On September 26th, 2006, four Texas Congressman–Michael McCaul, John Culberson, Ted Poe and Kenny Marchant–attended a meeting with a representative of the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security.

The following is a full reproduction of an email sent by one of those representative’s staff members to Edd Hendee, providing their description of what transpired at the meeting. LoneStarTimes.com has redacted a few portions to protect anonymity/privacy; these redactions in no way alter the essence of the email.

From: [REDACTED STAFFER #1 @mail.house.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 6:30 PM
To: [REDACTED: EDD'S EMAIL ADDRESS]
Cc: [REDACTED STAFFER #2 @mail.house.gov]
Subject: Ramos and Compean

Edd,

Here is an account of the incident as told to Members and staffers during a meeting with the DHS OIG yesterday. Members in attendance were Congressmen Culberson, Poe, McCaul, and Marchant.

We have requested a court transcript from the U.S. District Court in El Paso to corroborate what we were told by the DHS IG’s office.

Account of the incident as told to us by the DHS IG:

Border Patrol agents Ramos and Compean stopped a car around 1PM on 2/17/2005. The basis of the stop was because the agents wanted to ID the driver. Aldrete-Davila got out of the car with his hands up and was hit in the head with the butt of a shotgun by Compean. A scuffle insued where Compean was knocked onto the ground. Aldrete-Davila then ran and was stopped on the international boundary by both agents. He put up his hands, and when one agent brought a shotgun to shoulder level, Aldrete-Davila took off. Fifteen shots were fired. Compean fired, emptied his clip, reloaded, and fired again. He fired a total of fourteen times. Ramos fired once. Aldrete-Davila got across the border.

Based on Border Patrol policy, agents cannot pursue into Mexico. Ramos and Compean did not pursue Aldrete-Davila into Mexico.

When this occurred, Ramos and Compean did not know that Aldrete-Davila was a Mexican national illegally in the U.S. or that he was transporting marijuana.

Compean removed 9 shell casings from the scene and later removed 5 more. He then threw those shells away.

Seven Border Patrol agents arrived on the scene. None of them had heard the gunfire and Ramos and Compean did not report firing their guns. One agent noticed that Compean was dirty and asked if he wanted to file an assault report. Compean said no. It was at that point that the car was searched and 700 pounds of marijuana were found.

Several weeks later, the Mexican Consulate contacted the U.S. Consulate in Mexico saying that they have a person who claims to have been shot by a Border Patrol agent. On March 4, 2005 the U.S. Consulate contacted the U.S. Attorney.

After negotiations, Aldrete-Davila was granted immunity by the U.S. Attorney for smuggling drugs on 2/17/2005 and nothing else. As far as the DHS IG knows, Aldrete-Davila admitted to smuggling the drugs and would only enter the U.S. if an immunity was granted. He was interrogated and later taken to the hospital where a catheter which had been put in at a Mexican hospital was removed a new one was put in. The bullet had severed his urethra. After the bullet was removed, a ballistics test matched the bullet to Ramos’ gun.

After the match, the DHS IG opened an investigation. During the interrogation, Compean admitted to covering up the shell casings. The investigator is unclear as to when Ramos confessed. During questioning by the Homeland Security investigator, admitted that Aldrete-Davila did not have a weapon, that they didn’t feel threatened, and that they “Wanted to shoot a Mexican”.

The investigator that we spoke to did not know about a second load of drugs that Aldrete-Davila brought across the border or a second immunity given to him.

I spoke to Chief Deputy [REDACTED] of the [REDACTED] County Sheriff’s Department this morning. He said that the only involvement the sheriff’s office had in this case was that the two Border Patrol agents were held in their jail. Chief [REDACTED]’s phone number is [REDACTED].

Chairman Hostettler of the Judiciary Committee Immigration subcommittee said today that he will hold a hearing on this.

[NAME REDACTED]
[POSITION REDACTED]
Congressman [NAME REDACTED]
202-[NUMBER REDACTED]

UPDATED–A very well-placed source in Washington D.C. had a look at this email, asked around, and offers this feedback:

There was no immunity ever given for any second load of drugs.  To our knowledge, Aldrete-Davila has not been charged with any second load.

The report telescopes how the stop was made.  Another agent wanted to stop the drug dealer, and Compean and Ramos joined the chase, eventually moving into the lead position.  A small point, but a different one.

There were five agents there when the chase and shooting took place– the two defendants, plus three others who went to the van.  Those three testified at the trial about the encounter at the ditch.

This summary says Compean picked up all the shells and disposed of them, but at trial, one of the non-defendant agents said he witnessed the shootings and was later told by Compean to look for the other ones.

The shooting came to attention of authorities not via the Mexican consulate, but when the drug dealer’s mother complained to a friend that her son was shot.  The friend told her son, who worked for DHS in Arizona, asking “Can BPs shoot somebody running away?”  Son looked for circumstances, couldn’t find a report in the file, and notified the DHS inspector general.

One sentence near the end is really off base.  It deals with the agents’ alleged confessions, and it reads as follows:

During questioning by the Homeland Security investigator, admitted that Aldrete-Davila did not have a weapon, that they didn’t feel threatened, and that they “Wanted to shoot a Mexican.”

In fact, they did not confess, but gave a statement attempting to explain and defend their actions.  The two patrolmen said they did indeed feel threatened, and one said he thought he saw the drug dealer with a weapon in his hand.  They never said they “wanted to shoot a Mexican.”

Texas Senator John Cornyn’s office has begun to send out the following response to those requesting comment on the border patrol case; here they are in full:

Sen. Cornyn has served in law enforcement for the vast majority of his working career, and he is particularly sensitive to those who put their lives on the line to ensure public safety. He knows the vital role that border patrol agents have in preventing drug dealers, would-be terrorists and others who wish us harm from entering the country.

Sen. Cornyn has taken an active role in making certain the rule of law is followed in this border patrol agent case, starting with a request last summer to the Justice Department for an explanation of their prosecutorial decisions that led to the agents’ conviction.

Throughout, Sen. Cornyn has urged the Justice Department to make available to the public all possible information about the case. In August and September, and again this month, DOJ published lengthy details about the facts of the case, and the issues faced by officials as the case transpired.

In September, Sen. Cornyn, through staff, asked DOJ for additional information, saying he was troubled by the decision to grant immunity to a drug dealer. He also joined Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA.) in seeking a Senate Judiciary staff review of the case and its handling, leading to a public hearing if appropriate. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), then chairman of Judiciary, instructed staff to begin the review.

Sen. Cornyn was encouraged because the DOJ – far from attempting to conceal its actions – expressed concern about alleged distortions and inaccurate statements about the case in news media and on the Internet, and actively encouraged a public hearing. However, Congress disbanded in early October, and in the staffing adjustments following change of partisan control in the November elections, the matter has not been pursued.

Sen. Cornyn this month has contacted the new Judiciary chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), renewing the hearing request.

This matter is particularly difficult because the case has been decided at the trial level by a jury, and is currently on appeal. As a general rule, it is inappropriate for a public official to comment on an ongoing criminal case. It is particularly unfortunate that the DOJ has not yet published trial transcripts, because there are numerous unverifiable rumors about the trial circulating in various media. As a partial result, all of the facts have not been ascertained – making public comment particularly problematic.

Sen. Cornyn expressed public approval of a DOJ decision to withhold opposition on the defendants’ motion to delay incarceration of the agents pending their appeals. Unfortunately, the judge did not delay their imprisonment.

Sen. Cornyn intends to weigh in on the question of a pardon once the appellate process has been completed, and all facts about the case and trial have been established.

Courtesy KFOX TV in El Paso:

President Bush on Thursday indicated that a presidential pardon for two Texas Border Patrol Agents remains a possibility.

Bush, speaking this morning with KFOX-TV, discussed the case of Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos.

Bush said, “There’s a process for pardons. It’s got to work its way through a system here in the government. I just want people to take a sober look at the case.”

Bush said a White House review will take place. “People need to take a tough look at the facts, the evidence a jury looked at, as well as (the) judge. And I will do the same thing,” Bush said.

Also– LoneStarTimes.com has acquired both a response from Senator Cornyn’s office, and a copy of an email detailing what a representative from the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security told four Texas congressmen last fall; both will be posted shortly.

Did you hear the one about Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton wanting to form their own Baptist church?

No, it’s not a joke.

Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have proposed the establishment of a broadly inclusive alternative Baptist movement to counter what they called a negative image of Baptists and to address poverty, the environment and global conflicts. (Source: BP News).

Lufkin’s most vilified conservative Rick Scarborough is upset, to say the least, about this new development. On his Vision America website, he writes:

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, which is working with Carter and Clinton on this project, split off from the Southern Baptist Convention after it became apparent that the majority of Southern Baptists believed that the Bible was the inerrant and infallible Word of God and that it spoke decisively to the great moral issues of our day.

What has to date been a relatively small and modest breakaway group is apparently now being given a new lease on life.

The Clinton/Carter movement toward this alliance proves what many conservatives within the Southern Baptist Convention always knew: That theological liberalism always leads to political liberalism — as both begin with the assumption that God’s word is not verifiably true and that man is the center of his own universe.

I assure you that Vision America is not going to allow this deception to go unchallenged. We are planning a major response the Clinton/Carter press conference. Stay tuned for more information.

___________

To continue reading, click here.

New coat, zero dollars:

New pants, zero dollars:

Getting yourself stuck in a Salvation Army donation bin while stealing its contents:

Priceless.

I’ve been meaning to post on this one for a while.

I enjoy watching American Idol as much as many of you, especially since it is one of the few shows that is (generally) appropriate for full-family viewing.

It is, of course, amusing to laugh at people who have deluded themselves into thinking that they can sing. And I don’t even mind some mean-spirited mockery of weirdos, oddballs and freaks.

BUT… some of the people being made fun of on this show are flat-out mentally ill.

Not “balanced people who don’t have a clue how talentless they are,” but rather “psychologically disturbed people who have no control over the fact that they are disconnected from reality.”

There is something immoral and unholy about all of America laughing at these people–like a 1920’s carnival freak-show meets Brave New World.

I’m not holding my breath, but FOX would do well to have both a psychologist and ethicist on staff to screen these people out, or at the very least not run footage of them of national TV.

Some things can be “funny” while still not being appropriate to laugh at.

And it isn’t necessary. There appears to be an unending supply of talentless knuckle-heads who should know better but are nevertheless still willing to entertain us with their inanity.

Let’s laugh at them, and guard the dignity of those incapable of guarding their own.

In a moment of temporary insanity yesterday, I offered to try to seek out the truth in regards to the Compean/Ramos border agent shooting controversy engulfing US Attorney Johnny Sutton’s office.

One good night’s sleep and two cups of coffee later, this morning I realize that:

1. I have a life, and subsequently responsibilities to myself and others to meet;
2. In terms of competing narratives, emotional rhetoric and suspicions of conspiracy, this mess is on track to outshine the JFK assassination, the O.J. Simpson trial and the 9/11 “Truth” movement combined.

I want out. And since I’m the “boss” here, I’m getting out.

Feel free to exchange information and talk about the controversy. If we see a particularly interesting bit of information, from either side, we’ll bring it to your attention. And as the story develops, we’ll cover it.

But this is not going to become one of those things LST “champions” in the sense of being internet activists–not in defense of the two agents, nor in defense of the prosecution, nor even as neutral pursuers of the truth.

Many of you, no doubt, have strong opinions about how I should be spending my time and utilizing my private property; feel free to try to correct my course of action in comments.

To everyone else, I thank you for your understanding.

Sincerely,

David Benzion
TIME Magazine Person of the Year, 2006

UPDATED–The story is getting attention today over in NRO’s “The Corner” (here and here).

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