Thread: Officials accuse DHS chief Kevin McAleenan of leaking ICE raids plan to sabotage oper

Officials accuse DHS chief Kevin McAleenan of leaking ICE raids plan to sabotage operation

by Anna Giaritelli
| June 22, 2019 11:05 PM


This week's big leak about a major Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation was orchestrated by acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan in an effort to sabotage the raids before they were scheduled to take place, according to three current and two former senior administration officials.

In a move he said was to placate Democrats, President Trump announced on Saturday that the nationwide immigration enforcement operation planned to start Sunday — aimed at migrant families who illegally remain in the country despite being denied asylum — was called off to give lawmakers two weeks to work on a plan to fix legal “loopholes” he said have enticed migrants to come to the U.S.

However, all five officials who spoke with the Washington Examiner confirmed McAleenan's decision to go rogue and stymie the operation was what prompted the White House to call off the 10-city operation.

The planned raids in cities such as Los Angeles, Miami, and Houston, were first reported by the Washington Post on Friday.

The sources said only a small number of people in the White House, ICE, and DHS were even aware of the plan’s details, including which cities, the date and time, and who would be targeted.

Two officials said the acting secretary, who was promoted internally in April, had fought for months during closed-door discussions with White House officials, the former acting ICE Director Ronald Vitiello, and the new acting ICE Director Mark Morgan against the plan, which they noted was similar to one the Obama administration carried out in 2015.

“I know he has not approved of this operation for months,” one person familiar with those private conversations said during a phone call Saturday night. “The president wouldn’t leak that. ICE wouldn’t leak that. There’s only a few people involved in these discussions … The only one who could have shared the details of those operations were Kevin.”

“That’s our belief,” a second official said when asked if McAleenan was behind the leak. “The secretary was not supportive from day one.”

The first official said McAleenan may have leaked it so that he could “be the martyr” in the face of anticipated blowback in the future.

A third official claimed McAleenan “cares more about what liberals and 'Never Trumpers' in Congress and the media think of him the achieving the express mission of his department.”

“[T]his will leave an un-erasable mark on his tenure,” the third official wrote in a text message Saturday evening.

Leaking the information would only have “benefitted one person” who had knowledge of the plan, according to the first person, who added there was “no doubt in my mind” McAleenan either told the Post himself or had a close comrade at DHS take care of it.

“His hands were dirty,” that same official said.

McAleenan traveled with the author of the Post report, Nick Miroff, on a government plane down to the border on Wednesday.

DHS did not respond to a request for comment.

Following the Post report Friday, ICE advised the White House not to go forward with the raids, in part because those who were the targets might have fled the locations Enforcement and Removal Operations officers had expected to find them.

“Leaking the locations and details to stop the operation from happening not only harmed operational integrity, but it put the safety and well-being of his own officers in jeopardy,” the third official wrote.

“That’s law enforcement sensitive information. You just don’t reveal that,” the second official said. “It gets people hyped up. It gets the NGOs activated, and then anyone wearing a jacket with the ICE name on it is really chastised. Cities are coming out saying, ‘Here’s how you can protect yourself against it.’”

That same official said the “worst” consequence of the leak, especially if it was directed by the department’s leader, was how it endangered personnel.

“It really jeopardized the safety of law enforcement officers — that’s the part that’s really detrimental,” the official said.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/n...tage-operation

FIRE HIM NOW!!!

Acting DHS Chief 'Sabotaged' ICE Raids By Leaking Plan To Washington Post

Sun, 06/23/2019 - 10:30
98 SHARES

Since the Washington Post spoiled the surprise and published a report about the Trump Administration's plan to arrest thousands of migrant families who have been denied asylum - prompting the administration to cancel the raids - many have probably been wondering why somebody inside would break President Trump's longstanding policy of not telegraphing your moves in advance.
Well, now that question appears to have been answered by the Washington Examiner: The acting head of DHS, Kevin McAleenan, reportedly leaked the details of the operation (he traveled alongside the WaPo reporter who broke the story earlier this week) in what sources described as a deliberate attempt to sabotage the raids.

Kevin McAleenan

According to several sources who spoke with the Examiner, McAleenan had opposed the raids for months. The acting DHS head, who has been credited with pushing the policy of sending more agents to Guatemala, is said to be more concerned with what Congressional Democrats and the 'Never Trumpers' think of his performance than most other members of the administration.

"I know he has not approved of this operation for months," one person familiar with those private conversations said during a phone call Saturday night. "The president wouldn’t leak that. ICE wouldn’t leak that. There’s only a few people involved in these discussions...the only one who could have shared the details of those operations were Kevin."
"That’s our belief," a second official said when asked if McAleenan was behind the leak. "The secretary was not supportive from day one."

The White House said it had called off the operation to allow more time for lawmakers to work on a plan to fix legal "loopholes" that have helped to entice migrants to come to the US. In reality, McAleenan successfully stymied the operation by exposing the broad strokes. McAleenan allegedly told WaPo that the mass roundups would take place in 10 cities, including Chicago, Miami and Houston. The mayor of Chicago ordered Chicago Police not to grant ICE access to its databases, and refuse to cooperate in any way with the raids. One officials said that, by leaking the details of the raid, McAleenan might have been trying to "be the martyr" in the face of blowback against Trump's immigration policies. That is, he was trying to distance himself from the administration's decision making.

The third anonymous source quoted by the Examiner blasted McAleenan as a sucker for 'Never Trumpers' and 'liberals' and insisted the leak would "leave an un-erasable mark" on his time at the head of DHS.

A third official claimed McAleenan "cares more about what liberals and 'Never Trumpers' in Congress and the media think of him the achieving the express mission of his department."
"[T]his will leave an un-erasable mark on his tenure," the third official wrote in a text message Saturday evening.
Leaking the information would only have “benefitted one person” who had knowledge of the plan, according to the first person, who added there was “no doubt in my mind” McAleenan either told the Post himself or had a close comrade at DHS take care of it.
"His hands were dirty," that same official said.

ICE advised the administration to cancel the raids after the leaks not only because targets might have been tipped off by the news and fled wherever they had been staying, but because the leaks could put agents in danger.

"Leaking the locations and details to stop the operation from happening not only harmed operational integrity, but it put the safety and well-being of his own officers in jeopardy," the third official wrote.
"That’s law enforcement sensitive information. You just don’t reveal that," the second official said. "It gets people hyped up. It gets the NGOs activated, and then anyone wearing a jacket with the ICE name on it is really chastised. Cities are coming out saying, 'Here’s how you can protect yourself against it.'"

So the acting DHS head deliberately obstructed a massive immigration action because he was worried about what liberals might think. If this is accurate, we might see even more turmoil over at DHS...and Stephen Miller might have an easier time bringing the administration's immigration policy completely under his purview.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...MdHO4yZgYionP4

As I've said in other threads, it just doesn't make sense to go public with future law enforcement raids. Heck, even Trump should know that. If McAleenan did leak the information, as alleged, he should be fired immediately!

BREAKING: 5 current and former senior administration officials say they believe DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan leaked ICE raids to the media in order to sabotage the operation - @Anna_Giaritelli
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1142648371955433474



twitter.com

Breaking911 on Twitter
“BREAKING: 5 current and former senior administration officials say they believe DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan leaked ICE raids to the media in order to sabotage the operation - @Anna_Giaritelli”

Trump ordered the info leaked because he knew from the beginning that the raids were not going to take place.
The raids were just a distraction to help hide the amnesty Trump, Kushner and the Democrats are pushing thru.

Acting Homeland Security chief denies leaking info on ICE raids: 'It's just not true'

Kevin McAleenan resigns as acting homeland security secretary


https://www.alipac.us/f12/kevin-mcaleenan-resigns-acting-homeland-security-secretary-375634/

McAleenan was prepared to resign in June, felt undermined by subordinates