In his recent column, Andrew McCarthy defends prosecutor Johnny Sutton and the Bush Administration's war on Border Patrol agents Rene Sanchez and Ignacio Ramos.
NRO’s Andrew McCarthy wrote a recent column about the plight of the two Border Patrol agents now serving long prison terms after being vigorously prosecuted by US attorney Johnny Sutton. Only McCarthy doesn’t describe the agents’ situation as a “plight.” In fact, he seems even more enthusiastic than Sutton that the agents are in prison for shooting an illegal alien drug smuggler in the buttocks.
McCarthy argues in his piece that the agents are guilty as sin, and that anyone who thinks differently must be woefully ignorant of the facts. In particular he singled out World Net Daily, a popular website that has done a lot of reporting on the case. He also “called out” Sara A. Carter of California’s Inland Valley Daily Bulletin plus internet columnist Sher Zieve for their defense of the agents.
As Sher Zieve points out in her follow up column, McCarthy relies heavily on information that has now been discredited. DHS Inspector General Robert Skinner admitted this past week that his top deputies gave members of congress false information that portrayed BP agents Ramos and Compean as “rogue cops.”
McCarthy buys into Sutton’s premise that the agents wanted to “shoot some Mexicans,” or as he put it, “the agents certainly wanted to shoot one particular Mexican” – referring to the illegal alien drug smuggler, Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila. McCarthy seems far more concerned over the “cover-up” by the agents (they removed the bullet casings and failed to file a report – something that by all accounts should have amounted to a five-day suspension), than the fact that Aldrete-Davila was attempting to bring nearly 750 pounds of dope into the US. He also seems equally unconcerned that Johnny Sutton gave this dope peddler immunity for testifying in a trial that handed down obscene sentences against the two agents, one of whom was recently beaten in prison – in all probability by illegal aliens. McCarthy chooses not to believe agent Compean’s contention that he thought the smuggler was armed, despite the fact that the path of the bullet is clearly described as entering in the left side of the left buttocks, traveling through the groin area, and lodging in the right thigh – consistent with someone turning to aim a weapon.
There are many twists and turns in this story that saw Sutton give immunity to the illegal drug smuggler in exchange for his testimony against the two agents. It is becoming more and more clear that there are many problems and downright contradictions with the government’s case.
McCarthy went on to say, “You want to argue about the sentences being too severe? That’s fair.” McCarthy may have conceded that it’s “fair” but he certainly doesn’t choose to argue the case. One is left with the definite impression that McCarthy would prefer to see these two agents, one of whom had been nominated for Border Patrol “agent of the year,” remain locked up indefinitely. Perhaps McCarthy would like to send the prison some special leg-irons in order to punish them further. He might also consider assisting Aldrete-Davila with his $5 million lawsuit against the U.S. for violating his “civil rights” – a case that most assuredly would never have seen the light of day had Johnny Sutton not cut the immunity deal that brought back Aldrete-Davila to begin with.
There are probably two reasons for McCarthy’s zeal in bashing WND and other writers who have been keeping the story going. One is that World Net Daily is probably seen as an “upstart” conservative publication. In the process, they have attained an internet readership that rivals and perhaps even surpasses National Review Online.
The second reason is that NRO in recent times seems to have forgotten its conservative roots. In many ways they have become nothing more than mouthpieces for the Bush Administration. The entire immigration issue is a hot button for many conservatives who now find themselves at odds with this President – a President who favors amnesty for millions of illegal aliens and refuses to control the border. A President who has finally promised to “review” the case of Compean and Ramos, but only after enormous pressure from the conservative base.
McCarthy wanted to “‘splain” this case to Sher Zieve (and to everyone else who disagrees with him.) Well, I have a little “‘splaining” where NRO is concerned. Their slavish devotion to the Bush Administration extends to peripheral issues such as the Border Patrol agents’ case. They know that immigration is the White House’s achilles heel, and that this case has the ability to explode like a powder keg. So, NRO will naturally do all they can to downplay the case.
Sorry, but being lackeys for the Bush Administration no longer cuts it among true conservatives.
Two minor corrections: one of the agents actually DID file an in-person report to his supervisor at the scene of the shooting, and was told not to file a written report. This was documented and witnessed by nearly a dozen other people. And the law used to convict these two guys was improperly applied. “Use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a violent crime” doesn’t apply to officers in the field who are commissioned to carry guns, as it turns out.
This case was one of the biggest railroadings I’ve ever heard of. Most outrageous of all is that we went in to Mexico to retrieve this drug smuggler to testify against these guys. We can’t go into Mexico to chase after him when he abandoned a van with nearly 800 pounds of dope, but we certainly managed to find him okay when Johnny Sutton needed him for his witch hunt. Sutton should be dismissed after this incident, especially in light of the latest emerging evidence.
Defending Sutton because people are “woefully ignorant of the facts” is a vacuous argument at best. It is really disingenuous to try to reduce this incident to the trial transcript alone.
The trial excluded information that even jurors admitted would have swayed their votes to convict.
In addition, someone (whoever that may be), told at least three jurors the judge would not accept anything but a unanimous verdict. This is of course, completely false. It may also be illegal. It amounts to coercion of a juror, however unintentional.
A plethora of details have emerged that display a desire to “nail” these agents who were speciously described as “rogue agents.” Those DHS officials who lied to congressman when questioned, may be prosecuted for their words. They will contend all they did was exaggerate. However, what they did was support &/or back up the prosecutors assertions the primary reason for the prosecutions was he was going after rogue agents. If the statements were not made by these men, then they were improperly portrayed as rogue agents.
Dismissing one agents feelings he was responding to what he thought was a weapon (or shinny object he thought was a weapon), even to the point of ridiculing the agents assertions, was and is, foolhardy. Many law enforcement officials are “forced” in an instant to decide if they must defend their very lives. These two men had no way of knowing the criminal illegal alien drug smuggler was not armed.
This man came into America & was immediately suspect. He came in w/o processing & the agents knew that. Even if he was “just” an illegal alien, he had broken the law. But, the agents knew the man more than likely was smuggling illegal aliens or drugs, in the van . That made him more than “just” an illegal alien. The agents also knew many BP agents have been fired on by smugglers. They had every justifiable reason to suspect the van contained something illegal, because few, if ANY, illegal aliens bring along their vehicles when they sneak in.
Why were these agents prosecuted as though they were in the premeditated commission of a crime? That was the intention of the law used against them.
If they made errors, they were at the most, BP policy & procedure errors, requiring suspension and/or pay docking, at the most!
The government has pooh poohed any question of the relationship between the investigating agent, the agent who reported the alleged crime, and the criminal alien drug smuggler.
Yet there are real questions to be answered. There looks to be seriously well connected “juice” behind folks on this issue. The drug smuggler had lied repeatedly to the investigator, and had changed his story only after being interviewed. Subsequently, the investigator got him his grant of immunity, and medical treatment.
My question is, “if the illegal alien drug smuggler had been captured, would anyone have sought prosecution of the agents?” The men “may have” faced departmental discipline, but surely not prosecution for capturing nearly 1000 lbs. of illegal drugs.
If the assertions these were “rogue agents” is false and cannot be supported, then why did the prosecutor decide to aggressively pursue this case? It was the bedrock of his contention these men were in the commission of a crime.
Why would two men, both of Mexican decent, seek to “shoot them a Mexican”?” Is the prosecutor saying these men hate Mexicans?
This looks like the illegal alien drug smugglers family had some connections with someone who had connections, who got the issue pushed through, and brought about the prosecution by a prosecutor who has a history of seeking notoriety for high profile cases, as part of his making a name for himself.
I cannot recount all of the controversial points on this case. Few of those controversial issues, can be refuted by anyone. There are no attempts to refute much of it.
The prosecution has resorted to character attacks on the men and their defenders, rather than dispelling any questionable points. Each time the prosecutor or another administration official speaks out on this, they uncover even more questionable points that raise even more concern this was malicious and was pushed through by someone with “juice” while being picked up by someone in the administration seeking to discredit opponents to the presidents amnesty plans. If supporters could be discredited, any objections to the presidents plans could have been framed as malicious intentions of nationalist attitudes, rather than legitimate objections.
See Jerome Corsi articles for more information. He & others easily pick apart many of the prosecutions assertions and have refuted so-called evidence used to convict, while evading questions about connections of people & an admin desire to make their plans for amnesty look compassionate, and their detractors look like radicals.
I voted for President Bush, twice. I support his war on terrorism & still support his Iraq efforts even though I know he screwed up that process. I want our guys to emerge victorious.
Leaving Iraq would be stupid in my opinion & the terrorists & radical Islamists would use that to foment more violence against the cowardly Americans who are afraid to fight. It would be used to push for more global efforts to shove Islam down everyone’s throats.
But the president is terribly wrong on immigration & efforts to create a North American Union with no borders.
Imagine Americans depending on Mexican law enforcement & military officials properly vetting the identity and threat potential of aliens who enter Mexico from terrorist sponsoring nations? Imagine once in Mexico, one of these aliens obtaining one of the proposed North American Union “expedited border crossing passes,” which would mean less inspection of the individual when they come into America?
How many corrupt Mexican officials do you really think there are, and how much would it take to bribe them into letting a terrorist gain expedited passage through Mexico into America?
I posit that so long as they got a promise the dirty deeds would be done in America, and their pocketbooks were satisfactorily filled, there could be lines of potential entrants!
Add concerns about expedited passage of supposedly security cleared pre-certified cargo into America, which would not be subject to any sort of real inspection until it got to the new SPP proposed Mexican cargo facility in Kansas, if the cargo ever got there at all once across the border.
I am seriously concerned these men are victims of plans to enact the North American Union & efforts to discredit & de-legitimize opposition to the plans,
by making amnesty opponents look like out of control zealots who shoot at anyone & everything with no justification.
It all stinks. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then its a duck!