Snowjob *answers* media questions about incarcerated border partol agent beaten in prison...

[jus_the_facts]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/02/20070206-6.html

Q Thank you, Tony. A couple of questions. There's a news report from the Yazoo City Federal Correctional Complex in Mississippi that former U.S. Border Patrol Agent Ignacio Ramos was -- has been attack by five illegal alien inmates and severely beaten. My question: What is the President's reaction to this, since he refused thousands of requests to pardon this man?

MR. SNOW: Well, first I would be careful, even though your own publication was responsible for that report. Here is a statement from Charles Smith --

Q They're the only ones -- are you say they were the only ones?

MR. SNOW: Here's a statement from Charles Smith, who represents the institution, and here's their report: "On February 3rd, 2007, at approximately 10:15 p.m., inmate Ignacio Ramos, an inmate incarcerated at the federal correctional complex in Yazoo City, Mississippi, reported to staff that he had been assaulted. Mr. Ramos was evaluated by medical staff at the institution, who determined he had sustained some bruises and abrasions. The injuries sustained were minor in nature. Inmate Ramos was subsequently placed in the special housing unit, pending a thorough investigation of the incident. He will remain in the special housing unit until the conclusion of this investigation. No further information is available at this time."

Q That's a good answer. (Laughter.)

MR. SNOW: It was a predictable question.

Q I have a couple of follow-ups. The Fort Worth Star Telegraph quotes President Bush on Fox TV network as saying that he is bound by strict federal guidelines on pardons, and cannot immediately grant a pardon to Border Patrol agents Ramos and Campean because, quote, "there is a series of steps that are analyzed in order for the Justice Department to make a recommendation as to whether or not a President grants a pardon," from the President. Was this series of analyzed steps followed when President Jerry Ford pardoned President Nixon even before he was tried; when President Carter pardoned all those draft resisters?

MR. SNOW: You know, that is one of the most preposterous comparisons I've ever heard. But having said that, let me just -- what you're asking is, should the President waive standard procedures in this case. And the answer is, no, we want to be careful about issuing pardons, and we're trying to be careful about the facts, which is why the Department of Justice is in the process of trying to get full transcripts of the trial of Agents Compean and Ramos, so you and everybody else who are willing to ask questions about this will be armed with facts.

Q Page one of The Washington Times quotes --

MR. SNOW: This is part three of a two-part question.

Q Yes.

MR. SNOW: This is the last one.

Q That's right, it is.

MR. SNOW: Thank you.

Q Forever?

Q Yes. (Laughter.)

Q Thank you. Page one of The Washington Times quotes Texas Republican Congressman Ted Poe, who deplored the conviction of Texas Deputy Sheriff Guillermo Hernandez, who fired shots at a fleeing vehicle with illegal aliens, saying, "This is another example of how the federal government is more concerned about people who are illegally invading America than it is about the men who protect America." And my question: Does the President believe that Texas Republican Poe, another Republican Congressman, and hundreds of thousands of petition signers on this issue are all wrong?

MR. SNOW: You have just conflated two entirely different stories, Les, and I want to congratulate you for it. I think what the President has done is spend more money on border security than any President in American history. And there have been more --

Q But the wall -- why isn't the wall in the budget? The wall was cut out.

MR. SNOW: It's a fence, and it is in the budget. Sorry.

Q The report is that it's not.

MR. SNOW: No, the report is about how much can be afforded, and that is a fiscal question.

....RW talk radio is all over this story...haven't followed it around here lately...if there's been much talk about it...it's been drowned out by {insert daily media's hot topic} :puke: ...just wondered if anyone else is *concerned* about this from *our side* of the isle...seems the Congress has just let it slide by for now...yet another IN YOUR FACE atrocity commited by Homeland Insecurity. :nopity:

[wakeme2008]

1. I read the facts put out by the DA's office and agree with the Jury

these two killed an unarmed man.

So cry me a River.....

[atreides1]

3. Actually

The shot an unarmed man and left him for dead, the prosecution witness was the man they shot at.

[jus_the_facts]

5. Just seems like maybe there was a LOT more to the story......

....wouldn't be the first time there were relevant facts left out or changed to get a verdict the gov't wanted...just sayin'?! :shrug:

[atreides1]

2. They broke the law and then lied about it.

"According to the attorney general's office, he and his partner fired fifteen shots at an unarmed man in broad daylight and failed to report it to anyone instead giving a false report and leaving their victim for dead after removing their shell casings from the scene of their crime."

From what I read about this case, both were offered a plea deal, with a much lesser prison sentence, but they refused.

While I sympathize with their families, and acknowledge that their lives are in danger, if they had only told the truth from the start, it might have made a difference.

No member of law enforcement should be allowed to lie or obstruct justice, and those who wear a badge and carry a gun should always be held to a higher standard.

[jus_the_facts]

6. True....just seems like there is still more to this story that doesn't add up....

....in hindsight of the inital trial and the *facts* presented...if it's makin' the RW pundits nervous of the *ush administration especially. :shrug:

[Richard Steele]

7. Here's a link that seems to add it all up pretty well:

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/userfiles/70/BorderAgents2.pdf

[jus_the_facts]

8. This article is interesting....to add to the mix....

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2007/1/20/223934/489

U.S. Attorney Sutton's media pitch on Border Patrol agents' conviction may be a spitball


But Sutton wasn’t on Fox to address the House of Death. In fact, Sutton has refused to comment publicly on that case. So it was strange seeing him make an appearance on national TV to address another case that has caused quite a stir in the conservative blogosphere, and particularly among its fan base who are rabidly xenophobic — at least when it comes to undocumented immigrants crossing the border from Mexico.

Sutton also has issued a flurry of press releases over the past 11 months, including two this week, seeking to advance his talking points on this same case — a prosecution carried out by Sutton’s office that was brought to national attention by Lou Dobbs of CNN.
By now, most everyone in the country has heard of this case. It involves two Border Patrol agents stationed near El Paso who in February 2005 shot a drug smuggler in the butt cheek after a bungled apprehension attempt and then allegedly covered-up the evidence of the shooting. The agents (Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean) were prosecuted by Sutton’s office, convicted by a jury of violating the smuggler’s civil rights and of covering up evidence, and recently each sentenced to more than a decade in prison.

The case has become a cause célèbre among the anti-immigration hawks who claim the Border Patrol agents were the victims of an overzealous prosecutor who is carrying out the White House’s pro-illegal immigration agenda. They point out that the two agents were only doing their jobs in trying to apprehend a Mexican national who was trying to smuggle more than 700 pounds of marijuana into the country.

Sutton’s appearance on FoxNews on Jan. 19 was an effort to spin the story in his favor. He told Hannity and Colmes that the border patrol agents in this case “deliberately lied, deliberately covered-up … and filed false reports” about the shooting of the smuggler, an individual named Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila. Sutton also stressed that the agents were convicted by a jury based on the facts, which he alleged have been distorted by the media.

I found Sutton’s comments on national TV very fascinating, given that Sutton has refused to talk to Narco News (or any other media for that matter) about the House of Death mass murder. I find that odd, given his intimate involvement in that case — which also involves acts of violence carried out against Mexican nationals with the involvement of U.S. law enforcers and prosecutors.

More @ link...

[zulchzulu]

4. Snowjob is so utterly predictable...