Thread: Agents' pardon urged of Bush

Article published Nov 19, 2007
Agents' pardon urged of Bush
November 19, 2007

By Sara A. Carter - Top conservatives have joined ranking House leaders in their bid to pressure the president to pardon two Border Patrol agents imprisoned for the nonfatal shooting of a Mexican drug smuggler in El Paso, Texas, in 2005.

In a letter that was delivered today to the White House, 31 major conservative petitioners joined a campaign led by Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican and presidential candidate, asking President Bush to pardon Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean before Thanksgiving.

The letter comes on the heels of the arrest of admitted drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila on charges of trafficking marijuana while he was profiting from the federal immunity deal as the star witness in the shooting case against the agents.

"History has proven that the mere words and deeds of a president can change the course of history and profoundly affect both the tone and direction of the nation's moral character for generations to come," said the letter signed by 31 petitioners, mostly from Christian conservative groups and national-security organizations.

"The impact of a president's silence can have the same dramatic and devastating results. That is why we find your continued silence on the issue of a presidential pardon for Border Patrol agents Ramos and Compean of great concern," it said.

Ramos and Compean are serving 11 and 12 years, respectively, for the shooting, which occurred in February 2005. They have served nearly a year in solitary confinement for their own protection because of the high profile of their case. The pair is scheduled to appeal the conviction on Dec. 3 before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

The letter is one of more than a dozen attempts — including a petition signed by nearly 400,000 people across the nation — to reach the president. Mr. Hunter hand-delivered a similar letter to the president on Friday.

Some of the first signatures on the long list are conservative stalwarts Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation, David Keene of the American Conservative Union and Morton Blackwell of the Leadership Institute. Others include former Reagan administration official Frank Gaffney of the Center for Security Policy and anti-feminist activist Phyllis Schlafly of the Eagle Forum.

The signers say they "find it unacceptable that some disillusioned Americans are being forced to conclude that the lives of Ramos and Compean are simply what the government has deemed an acceptable level of 'collateral damage' for a failed border security and national immigration policy."

Last week, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, whose office prosecuted the case against the Border Patrol agents, announced the arrest of Mr. Aldrete-Davila. He was arrested Thursday at the Zaragoza Bridge in El Paso by agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.

A grand jury indictment charged the Mexican national, who wore body armor on Friday for his arraignment, with conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute marijuana in September and October 2005, officials said.

Federal officials would not disclose details about Mr. Aldrete-Davila's arrest, about how he entered the U.S. through a legal port of entry or about his reason for attempting to cross the border.

Mr. Aldrete-Davila admitted to smuggling drugs in a 2005 immunity deal in the prosecution of the Border Patrol agents' case, but told the jury that convicted Ramos and Compean that he had no idea he was trafficking marijuana in his van and didn't know how to package the drug.

He has entered hospitals in El Paso under federal escort since the October 2006 sentencing of the former agents, eyewitnesses close to the case told The Washington Times.

On Nov. 8, Mr. Aldrete-Davila was at a hospital in El Paso for a pre-operative appointment for surgery, the eyewitness source said. That source and other El Paso sources have told The Times that the U.S. government has been paying for his medical bills.

Federal authorities, however, denied that Mr. Aldrete-Davila had entered the U.S. under federal escort several times for medical treatment.
http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 90059/1001

'Pardon Ramos and Compean now!'
Long-time Bush friend among 31 leaders signing letter to White House

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Posted: November 19, 2007
2:09 p.m. Eastern
By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com


Marine veteran Jim Martin with President Bush

More than 30 conservative leaders, including one of President Bush's long-time friends, have signed a letter urging Bush to pardon imprisoned Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.

The move follows news that the drug smuggler in the case, Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, was arrested last week at the Mexican border for alleged drug offenses committed while under immunity to testify as the star witness.

The leaders calling for a pardon include Paul Weyrich, chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation; Phyllis Schlafly, founder and president of Eagle Forum; Morton Blackwell, chairman of the Conservative Leadership PAC; Frank Gaffney, Jr., president of the Center for Security Policy; and David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union.

Among the signatories of the letter – to be delivered to the White House today – is U.S. Marine Corps veteran Jim Martin, president of 60 Plus Association, whose ties with Bush goes back to 1968.

In 1968, Martin gave the young George W. Bush his first job out of college, hiring him to work in the successful senatorial campaign of Florida Republican Edward Gurney.

In 1968, Gurney's campaign manager, Jimmy Allison, suggested to Martin that Bush, then graduating from Yale and finishing his service as a pilot with the Texas Air National Guard, could assist Martin in managing the media team.

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Martin frequently quips that he gave Bush his first job, working in the campaign as Martin's driver.

At the White House, Martin is fondly known as "The Buddha," a nickname Bush coined that goes back to their 1968 association in Florida.

Ramos and Compean are in solitary confinement in federal prisons serving 11- and 12-year terms respectively for shooting Aldrete-Davila as he fled across the border on foot after bringing 750 pounds of marijuana across the Texas border.

The letter chides Bush for being silent and inactive toward previous calls for him to pardon Ramos and Compean.

"We sincerely feel that your inaction and lack of immediacy to personally address the inhumane treatment of these two agents runs counter to the tenets of a compassionate conservative and the Christian values that many of your supporters find a sustaining beacon of your presidency," the letter said.

The leaders focus on moral concerns, choosing not to argue legal points. The principal concern is that the border agents' lives are at risk in their continuing incarceration.

WND was the first to report in February that Ramos was beaten by inmates after he was placed in the general prison population at the Federal Correctional Complex in Yazoo City, Miss.

Since then, the two men have been placed in solitary confinement to prevent further attacks by inmates.

The conservative letter objects, arguing the solitary confinement Ramos and Compean have endured now for 10 months represents "an inhumane treatment and gross injustice that is worse than the terrorists and enemy combatants receive at Guantanamo Bay."

WND has reported charges by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., that terrorists at Guantanamo Bay have more privileges, including communal living, generous food privileges, ample exercise time and showers, while Ramos and Compean are being detained in concrete slab solitary confinement maximum security cells with no food or reading privileges, one hour per day allowed for exercise, and only three showers weekly and none on the weekend.

At one point, Ramos reportedly lost 30 or more pounds, and his family was concerned he was not receiving needed medications.

The conservatives' letter charged Bush's inactivity on the Ramos and Compean case have placed in doubt the his administration's commitment to border security.

"As Ramos and Compean sit in solitary confinement 23 out of 24 hours every day," the letter continued, "the failure to personally intercede on their behalf sends a chilling message to other Border Patrol agents and law enforcement officers who will now question their own professional judgment, mute their response and make our borders less secure."

The letter contrasted the immunity given Aldrete-Davila and the harsh punishment inflicted upon the Border Patrol agents.

"When an admitted illegal alien drug smuggler who repeatedly brings drugs into this country is given government immunity to testify against the very law enforcement officers hired to stop him," the letter stressed, "the American public sees the scales of justice tilting the wrong way."

The letter calls upon Bush "to demonstrate your compassion and willingness to forgive" and immediately consider pardoning Ramos and Compean.

Demos Chrissos, president of RapidResponse Media, a Washington, D.C.-based political consulting firm, drafted the letter and obtained the signatures.

Chrissos is known for producing a TV-radio media campaign, "Pardon the Agents," aimed at freeing Ramos and Compean.

Chrissos also produced the "Where's the Fence?" TV spots for Grassfire.org.

Recently Chrissos formed the National Voters Alliance, a grassroots organization aimed at focusing attention on the integrity of U.S. elections.

The signatories are Paul M. Weyrich, chairman and CEO, Free Congress Foundation; Phyllis Schlafly, president and founder, Eagle Forum; Louis P. Sheldon, chairman, Traditional Values Coalition; T.J. Bonner, president, National Border Patrol Council; Cliff Kincaid, president, America's Survival, Inc.; James J. Boulet, Jr., executive director, English First; Donald Irvine, chairman, Accuracy In Media; Ron Pearson, president, Council for America; C. Preston Noell III, president, Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.; Larry Helminiak, chairman Carroll County Republican Central Committee; Dr. William Greene, president, RightMarch.com; David A. Keene, chairman, American Conservative Union; Frank F. Gaffney, Jr., president, Center for Security Policy; James P. Backlin, vice president for Legislative Affairs, Christian Coalition of America; Chris Perkins, executive director, Coalition for a Conservative Majority; Peter Ferrara, general counsel, American Civil Rights Union, William J. Murray, chairman, Religious Freedom Coalition; Ron Wexler president, CEO, Ten Commandments Commission; Jack Wheeler, president, Freedom Research Foundation; Rev. Dr. Keith Roderick, Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights; Joyce E. Thomann, president, Republican Women of Anne Arundel County, Md.; Morton C. Blackwell, chairman, Conservative Leadership PAC; Roy Beck, president, NumbersUSA; Jim Martin, president, 60 Plus Association; Jay Dickey, former U.S. congressman; Colin A. Hanna, president, WeNeedAFence.com; Demos Chrissos, president, National Voters Alliance; Richard Falknor, executive vice president, MD Taxpayers Assoc., Inc.; Chris "Kit" Bromley, CEO, BCII; Mal Kline, executive director, Accuracy in Academia; and Alex-St. James, chairman, AARLC

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58772

Johnny Sutton, ROT IN HELL! Free Ramos and Compean!
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