Thread: Snow: 'Border agents must obey law, too'

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53757

Snow: 'Border agents must obey law, too'
White House invites review of Compean, Ramos cases

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Posted: January 13, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern



© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com



Former U.S. Border Patrol agent Ignacio Ramos embraced his wife, Monica Ramos, two days before he was sentenced to 11 years in prison (Courtesy El Paso Times)

Those who have been lobbying for a presidential pardon or other intervention from the government on behalf of two former U.S. Border Patrol agents sentenced to prison for shooting an escaping drug dealer in the buttocks should review the evidence in their cases, White House spokesman Tony Snow told WND.

"They (agents Jose Alonso Compean, 28, and Ignacio Ramos, 37) eventually went before a … jury – and were convicted on 11 of 12 counts, by a U.S. attorney who has prosecuted any number of cases. But the facts of this case are such that I would invite everybody to take a full look at the documented record," Snow said.

"This is not the case of the United States saying, we are not going to support people who go after drug dealers. Of course we are. We think it's incumbent to go after drug dealers, and we also think that it's vitally important to make sure that we provide border security so our people are secure," he continued.

"We also believe that the people who are working to secure that border themselves obey the law. And in a court of law, these two agents were convicted on 11 of 12 counts by a jury of their peers after a lengthy trial at which they did have the opportunity to make their case," he said.

His response came to a question from Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House:

"A nationally syndicated columnist, Phyllis Schlafly, reports the following, and this is a quote: 'President Bush pardoned 16 criminals, including five drug dealers, at Christmastime, but so far has refused to pardon two U.S. Border Patrol agents who were trying to defend America against drug smugglers.' And my question: If Mrs. Schlafly was at all inaccurate in this statement, you would surely rebut, wouldn't you?"

Snow said he couldn't comment about the specifics of pardons. But he said Schlafly's reference should include the details, how "according to the facts presented in court, you had an incident in which there was an attempt to pull somebody over. He finally got pulled over; somebody holds out a gun. Sort of scuffling ensues. And what happens is you've got a fellow running away, and a couple of agents eventually in pursuit, firing 14 shots at him – I think 15, actually. Fourteen by one agent missed, one did strike him in the fleshy hindquarters."

At that point yet, Snow noted, the agents "did not know if he was an illegal. They did not know that there were 700 pounds of marijuana …"

"They also have rights of appeal. So I don't want to be acting here as – I'm not going to be judge and jury, but I do think that there's been a characterization that somehow the government is turning a blind eye toward the law in enforcing the law. And … I think that's the important thing. So take a look at the facts of the case."

He said questions about the fact that the government brought the man back from Mexico and gave him immunity on charges to testify against the agents would have to be answered by a lawyer.

As WND has reported, five congressmen recently issued a call to Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez to intervene.

The lawmakers have asked President Bush to pardon Compean and Ramos, who were sentenced to 12 years and 11 years, respectively, in October. But the sentences are scheduled to begin Jan. 17, and in lieu of a pardon, the congressmen are asking Gonzalez to request the Justice Department to direct federal prosecutors not to oppose a court motion to keep the agents free on bond during the appeals process.

Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.; Ted Poe, R-Texas; Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C.; Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.; and Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.; announced their request in a news conference at the nation's capitol.

The lawmakers cited "discrepancies" in the government's case that they said raised questions as to whether justice was being served. The members of Congress were joined by former Border Patrol agent Andy Ramirez of Friends of the Border Patrol and T.J. Bonner and Rich Pierce of the National Border Patrol Council.

Bush also has received a letter about the case from more than 50 Congress members, and Grassfire.org has an online petition calling on the president to pardon the agents.

"Two brave Border Patrol agents trying to enforce the president's nonsensical border policy ending up being sent to prison, while an illegal alien drug smuggler is given immunity and walks free," Rohrabacher said.

As WND has reported, a federal jury convicted the two after a two-week trial on charges of causing serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and a civil rights violation.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas issued a statement in September arguing "the defendants were prosecuted because they had fired their weapons at a man who had attempted to surrender by holding his open hands in the air, at which time Agent Compean attempted to hit the man with the butt of Compean's shotgun, causing the man to run in fear of what the agents would do to him next."

The statement said, "Although both agents saw that the man was not armed, the agents fired at least 15 rounds at him while he was running away from them, hitting him once."

Ramirez of Friends of the Border Patrol said the drug smuggler has "fully contributed to the destruction of two brave agents and their families and has sent a very loud message to the other Border Patrol agents: If you confront a smuggler, this is what will happen to you."

Snow followed up after the press briefing by faxing 12 pages of comment about the case of the border guards, including the statement from U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, as well as a guest column he wrote for the El Paso Times in October.

"Agents Compean and Ramos were not railroaded by some over-zealous prosecutor, they were unanimously found guilty by a jury in a United States federal district court after a trial that lasted more than 2 ½ weeks," he wrote in the newspaper. "The problem for Mr. Compean and Mr. Ramos is that the jury did not believe their stories because they were not true."

"In America," he wrote, "law-enforcement officers do not get to shoot unarmed suspects who are running away, lie about it to their supervisors and file official reports that are false. That is a crime and prosecutors cannot look the other way."

Snow also faxed a six-page analysis of the case, with a list of unsigned myth-fact comparison statements.

On another related question, Kinsolving asked Snow: "What is the White House reaction to The Washington Times reporting that our National Guard troops in the Mexican border near Sasabe, Arizona being required to be disarmed, and who had to evacuate due to incursions by armed Mexicans?"

"Talk to the Border Patrol about that," Snow said.

The comments that Snow is making is making me SICK.
Obviously he knows nothing about the case and is just taking the word of the US attorney and the US Asst Attorney.
There was no 16 shots fired, only 6 according to what Ramos says in interviews. there are just too many lies going around in regard to this case

Snow is in Bush's pocket, he doesn't now it yet, he is ruined!

This is so disturbing that printable words are difficult to find.

If Border Guards must uphold the law then WHY THE HELL IS THE GOVERNMENT allowed to IGNORE THE LAW?

I'm spitting

I asked someone today, that I know reads newspapers and listens to the MSM, and he didn't know anything about these two agents???? What's that tell you? Lots of ssshhhh! Lou Dobbs has been regularly reporting it as well as talk radio but has anyone noticed much else?

JEAN
come to think about it, I've not heard it mentioned on the MSM or even talk radio!

If you hadn't of mentioned this, I wouldn't have realized that it's not OUT THERE at all.

i have an overnight midnight to 4 am talk show here in texas that i listen too and i do call in once a week and voice my opinion on this case.
the host also agrees with me and as of the last time i have called, i have never heard anyone call in to this show and say that these guys deserve it.

'Border agents must obey law, too'

Too?
As in also?
Who else obeys the law?
The illegals??? The drug-runners? The human-smugglers? The rapists? The pedophiles? The wife-beaters? WHO's everybody?
The border patrol is the law and are there to make criminals obey, not the other way around!

How much longer is the pres going to be able to hold back the tide?

"This is not the case of the United States saying, we are not going to support people who go after drug dealers. Of course we are."

Am I wrong or did they drop the charges against this illegal alien drug smuggler? It wouldn't surprise me if they gave him amnesty too if he wanted it that is.

We think it's incumbent to go after drug dealers, and we also think that it's vitally important to make sure that we provide border security so our people are secure," he continued.

Time to begin our list of 2007 Biggest Lies Told By A Government Official

Snow is in Bush's pocket

Just a little bit lower than the pocket Nitty, center back.

What can you expect from a card carrying member of the CFR and an elitist traitor to America. Even before he got the W.H. spokeshole job, on his radio show he endlessly praised illegals and blasted as restrictionist, nationalist and xenophobic anyone who dared call in and complain about illegal immigration. I think the reason he got his job spinning for Jorge was because he came with his own kneepads.