Congress: No Mukasey Confirmation If Case Not Reviewed
WASHINGTON, DC – Several lawmakers in Congress are threatening to block the confirmation of the new Attorney General if he doesn’t review the case of two former El Paso Border Patrol agents.
More than 40 members of Congress are asking Michael Mukasey to give the case of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean another look. The lawmakers said the previous reviews of the case byU.S.Attorney Johnny Sutton were biased and unfair.
Ramos and Compean are serving 11 and 12 years in prison for shooting a drug smuggler in the buttocks, then covering it up by not reporting the shooting. The lawmakers also asked Mukasey to transfer Ramos to a minimum security prison.
“What we want to see is fairness, what we want to see is justice, and when you look at the case and the way it was handled, and the way it was tried, it appears clearly, there was great injustice.” said Representative Louis Gohmert.
Representative Ted Poe added, “Only in America would we treat prisoners of war in Guantanamo Bay prison better than we would peace officers who are convicted in the border war with Mexico.”
The two former agents have appealed their convictions, and the case is sheduled to be heard in December. Mukasey’s confirmation hearingbeganin Washington on Wednesday morning. The process could last until Friday, and senators could vote on his nomination next week.
