-turned, investigation of COMPEAN AND RAMOS!

And here's the kicker! Instead of calling the two agents into headquarters, the Department of Homeland Security sent two SWAT teams to stage a high-profile arrest at each house, during which they bullied the two men and their stunned and terrified families.

What was DHS thinking... that Compean and Ramos would try to flee across the border?

The flamboyant arrest -- unjustified and unprecedented -- was the tip-off:

This case was to become a carefully staged drama intended to do two things:

warn all other Border Agents to lay off illegal aliens and smugglers, and send a welcome message to the government of Mexico: "Don't worry... the border will stay open to illegal crossings and nobody will ever again try to enforce our laws --not after they watch us clobber Ramos and Compean."

Was this conviction a simple miscarriage of justice... a glitch in the system? Or were Compean and Ramos set-up?

You can be the judge of that; but consider what went on following the indictment.

First, U.S. Attorney Sutton gave full immunity to the illegal dope dealer, so he could testify against two loyal public servants doing their job.

Sutton also transferred Davilla to a U.S. hospital, where he received a fortune in medical treatment courtesy of U.S. taxpayers.

But wait until you hear this: After this VIP treatment, DAVILLA WAS AGAIN CAUGHT SMUGGLING DRUGS ACROSS THE BORDER! And Sutton gave him immunity from prosecution from those crimes as well.

The message such an action sends is clear. If you want to come into the United States illegally to sell dope to our children, just testify against U.S. law enforcement officials who, in the words of Congressman Tom Tancredo, were "Doing their jobs!"

As for the charges, Sutton threw the book at Ramos and Compean, charging them with Causing Serious Bodily Harm, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Discharge of a Firearm In Relation to a Crime of Violence, and violation of the illegal dope dealer's civil rights.

All four of these charges are really one charge, the same charge: shooting Davilla in his sorry rear end. You can tell from this piling on of charges that Johnny Sutton was out to prove a point.

This is persecution rather than prosecution.

You have to ask yourself, "What's going on here? Who's pulling the strings?"

To destroy the lives of two loyal, public servants to placate a foreign nation is

beneath contempt. President Bush MUST pardon these men immediately.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Kanov, who actually prosecuted the case, pulled out all the stops, telling the jury that Ramos and Compean had violated Davila's civil rights by shooting him.

But under U.S. law, an illegal alien who is in this country to commit a felony, has no constitutional rights.

Kanov also said that shooting Davilla violated the 4th Amendment to the Constitution. But wait a minute! That Amendment prohibits "unreasonable search and seizure" and reads -- "no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause..."

Since when did shooting drug dealers in the butt constitute unreasonable search and seizure?

In perhaps the most revealing statement of all, Kanov said, "It is a violation of Border Patrol regulations to go after someone who is fleeing.

Is it, now?

Did Kanov say something that was untrue? Or did she reveal something deeply disturbing about our government?

Are the regulations actually set up to tie the hands of border agents? Is that why Administration officials lost their minds when Minutemen volunteers started paroling the border?


It sure looks that way, doesn't it?

And is that why Ramos and Compean have been so brutalized by the legal system? Because they violated the unwritten rules by attempting to stop illegal aliens and dope dealers from invading the U.S.?

If so, then we have corruption at the highest levels of government.

Also, there are legitimate contentions that somebody leaned on the jury.

We now know that three of the twelve jurors believed Ramos and Compean were NOT guilty.

The other nine believed the government would not have charged them if they hadn't been guilty.

Suspicious, Ramos's lawyer talked to the three jurors -- Gourley, Torres and Woods -- who now claim they were tricked into voting for conviction.

They confided to the defense lawyer that the jury foreman told them the judge had said all jurors had to agree on the verdict, that it HAD to be unanimous.

Believing they were compelled by law to vote with the majority, the three changed their vote! Two were in tears as the verdict was read.

Turns out the judge had said no such thing. If these three are to be believed, what the foreman said was untrue.

And that's not all that was fishy. When the verdict was announced, U.S. Attorney Sutton said in part:

"...when law-enforcement officers use their badge as a shield for carrying out crimes and then engage in a coverup, we cannot look the other way. Agents Compean and Ramos shot an unarmed, fleeing suspect in the back and lied about it."

However, when a rumor spread that Compean and Ramos might get probation, Sutton issued a three-page statement to the media in which he said:

"[The two agents] fired their weapons at a man who was attempting to surrender by holding his open hands in the air."

Was he fleeing or was he attempting to surrender? In the Justice Department these days, you can apparently have it both ways.

Debra Kanov obviously got her orders from Johnny Sutton: "Whatever you have to do, get these convictions," or words to that effect.

But from whom did Johnny Sutton get his orders?

During this holiday season, let's think about the Ramos and Compean families and what they are facing.

Ramos has three sons, ages 6, 9, and 13.

Compean also has three children, the youngest only a month old. His wife is in a wheel chair.

The more than decade-long sentences that each got was for the mere firing of their guns, with one and two years tacked on. No time off for good behavior on the ten years. Neither man will be out before his older children have grown up.

Ten lives ruined because somebody wants to globalize North America.

In a quiet moment during this joyous season... please think of these poor people. Pray if you are so inclined.

But most importantly, DO SOMETHING TO REVERSE THIS GROSS MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE!

Use the hyperlink below to send you urgent and personalized Blast Fax messages to President Bush and the leaders in the House and Senate. Tell them that the arrest, conviction, and sentencing of two men defending our nation's borders is a gross miscarriage of justice and perhaps one of the most cynical misuses of power in our nation's recent history.

To destroy the lives of two loyal, public servants to placate a foreign nation is beneath contempt. President Bush MUST pardon these men immediately.
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=18465

The Petition link:http://www.grassfire.org/142/petition.asp?PID=12108205&NID=1
 
[rules] This article makes me rethink about becoming part of the law enforcment community. I guess I'll just have to sign that petition![angry2]
 
Ten lives ruined because somebody wants to globalize North America.

Mr. Sutton is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in International Business in 1983.

he sure sounds like a globalist

petition signed!
 
Last edited:
I wanted to bring this thread back for a reason. These two agents have reported to prison. I called the White House comment line to demand they be pardoned.

They were doing their job. An illegal alien drug runner has more rights than they do? If that doesn't get you fired up, nothing will.

For those who wish to voice their discontent, the number is 202-456-1111. I wasn't asked for my name, just what my comment was.
 
I signed the petition a while back. This is the type of thing that should really piss people off. I could frankly care less if these two border guys shot the guy legitimately or not. Cops in this country shoot people - who are American citizens - all the time and get off. There was that case in NY city a month or so ago with the three guys leaving the strip club who got shot up when they crashed into the police van. I don't see any big news stories about those cops getting prosecuted. Apparently it is ok to shoot people if you are a US citizen - and you are black. But it is not OK to shoot people if they are non US citizens and they are smuggling drugs over the border?
 
I didn't sign it. if you get past the emotional diatribes and falsehoods surrounding the case, they effed up, tried to cover up their crimes and were convicted and found guilty.

pretty effed up to see people weak on crime and against the rule of law on a gunboard. but the victims were dark skinned and criminals so the gubmint agents should get a pass?

reminds me of the people who said that about the agents who shot Weaver and his family, "we'll they were gun nuts" or Koresh, "we'll they were gun nuts and molesting kids and he had 10 wives".

you sign the petition and that's who's league you are no in. congrats moonbats!
 
I didn't sign it. if you get past the emotional diatribes and falsehoods surrounding the case, they effed up, tried to cover up their crimes and were convicted and found guilty.

pretty effed up to see people weak on crime and against the rule of law on a gunboard. but the victims were dark skinned and criminals so the gubmint agents should get a pass?

reminds me of the people who said that about the agents who shot Weaver and his family, "we'll they were gun nuts" or Koresh, "we'll they were gun nuts and molesting kids and he had 10 wives".

you sign the petition and that's who's league you are no in. congrats moonbats!

At this point - with the absolute abdication of our government of their responsbility to defend the border - I could care less if a few illegals get shot here and there "by accident" or not. This sounds cruel and inhumane I know - but it is also cruel and inhumane for our government to let a known criminal - and non-citizen off and then apply the full force of the law against two federal officers who were attempting to do their job under extremely frustrating circumstances.

Last time I checked the names " Ramos and Compean " are not typical surnames of a couple of white guys from Connecticut - so as far as I am concerned the racial angle is BS.

If the illegal alien in question was picked up and charged with all the legitimate charges that he has coming - as well as charging these two Border Patrol officers with some sort of crime (they shot him in the ass) then I might tend to agree with you - but to let off a person who 1) crossed the border illegally, 2) smuggled 743 pounds of marijuana (should be enough for a very long prison sentence ) , and 3) Refused the order to stop from the officers - but then throw the full force of the US Govt behind prosecuting the two officers is the purest of bullshit. Right is right - if that is what you are aiming for then the illegal alien Davila should be marching off in chains too. But he isn't - is he?
 
I won't sign it. Pardons are for the guilty. These guys violated department policy. As for coverup, their supervisor was on scene and knew they had discharged their weapons. Guess he should be in jail right beside them. They deserved a reprimand or suspension, not 10 years in jail. The DOJ bent over backwards to go after these guys. And let a drug smuggler walk twice in the process. Hopefully, clearer heads will prevail on appeal.
 
Disgusting, creepy, horrible feeling to be an American when the government does something like this.

Illegal aliens HAVE NO RIGHTS in the US. It is a dissappointment the minutemen volunteers did not bury more of them along the Arizona border. Perhaps that would discourage the illegal crossings and smuggling (of drugs and people). This is not a racial or demographic issue at all. US citizens have rights (regardless of original nationality), illegal aliens do not, including the right to life during felony pursuit.

I sent my faxes, made my phone calls, and signed the petition.
 
At this point - with the absolute abdication of our government of their responsbility to defend the border - I could care less if a few illegals get shot here and there "by accident" or not. This sounds cruel and inhumane I know - but it is also cruel and inhumane for our government to let a known criminal - and non-citizen off and then apply the full force of the law against two federal officers who were attempting to do their job under extremely frustrating circumstances.

Last time I checked the names " Ramos and Compean " are not typical surnames of a couple of white guys from Connecticut - so as far as I am concerned the racial angle is BS.

If the illegal alien in question was picked up and charged with all the legitimate charges that he has coming - as well as charging these two Border Patrol officers with some sort of crime (they shot him in the ass) then I might tend to agree with you - but to let off a person who 1) crossed the border illegally, 2) smuggled 743 pounds of marijuana (should be enough for a very long prison sentence ) , and 3) Refused the order to stop from the officers - but then throw the full force of the US Govt behind prosecuting the two officers is the purest of bullshit. Right is right - if that is what you are aiming for then the illegal alien Davila should be marching off in chains too. But he isn't - is he?


gotcha. so it's about your feeeeeelings over any logic or rule of law. I know a lot of people like that around here in MA. you ftom Cambridge by any chance?
 
gotcha. so it's about your feeeeeelings over any logic or rule of law. I know a lot of people like that around here in MA. you ftom Cambridge by any chance?


When it comes down to it though, they really only committed procedural
violations. BFD. Fire them, suspend them, do whatever. Incarcerating
them was not the right response in this case, and shows a clear lack of
judgement by the US attorney. Theres this little thing called "prosecutorial
discretion" and it seems to me that the attorney has used it to the benefit
of the non citizen drug smuggler and not law enforcement, when it is clear
(to me, at least) that they should be given the benefit of the doubt in this
situation.

This seems to be a recurring theme with USBP. It's almost as if
they have their hands tied more than the other agencies do, and after
awhile this type of BS starts interfering with their ability to do their
job. (Not to mention USBP is one of the most dangerous LE jobs in
existence.... not enough men and vehicles, and often times the smugglers
have more firepower than they do, by orders of magnitude. )


-Mike
 
From WorldNetDaily - there's three stories re" the two agents.

#1:

Imprisoned border agent did report shooting
DHS memo shows Compean spoke to supervisor immediately after incident

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: February 7, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

WND has obtained a Department of Homeland Security memo indicating Border Patrol agent Jose Compean made a complete, in-person verbal report to his supervisor at the scene immediately following the shooting incident for which he and colleague Ignacio Ramos are now in prison.

The May 15, 2005, report filed by DHS Special Agent Christopher Sanchez documents a conversation between Compean and his supervisor that explains the decision by all nine Border Patrol agents and supervisors on the scene not to file written reports.

As reported by WND yesterday, a DHS memo filed by Sanchez April 12, 2005, shows seven agents and two supervisors were present at the Feb. 17, 2005 incident also decided not to file written reports.

The April 12, 2005, DHS memo stated that all the agents present at the incident were equally guilty for not filing a written report.

These memos directly contradict the repeated statements of the prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, that agents Ramos and Compean filed false reports about the incident.

As far as WND can determine, no written reports were filed by any of the Border Patrol agents or supervisors on the field.

Moreover, the record of the May 15, 2005, memo indicates Compean was truthful in reporting verbally to the most senior supervisor present at the incident.

Sanchez's memo of May 15, 2005, is a transcript of a hearing held by Compean with El Paso Border Patrol Sector Chief Louis Barker. The hearing was held at Compean's request in order to protest his proposed indefinite suspension resulting from his March 18, 2005, arrest on criminal charges.

The first part of the hearing was held April 7, 2005, before Compean's April 13, 2005, indictment. The second recording from the hearing is dated April 28, 2005.

At the administrative hearing, Compean was accompanied by union representative Robert Russell, a vice president of Local 1929, the El Paso branch of the National Border Patrol Council.

In the opening statement transcribed from the April 7, 2005, audio cassette, Russell makes Barker aware that Compean had made a complete report on the scene to Jonathan Richards, the more senior of the two supervisors present at the incident.

Russell's testimony references a wound Compean suffered on his hand, a gash between the thumb and index finger, which he suffered when scuffling in the ditch with the drug smuggler, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, who had abandoned his vehicle and was attempting to escape back to Mexico on foot. Russell points to this wound as evidence of aggravated assault committed on Compean by the drug smuggler.

Here is Russell's recorded testimony:

Well, I mean, the base … the basis of this is basically … ummm … Mr. Compean … an assault took place that day against one of our agents, and he did defend himself, and the part of the assault is never mentioned in the complaint or anywhere by OIG (Office of Inspector General) that they know clearly how this did take place.
A few sentences later, Russell again references that what transpired at the scene was observed by the agents and supervisors in the field and subsequently fully known to the Border Patrol management at the station in Fabens, Texas.

Russell indicates that management at Fabens themselves chose not to make a report about Compean's injury. Here is his testimony:

Even management at the station in Fabens was fully aware of what had transpired and for whatever reason nothing was ever generated … and once all this comes forward, I mean, it's my belief even his attorneys' belief that even once that does come forward and all that information is presented that the charges will possibly be dropped … or dismissed … or he will be found not guilty … based on that … what did transpire.
Directly contradicting prosecutor Sutton's assertion that agents Ramos and Compean filed false reports, the April 2005 administrative hearing reveals Compean was forthcoming concerning the events of the incident.

In the second cassette, Russell makes clear that the reluctance to do more formal reporting after the incident came from supervisor Richards.

But the fact of the matter is an assault did take place. Umm … Mr. Richards did know about it.
Umm … whether Mr. Compean … Mr. Compean said yes sir to this or whether he was assaulted or not … doesn't negate Mr. Richards responsibility to take some action from the facts that were presented to him as to what happened out there.

He was on the scene. He was told by another agent exactly what had happened and it pretty much apparently stopped at that point.

Russell argues Richards did not want to go through the trouble of filing written paperwork. So rather than press the hand injury, which Compean felt was minor, Compean gave in to Richards' pressure to forget about the hand injury, obviating the only issue the supervisor felt might be needed to document in writing.

Station Chief Barker asked Compean why he didn't report the shooting. Compean admitted that possibly a written report should have been filed, but he and the other Border Patrol on the scene considered the incident inconsequential.

Compean testified:

As …As I stated to … umm … to this earlier … I didn't … I just … I know it was wrong for us not to reported it and I … if I would have thought that he had been hit or anything like that had happened I would have … I didn't … I just … I knew we were going to get in trouble because the way … the way it's been at the station the last two … three years … uhh … I mean everything always comes down to the alien. The agents are as soon as anything comes up … it is always … always the agent's fault. The agents have always been cleared but, with management, it's always been the agent's fault. We're the ones that get in trouble.
Compean continued to note that Aldrete-Davila escaped, and none of the agents in the field thought he had been hit. All the agents and supervisors in the field knew there had been a shooting and none of the agents or supervisors filed any written reports. There was no "cover-up" of anything that happened that day in the field, the documentation indicates. The only defect was failure by all to file a written report, including the two supervisors present.

Compean emphasized that the failure to report the incident was considered minor given the outcome:

He (Aldrete-Davila) was already gone back south. I … really didn't … didn't think he had been hit. The way I saw him walking back south he looked … he looked fine to us and we just didn't … nothing was ever said as … as to don't say anything keep your mouth shut nothing like that was ever … was ever brought up either. We just … we just didn't bring it up.
Compean's testimony emphasized supervisor Richards pressured him not to file a written report:

When we got back to the station it was the same thing he asked me and the way … the way I … the way he … he asked me ... he made it seemed like he wanted me to say no and that's why I said it.
By denying he had been injured, Compean made it possible for Richards to avoid the trouble of filing a written report on the incident.

The issue about filing a written report, according to Compean's testimony, turned on his willingness not to mention the assault. The decision not to file a written report did not turn on wanting to hide the fact that shooting had taken place.

Moreover, Richards was well aware Compean had been injured in a scuffling match with Aldrete-Davila on the levee, when he wrestled the drug smuggler down. Compean did not even realize his hand had been cut until Richards pointed it out to him at the levee.

The Customs and Border Patrol manual mentions that the penalty for failure to report the discharge of a firearm or use of a weapon as required by the applicable firearms policy is a written reprimand, or at most a five-day suspension for the first offense. The manual makes no mention of the possibility of criminal punishment for failure to report the discharge of a weapon.

In a last, more belligerent section of the hearing, Barker charges, "There was a shooting where somebody was shot and NOTHING WAS SAID!" The capital letters were in the original transcript, probably reflecting Barker's emphasis.

Russell responds, according to the transcript: "That was an administrative violation on his part by not reporting it to the agency, yes, but on the same part the agency failed to act when it knew that an agent had been assaulted."

Then, Russell himself shouts out, "EMPLOYEES SAW IT," pointing out seven Border Patrol agents besides Ramos and Compean, including two supervisors, were at the scene.

According to the transcript, the pressure on Compean not to file a written report came from Richards, the senior supervisor on the field.

Richards was applying pressure on Compean not to report the assault, because that would have demanded paperwork.

Moreover, according to the hearing transcript, there is no record Richards ever mentioned to Compean the need to file a written report on the shooting.
 
#2:

Posted: February 7, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

The White House says that there are procedures to follow in considering any request or suggestion for a presidential pardon, and that's what is going on right now in the case involving Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, two U.S. Border Patrol agents sentenced to prison for shooting at a fleeing drug smuggler.

The comments came in response to questions from Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House, about the case following a beating Ramos suffered allegedly at the hands of illegal aliens being held in the same prison where he is.

"The Fort Worth Star Telegraph quotes President Bush of Fox TV network as saying that he is bound by strict federal guidelines on pardons, and cannot immediately grant a pardon to Border Patrol agents Ramos and Compean because, quote, 'there is a series of steps that are analyzed in order for the Justice Department to make a recommendation as to whether or not a president grants a pardon,'" Kinsolving said.

Then he asked: "Was this series of analyzed steps followed when President Jerry Ford pardoned President Nixon even before he was tried; when President Carter pardoned all those draft resisters?"

"What you're asking is, should the president waive standard procedures in this case," Snow said. "And the answer is, no, we want to be careful about issuing pardons, and we're trying to be careful about the facts, which is why the Department of Justice is in the process of trying to get full transcripts of the trial of Agents Compean and Ramos, so you and everybody else who are willing to ask questions about this will be armed with facts."

The two agents encountered a situation in which they suspected illegal activities, and ended up firing shots at a man who turned out to be a fleeing drug smuggler. The U.S. attorney filed charges against the officers, and brought the smuggler back from Mexico, giving him immunity, in order to testify against the officers.

"Page one of The Washington Times quotes Texas Republican Congressman Ted Poe, who deplored the conviction of Texas Deputy Sheriff Gilmer Hernandez, who fired shots at a fleeing vehicle with illegal aliens, saying, 'This is another example of how the federal government is more concerned about people who are illegally invading America than it is about the men who protect America.' And my question:" Kinsolving said. "Does the president believe that Texas Republican Poe, another Republican congressman, and hundreds of thousands of petition signers on this issue are all wrong?"

"I think what the president has done is spend more money on border security than any president in American history," Snow responded.

WND also has reported on the case involving Hernandez, who like the two border agents, went solo against a crowd of illegal aliens, and ended up as a defendant in the case.

Snow also had a statement prepared for yet another question from Kinsolving, this one involving reports from the Yazoo City Federal Correctional Complex in Mississippi about a beating Ramos suffered – allegedly at the hands of illegal aliens also in the prison with him.

"What is the president's reaction to this, since he refused thousands of requests to pardon this man?" Kinsolving had asked.

"Here's a statement from Charles Smith, who represents the institution, and here's their report: 'On February 3rd, 2007, at approximately 10:15 p.m., inmate Ignacio Ramos, an inmate incarcerated at the federal correctional complex in Yazoo City, Mississippi, reported to staff that he had been assaulted. Mr. Ramos was evaluated by medical staff at the institution, who determined he had sustained some bruises and abrasions.

"The injuries sustained were minor in nature. Inmate Ramos was subsequently placed in the special housing unit, pending a thorough investigation of the incident. He will remain in the special housing unit until the conclusion of this investigation," Snow continued. "No further information is available at this time."

WND had reported on that beating a day earlier, when Ramos's wife and father-in-law told WND the former agent said the assailants "got me pretty good."

He reported being assaulted by five Hispanic men with steel-toed boots.

"They kicked me in the head, they kicked me all over the body. I'm all bruised and very sore," Ramos reportedly said, adding he bled from his left ear.

"No security came to his rescue," the jailed Border Patrol agent's wife told WND. "Another inmate came and got him and said, 'Hey, dude, let me help you up.' The other inmate walked my husband over to security."

Patti Compean, wife of imprisoned agent Jose Compean, told WND her husband was in a different prison, still in solitary confinement.
 
And #3:

Posted: February 7, 2007
3:55 p.m. Eastern

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas
A Republican congressman is calling for the resignation of Department of Homeland Security officials who he says lied about the case of two Border Patrol agents imprisoned for their actions in the shooting of a drug smuggler.

As WND reported, at a congressional hearing yesterday, Rep. John Culberson of Texas confronted DHS Inspector General Richard Skinner about his agency's claim it had documentary proof of the guilt of former agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.

"Richard Skinner admitted yesterday under oath that his top deputies gave members of Congress false information painting Border Patrol agents as rogue cops who were not in fear for their lives and who were 'out to shoot Mexicans,'" Culberson said in a statement.

Culberson said he believes false information was given to congressmen to "throw us off the scent and cover up what appears to be an unjust criminal prosecution of two U.S. law enforcement officers whose job was protecting our country's borders from criminals and terrorists."

The admission came during Skinner's testimony before the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. Culberson was asking questions 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 Skinner's office asserted it had documentary evidence Ramos and Compean:
confessed to knowingly shooting at an unarmed suspect;
stated during the interrogation they did not believe the suspect was a threat to them at the time of the shooting; stated that day they "wanted to shoot a Mexican"; were belligerent to investigators; destroyed evidence and lied to investigators. Ramos and Compean began prison sentences last month of 11 and 12 years respectively.

Yesterday, under questioning by Culberson, Skinner admitted DHS did not in fact have investigative reports to back up its claims.

"The person who told you that misinformed you," Skinner reportedly replied.

This prompted a startled and angry response from Culberson, who charged Skinner's office with lying to the Texas congressmen and painting Ramos and Compean as dirty cops.

In his statement today, Culberson accused the DHS of leaving U.S. borders "largely undefended" and deploying National Guard troops "whose 'standard operating procedure' is 'to retreat' when confronted with armed criminals."

The "unjust" prosecution of Ramos and Compean, he said, "weakens border security by discouraging all U.S. law enforcement officers from drawing their weapons in self-defense or in the defense of our nation."

"Our highest priority in the war on terror is to secure our borders," Culberson said. "These two agents need to be pardoned and we need to reassure our brave Border Patrol agents and law enforcement officers that we support them and want them to feel free to use their best judgment and whatever force they think is necessary to protect America."
 
I support the Border Patrol agents completely and will call the number listed to voice my support and demand a pardon for them. I think their superiors got them screwed. As I understand it, their superiors were on site after the shooting and should have ordered that a report be made/filed. I think these bureaucrats tried to bury the shooting and then hung their men out to dry when it surfaced. These men are not criminals, but they have been convicted; a pardon is the best solution. How can it be a criminal offense to shoot an alien drug smuggler with 750 lbs of pot who resistst arrest? George Bush needs to get his head on straight. The way things are going, Vincente Fox will probably run in the next Presidential election and "W" will vote for him.
 
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