Floor Statements from the Floor for Ramos and Compean

I don't know what the holdup is as far as the Court is concerned.

Mr Bush showed his distain for all Border Agents by ignoring the Agents his good friend, Johnny Sutton, imprisoned on false charges. 

[Congressional Record: April 2, 2008 (House)]
[Page H1944]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr02ap08-128]                        




PRESIDENT BUSH INSULTS THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WITH HIS SELECTIVE PARDONS
                            AND COMMUTATIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tancredo) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, on March 25, President Bush pardoned 15
people and granted one commutation to crimes that ranged from
falsifying records, conspiracy, bank embezzlement, dealing in firearms,
distributing marijuana, conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud,
heroin importation, selling migratory bird parts in violation of the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act, aiding and abetting the escape of a
prisoner, distributing more than 50 grams of crack cocaine, and a
variety of other crimes.
  This brings to about 157 the number of pardons and/or commutations
that President Bush has distributed in his administration in his term
in office. And although that number is fewer than other presidents, it
in fact is reflective of something that I consider to be a serious
problem, and that is this, that although the President has been
compassionate or for whatever reason chosen to commute or pardon 157
people up to this point in time, he leaves two Border Patrol agents in
jail today because I believe of the misbehavior of the U.S. Attorney in
that particular district. And this is unconscionable.
  This House actually voted last session unanimously to in fact deny
funding to the Department of Justice to continue to hold Border Patrol
agents Ramos and Compean in the Federal prison where they have been
incarcerated now for well over a year. And their terms are for 11 and
12 years. This is because they have been sentenced because of the
testimony of a known drug smuggler by the name of Osvaldo Aldrete-
Davila, who was given immunity from prosecution by U.S. Attorney
Sutton.
  The SUV that Aldrete was driving was found to contain 743 pounds of
marijuana. The jury in the Ramos-Compean trial was never told of
Aldrete's criminal background. They were led to believe that Aldrete
was a one-time smuggler trying to make money to help a sick relative.
In fact, he was a professional drug smuggler, and his history was known
to the DEA and to Johnny Sutton, who was the prosecuting attorney, at
the time of the trial, but this history was kept from the jury.
  It has been revealed in documents since the trial that U.S. Attorney
Johnny Sutton deliberately delayed the arrest of Aldrete for a
subsequent drug smuggling incident that occurred while Aldrete was
under the grant of immunity but before the trial date. All of this
information, of course, was withheld because it would have revealed
Aldrete as a professional smuggler, not an innocent victim of the
Border Patrol agents. This is a flagrant abuse of prosecutorial
discretion.
  These mistakes were compounded by asking for a mandatory 10-year
sentence for Ramos and Compean for the use of a firearm in the
commission of a ``crime.'' The law was never intended to apply to law
officers who use their weapons in the performance of their jobs.
  The key question at the trial was whether the drug smuggler Aldrete
had a weapon and had pointed it at one of the Border Patrol agents. Mr.
Aldrete denied having such a weapon. It was his word against the
testimony of the Border Patrol agents, so the credibility of each
witness was critical to the jury's evaluation of the incident, yet the
jury was kept in the dark about Aldrete's other arrests and his history
as a drug smuggler.
  The mistakes made by Ramos and Compean in trying to apprehend Mr.
Aldrete should have been handled as a violation of agency rules, the
failure to write and file a report of an incident involving Aldrete,
and punished by a 5-day suspension, not by criminal prosecution. For
that reason alone, this conduct rises to the level of reprehensible,
the conduct I believe of the U.S. Attorney in this case and of the
President of the United States.
  To compound the injustice in this case, it is widely known that the
U.S. Attorney is a friend of the President, going back to his days as
Governor. But Bush's refusal to issue a pardon or a commutation amounts
to a coverup I believe of this misconduct in this trial.
  Ramos and Compean have appealed their conviction to the U.S. Circuit
Court and a decision on that appeal is due shortly. At the very least
they deserve a new trial. President Bush has it within his power to end
this injustice now by issuing a pardon or a commutation. I sincerely
hope that he takes that responsibility seriously and offers this to Mr.
Ramos and Mr. Compean, who are languishing in prison for literally no
good reason.
===== 

[Congressional Record: April 3, 2008 (House)]
[Page H1976]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr03ap08-62]                        




                          PARDON BORDER AGENTS

  (Mr. POE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute.)
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, the Constitution gives the President absolute
authority to grant a pardon. He has exercised that power 157 times.
Last week, he pardoned 15 more people convicted of everything from
importation of drugs to bank fraud and other crimes.
  But two people not on his pardon list are Border Agents Ramos and
Compean, who are serving 11 and 12 years for enforcing the law on the
Texas-Mexico border. They were convicted of civil rights violations
when they shot a drug smuggler bringing in $750,000 worth of drugs to
the United States.
  The United States Government gave the drug dealer complete immunity
for his crimes to testify against the agents. Then the Justice
Department hid from the jury the fact that the drug dealers smuggled in
another load of drugs shortly before the trial. The U.S. Attorney made
a backroom deal with the smuggler for his testimony and got the tainted
testimony they bartered for.
  Last session, this House passed legislation to prevent taxpayer money
from being used to incarcerate Ramos and Compean, but they are still in
prison. Because of the U.S. Attorney's actions of deception in this
trial, and the fact that the agents were just doing their job, are
grounds for the President to pardon both of the border agents
immediately.
  And that's just the way it is.
======

[Congressional Record: April 3, 2008 (House)]
[Page H1995]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr03ap08-84]                        

[[Page H1995]]

                 POLITICAL PRISONERS RAMOS AND COMPEAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, as we talk about the war on the first front in
Iraq and Afghanistan, we must remember that there is another war going
on on the second front, and that is the border war between the United
States and Mexico. All of the politicians that are running for
President this year are talking about everything. Some things are just
not important. But one thing they're not talking about is the border
war in the south part of the United States, between Mexico and the
United States.
  Two years ago, two border agents by the name of Ramos and Compean
were tried and convicted for doing their job on the Texas/Mexico
border. What happened was, that in February of 2005, Ramos and Compean
came in contact with a drug dealer. He came into the United States at
Fabens, Texas. Most of America's never heard of this little small Texas
town.
  He's driving a van. He sees the border agents and he turns around and
he tries to run back to Mexico. He abandons the van. The border agents
give chase. An altercation occurred down in the Rio Grande riverbed.
Shots were fired. The drug dealer disappears into Mexico.
  It turns out that the drug dealer had been shot by one of the border
agents, and it turns out that the van that he was driving had, get
this, $750,000 worth of drugs in the van.
  So what does our Government do? Instead of trying to find the drug
dealer to prosecute him, our Government goes to Mexico, finds the drug
dealer and promises him a back room deal, a deal to testify against the
border agents, claim that the border agents unlawfully used their
firearms, even though they said they fired in self-defense. And they
make a deal with him not to prosecute him for his drug smuggling if he
testified. And he did testify against the border agents, and 2 years
ago they were convicted.

                              {time}  1330

  But unbeknownst to the jury, and what the U.S. Attorney's Office
would not let the jury know, is that before the trial took place, this
star witness, backroom-deal witness, brought in another load of drugs
into the United States for money. The U.S. Attorney's Office knew about
it. They didn't want the jury to know about it, and they kept it out of
the trial. Now the whole world knows the U.S. Attorney's Office was
deceitful in that trial.
  Those border agents are serving 11 to 12 years in the Federal
penitentiary. The President pardoned 157 people in his administration.
Fifteen of them last week. Some of them were drug dealers. But why
doesn't the President pardon these border patrol agents for doing their
job?
  The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has heard this case. I suspect
they will reverse it because the U.S. Attorney's Office was deceitful
in the trial and prosecution of these two border agents because they
were relentless in prosecuting them.
  Our government is on the wrong side of the border war. We're trying
to hire more border agents, and people don't want to join the Border
Patrol. One reason is because our government doesn't support them. When
an altercation takes place, they side with the other guys instead of
siding with our border agents.
  And this is not the first time the U.S. Attorney's Office has been
caught cheating in a trial. A border agent by the name of David Sipe
was arrested by our government because he was in a fight and assault
with a drug dealer down in Texas. And he was prosecuted for a civil
rights violation, but it turns out in his trial the U.S. Attorney's
Office hid evidence in that case as well, but they got caught; and that
case was retried and the jury found David Sipe not guilty because the
U.S. Attorney's Office, once again, didn't want the jury to know the
truth about the person that came in contact with our border agent.
  So it's time our government gets on the right side of the border war.
Defend our boarder patrol agents. Secure the border. Make sure that the
war on the second front is won, that people not be allowed to come into
the United States illegally for any purpose, especially drug smugglers;
and our government needs to quit taking the side of drug dealers from
foreign countries and start siding with the American Border Patrol
because they're doing their job to protect the rest of us.
  And that's just the way it is.

=====

Hi!  U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado, issued a Press Release recently from his floor statement about this.    Here is the recent Press Release about this, from U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado:

Tancredo Demands Pardon for Border Agents

It is great that Tancredo and Poe have addressed this injustice.

However, it did not pass notice that Poe, who was a judge, mentioned the 5th Circuit, but did not fault them for their foot-dragging in producing a decision on the hearing on December 3, 2007.

5th Circuit Milestones on Ramos and Compean appeal hearing:

Today is April 9, 2008.  Ramos and Compean have now been in jail for 461 days.

The appeal hearing was on December 3, 2007 after 332 days.

Decision on the appeal was promised in 60 days, or on February 1, 2007.  Length of time since the appeal is 128 days, which is 68 days overdue.