Ramos & Compean News & Views

Was There a Government Conspiracy
to Frame Ramos & Compean?

Chuck Baldwin on Ramos & Compean

May 2008

New ethics complaint targets Ramos-Compean prosecutor

Contends public domain facts show Johnny Sutton 'willfully misleading'

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

5-12-08 -- A Christian pastor says he has filed an ethics complaint with the Texas Bar Association seeking an investigation into U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton's "willfully misleading" statements in the case against former U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. . . . Don Swarthout, president of Christians Reviving America's Values, today confirmed his ethics complaint cites Sutton's actions in the case in which Ramos and Compean were convicted of shooting at a drug smuggler who had dropped a load of marijuana near the Texas border and was fleeing back into Mexico. . . . An announcement from his organization confirmed, "Swarthout charges Sutton's office willfully misled the jury in order to convicted Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean." . . . On Feb. 17, 2005, Ramos and Compean pursued Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila on foot after Aldrete-Davila abandoned a van containing 743 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $1 million. During the chase, Ramos shot at Aldrete-Davila in the belief that the smuggler had drawn a gun of his own. Aldrete-Davila escaped across the  border, and Ramos assumed Aldrete-Davila was unhurt. In fact, Aldrete-Davila had been shot in the buttock.

'Ramos, Compean must ask for clemency'
Spokeswoman says 'there's a process' for pardons

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

5-1-08 -- The two former U.S. Border Patrol agents who were sentenced to prison terms of more than a decade each for shooting at a drug smuggler who dumped a load in the United States, then fled on foot back into Mexico rather than be arrested, must ask if they want clemency in their cases, according to the White House. . . . "There is a process under which anyone can apply for a pardon or a commutation. And if they want to take advantage of that process, they're absolutely welcome to," Dana Perino, the White House spokeswoman, told WND today. . . . She was responding to a question from Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House, about the case involving Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. It has been a subject of dispute among border control advocates ever since the two were arrested. . . . They were convicted in their trial on the testimony of Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, who was given a grant of immunity from prosecution for his crimes and testified how he was shot and injured by the officers who were trying to arrest him.

April 2008

Call renewed for pardons for border agents
'Once again, I am challenging President Bush to do what is right'

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

4-18-08 -- Mychal Massie, the chief of the nonprofit and nonpartisan Project 21 and a columnist for WND, is renewing his call to President Bush to pardon two former U.S. Border Patrol agents who were convicted and jailed for shooting at a fleeing drug smuggler. . . . The call from Massie, whose Project 21 has been a leading voice of the African-American community for nearly two decades, follows a guilty plea from Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, the smuggler in the case involving agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos. . . . Aldrete-Davila pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in El Paso, Texas, to drug smuggling and is to be sentenced in July. . . . Compean and Ramos are serving prison terms for shooting at the smuggler while he was running back to Mexico in 2005, Massie's statement noted. Aldrete-Davila conspired to smuggle marijuana into the U.S. twice after he was granted immunity to testify against the agents. . . . "It is time to prove that he [Bush] places the welfare of American communities and those men and women who risk their lives to protect them over the welfare of lying illicit drug smugglers," Massie said. "Pardon Ramos and Compean now, Mr. President!"

March 2008

Pardon me: Bush blasted for ignoring border agents

'Leaving good cops behind bars is unconscionable'
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

03-26-08 --  President Bush is coming under fire for presidential pardons yesterday that included forgiveness for drug smugglers, an embezzler and others, but not for jailed Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. . . . Ramos and Compean entered prison in January 2007 after a controversial ruling on their actions in apprehending a fleeing drug smuggler. . . . "I believe the president's stolid refusal to pardon Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean is the most unconscionable act of disloyalty he has perpetrated upon those sworn to protect our well-being. I know this feeling is shared by many other patriotic Americans," said Mychal Massie, chairman of Project 21 and a WND columnist. "This sends a disturbing signal to the men and women who protect our borders, not to mention how it must affect the morale of those serving overseas." . . . On Feb. 17, 2005, Ramos and Compean pursued Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila on foot after Aldrete-Davila abandoned a van containing 743 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $1 million. During the chase, Ramos shot at Aldrete-Davila in the belief that Aldrete-Davila had drawn a gun of his own. Aldrete-Davila escaped across the U.S.-Mexico border, and Ramos assumed Aldrete-Davila was unhurt. In fact, Aldrete-Davila had been shot in the buttock.

December 2007

Is There Now Hope for Jailed Border Agents?

Mike Cutler

12-10-07 -- I have written a number of previous commentaries about U.S. Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean and for good reason; in my opinion, they were maliciously prosecuted. Apparently, some members of Congress agree. . . . There are both Democrat and Republican members of the House of Representatives who have publicly called for the issuance of a Presidential pardon in this case that Congressman Delahunt, the chairman of the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, refers to as a "miscarriage of justice." . . . In fact, Representative Delahunt, a Democrat, and Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican, as well as other members of Congress from both sides of the political aisle are convinced that justice was not served by the prosecution of Agents Ramos and Compean, and these Congressmen are working hard for the beleaguered agents. . . . Johnny Sutton was the prosecutor in this case and it was he who was behind the unfortunate prosecution of these law enforcement officers.  Sutton was recently quoted in the Washington Times as having stated the “punishment was high” but the sentences were mandated by Congress. . . . “Reasonable people can certainly argue that the time the agents received was too much, but that is an issue that needs to be taken up with those in Congress who set the sentencing guidelines,” he said.  “My job is to uphold the law.  It’s someone else’s responsibility to determine if it needs to be changed.”

House resolution wants Ramos, Compean freed

Bi-partisan plan suggests terms be commuted before Christmas

By Jerome R. Corsi, © 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

10-7-07 --  A bi-partisan resolution is being introduced into the House of Representatives calling on President Bush to commute immediately the sentences of Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, so they can be home with their families by Christmas. . . . Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., the sponsor of the resolution, is being joined by Rep. Silverstre Reyes, D-Texas, and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., as co-sponsors. . . . Ramos and Compean are serving 11- and 12-year sentences, respectively, for shooting at fleeing drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila in an incident on the Texas border with Mexico on Feb. 17, 2005. . . . Currently, Ramos and Compean are in concrete-slab solitary confinement in maximum security federal prisons. . . . This resolution marks the first time Democrats and Republicans in the House have succeeded in bringing together a bi-partisan coalition supporting Ramos and Compean. . . . "It is clear that the momentum of public opinion has dramatically shifted in favor of wrongly imprisoned Border Agents Ramos and Compean," said Rohrabacher in a press release issued by his Washington office at the close of business.

Judge: Prosecutors May Have Overreacted In Case Against Border Patrol Agents

Associated Press

12-3-07 -- Federal prosecutors may have overreacted in their case against two Border Patrol agents who were sentenced to lengthy prison terms after jurors convicted them of shooting a fleeing drug suspect and hiding evidence of the incident, an appeals court judge said Monday. . ..  Judge E. Grady Jolly, one of three judges from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing the case of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, questioned whether the two agents would have been charged if they had reported the shooting. . . . "For some reason, this one got out of hand, it seems to me," Jolly said of the agents' prosecution. . . . A federal jury in Texas convicted Ramos and Compean of assault, obstruction of justice and civil rights violations in the wounding of Osvaldo Aldrete Davila on the Texas border near El Paso in 2005. A federal judge sentenced Compean to 12 years in prison and Ramos to 11 years.

November 2007

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

By Jerome R. Corsi, © 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

11-19-07 -- 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.

Man whose testimony sent 2 agents to prison arrested

By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times

11-16-07 -- The admitted drug smuggler who sparked a national movement to free two El Paso Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting him was arrested Thursday on drug charges at the Zaragoza Bridge, officials with the U.S. attorney's office said. . . . Prosecutors used the testimony of Osvaldo Aldrete Davila to convict agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, who are serving prison terms. . . . Aldrete, 27, was arrested by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration and of the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General for alleged conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute marijuana in September and October 2005.

October 2007

Bush won't get involved in Ramos, Compean review

Congressman says former agents treated worse than terrorists

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

10-19-07 -- President Bush's spokeswoman, Dana Perino, has brushed off a request from Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., for the Bush administration to review the harsh treatment convicted Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean reportedly are receiving in solitary confinement. . . . Rohrabacher had made the request, arguing that for 10 months Ramos and Compean have been in conditions more severe than experienced by terrorists held by the U.S. at the Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. . . . The congressman also said he has written to Manhattan federal trial judge Michael Mukasey, Bush's nominee to replace Alberto Gonzales as attorney general, demanding that upon confirmation Mukasey conduct an unbiased review of the agents' prosecution. . . . Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House, raised the issue during a press briefing at the White House. . . . "Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has asked for what he calls a thorough review of the treatment given Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean in solitary confinement, saying they have been treated more severely than terrorists held in Guantanamo Bay. And my question: How will the president respond to this request?" . . . Apparently not at all, according to Perino.

Lawmaker: Terrorists treated better than Ramos, Compean

Congressman calls for investigation into reported harsh conditions

By Jerome R. Corsi, © 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

10-17-07 --Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., is calling on the Bush administration to conduct a thorough review of harsh treatment convicted Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean reportedly are receiving in solitary confinement. . . . Rohrabacher argues that for 10 months Ramos and Compean have been in conditions more severe than experienced by terrorists held by the U.S. at the Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. . . . The congressman also disclosed he has written a letter to Manhattan federal trial judge Michael Mukasey, Bush's nominee to replace Alberto Gonzales as attorney general, demanding that upon confirmation Mukasey conduct an unbiased review of the agents' prosecution. . . . "Given the close personal relationship between the prosecuting U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and President Bush, past requests for inquiries into prosecutorial misconduct in this case have been ignored," Rohrabacher claimed in a statement.

September 2007

Ex-border agents appeal convictions

Jerry Seper
9-24-07 -- Two former U.S. Border Patrol agents sentenced to lengthy prison terms for shooting a drug-smuggling suspect have asked a federal appeals court to overturn their convictions, saying they were charged with a nonexistent crime and convicted after the jury was given improper instructions by the trial judge. . . . Houston defense lawyer J. Mark Brewer said two counts of a grand jury indictment against former agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean charged them under a federal statute with the discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, but the statute does not define a crime and contains only a sentencing factor to be addressed after conviction. . . . Mr. Brewer said in a 20-page motion that the "improperly-crafted indictment" misfocused the agents, counsel and jury on a nonexistent crime of unlawful discharge of a firearm, because the agents were authorized to possess, carry and use a firearm in the normal course of their job. . . . He said that in order to charge a crime under the government's 10-year mandatory sentence statute, an indictment "must allege that a defendant either has used or carried a firearm ... during and in relation to any crime of violence or has possessed a firearm in furtherance of such a crime." He said the prosecution "misstated" the crime defined by federal statute. . . . Mr. Brewer said the district court "erroneously told the jury the federal statute made it a crime for anyone to discharge a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence." . . . A ruling in the case is expected next month.

Dog tags urge pardon for Ramos, Compean

Also serving as fundraiser for agents' families

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

9-10-07 -- A chief at a sportswear and emblem company has launched a website to urge pardons for former U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who were imprisoned in 2006 for firing their guns at a fleeing Mexican drug smuggler, and raise funds for their families. . . . Rich Soergel of Pacific Sportswear and Emblem Co. told WND that his goal over the coming six months is to raise at least $50,000 for the families of the agents serving prison terms of 11 and 12 years. . . . "I have created a grass roots fundraising campaign to raise money for the Ramos and Compean families by offering a special dog tag," he said. The product calls for freedom for the agents on the front side, and on the back, has the telephone number for the White House. . . . "Demand pardon. Call the White House at (202) 456-1414," it says. . . . The fundraiser is located at Free Our Border Agents.com, he said. . . . The dog tabs are brushed aluminum and coated with lacquer, he said.

The ballad of Ramos and Compean

How the anti-immigration right -- and Lou Dobbs -- turned two rogue Border Patrol agents into heroes and got Congress on their side.

By Alex Koppelman

9-4-07 -- Two years ago, in the Texas desert southeast of El Paso, two U.S. Border Patrol agents fired 15 bullets at a suspected drug dealer who was fleeing on foot toward the border. The man, a Mexican national, was hit once in the buttocks but made it across the Rio Grande. The agents who fired their weapons, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, were sentenced to more than a decade in prison for firing on an unarmed man and then trying to cover up the crime. . . . For the prosecutors and the jury, the shooting of Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila near Fabens, Texas, was a clearly unlawful use of force. But the conviction of Ramos and Compean was just the beginning of the agents' story. Within months, they had become the center of a dubious political crusade that would energize the furthest reaches of the right, dominate one of CNN's most popular news programs, and persuade a quarter of the U.S. House of Representatives -- and one prominent Democratic senator -- to reject the findings of a federal court. . . . With the help of reporters and activists promoting -- and embellishing -- the defense's version of the case, the two convicted agents were transformed into martyrs for the battle against illegal immigration. Instead of rogue officers who shot a fleeing, unarmed suspect and then lied about it, they became stand-up cops who were forced to shoot an armed drug dealer and then sent to prison by a legal system run amok. After they went to prison in January 2007, they even became the tragic heroes of a country song called "Ramos and Compean."

Nearly 400,000 people have signed a petition demanding a presidential pardon for the agents. There are two bills to pardon them pending in Congress, one with more than 100 cosponsors, including five Democrats. . . . How did Ramos and Compean get reinvented as right-wing heroes? The answer lies in the way Americans get their information, from a fragmented news media that makes it easier than ever to tune out opposing views and inconvenient truths. When people seek "facts" only from sources with which they agree, it's possible for demonstrable untruths to enter the narrative and remain there unchallenged. The ballad of Ramos and Compean is a story that one side of America's polarized culture has gotten all wrong and that much of the other side -- and the rest of the country -- has never even heard. . . . Federal prosecutions of law enforcement agents are not undertaken lightly. "No prosecutor ever wants to be in a position of prosecuting a cop or a federal agent," says Johnny Sutton, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, whose office prosecuted Ramos and Compean. "They're our co-workers, they're our friends, we represent them in court ... But when one steps over the line and commits a serious crime, it's very important that they be held accountable ... [and] most agents would say what these guys did was outrageous." . . . Prosecutors in Sutton's office considered the conduct of Ramos and Compean outrageous enough that the two men were charged with seven and nine counts, respectively. Both were charged with assault with intent to commit murder. At trial, government prosecutors presented a case, supported by eyewitness testimony, that alleged the following: On Feb. 17, 2005, Aldrete-Davila led Border Patrol agents on a high-speed car chase that ended at a ditch about 120 yards from Mexico. Aldrete-Davila abandoned a van with 743 pounds of marijuana inside and made a dash for the border. Compean, on foot, intercepted Aldrete-Davila, who put his hands in the air to surrender.

August 2007

Jailed border agents case tied to Mexican trucks

Drug smuggler had commercial drivers license

By Jerome R. Corsi, © 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

8-27-07 -- WND has discovered a previously unreported connection between the case of Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean and the Department of Transportation's Mexican truck-demonstration project. . . . In the Ramos-Compean case, the two agents convicted for 11 and 12 year prison terms respectively for shooting a Mexican drug smuggler, an overlooked fact is that the fleeing smuggler held a valid Mexican commercial drivers license at the time of the incident. . . . In his testimony at the trial of Ramos and Compean, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila first testified that he held a commercial drivers license that expired in November 2004. . . . Under cross-examination from Ramos' defense counsel Mary Stillinger, Aldrete-Davila reversed his testimony, admitting he had two commercial drivers licenses and that one of the licenses, which authorized him to transport hazardous material, was valid until 2013. . . . Under close questioning, Stillinger refuted Aldrete-Davila's contention that a certificate on his second license required to transport hazardous material had expired six months before the drug incident involving Ramos and Compean. . . . Stillinger established that Aldrete-Davila had a certificate valid through December 2005, giving him permission to go into Pemex, Mexico's state-owned oil company, to transport gasoline.

Proper Review

Officials’ use of lethal force must always be investigated

The Brownsville Herald

8-20-07 -- Emotions continue to cloud the thinking of many people regarding illegal immigration and the need for officers and agents patrolling the border to maintain proper procedure and ensure everyone’s right to due process. . . . A Border Patrol agent fatally shot a suspected immigrant smuggler Wednesday night at the El Paso border wall. Last week an agent with the U.S. Department of Customs and Border Patrol fired at a man who sped through a secure part of the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates. The man apparently was fleeing from Mexican authorities, and neither the driver nor two children who were in the truck with him were struck by the gunfire. . . . As is both routine and proper, the incidents are being investigated to assure that the agents’ actions were justified. . . . Both incidents prompted calls to this newspaper and comments on various sites on television and the Internet. Some echoed alarmists’ rhetoric that possible terrorists are streaming unabated across our border; some went as far as to say that U.S. agents should simply open fire on anyone who appears to be encroaching our border, no questions asked. . . . These kinds of comments often carry a complaint that the investigations only harass the agents who are keeping our country safe, and put them in danger by making them more hesitant to draw their weapons if they ever encounter future danger. . . . At the same time, countless people, including members of Congress, continue to lobby for the release and exoneration of former Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who were convicted this year of crimes stemming from the shooting of an alleged immigrant and drug smuggler. . . . In this latter case, people contend that because of whom they shot the ends justify the means. The court, however, determined that the agents’ actions were improper and criminal. They shot at the alleged smuggler 15 times as he crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico, striking him in the backside. The agents then tried to cover up their actions — something they probably wouldn’t have done if they didn’t know that what they did was wrong. . . . Law enforcement, to be sure, is dangerous work, and those who choose to do it deserve our support and thanks.

Mr. President, Release Ramos And Compean
by Chuck Baldwin

July 31, 2007

Any thoughts that the U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton were sincerely seeking true justice with the prosecution and conviction of former U.S. Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean have been thoroughly exposed as blatantly disingenuous by the recent revelation of Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA).

Readers who are following this unbelievable case know that Rep. Rohrabacher is scheduled to conduct congressional hearings today regarding the Ramos and Compean affair. I am confident that Rohrabacher will focus much of the committee's investigation on the illegitimacy of the Justice Department's star witness, Mexican drug-runner Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, and the possibility that the Mexican government was involved in our country's prosecution of the two Border Patrol agents.

Congressman Rohrabacher obtained copies of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) border pass cards issued to Aldrete-Davila via a Freedom of Information Act request. What he discovered is proof beyond all doubt that the prosecution of Ramos and Compean was illegitimate and that the two agents should be immediately released.

Rohrabacher discovered that Aldrete-Davila was, at the time he was granted border pass cards by the DHS, already involved in an active drug cartel. Beyond that, Aldrete-Davila brought a "second load" of over 700 pounds of marijuana into the United States after receiving his border passes.

Remember, Ramos and Compean were convicted on the strength of the testimony of the drug smuggler, Aldrete-Davila, who had been granted complete immunity from prosecution for his testimony against the two agents. The case ultimately came down to the word of an illegal Mexican drug smuggler against the word of two Border Patrol agents, one of whom (Ramos) had been nominated for Border Patrol Agent of the Year in 2005 (the same year he was indicted). Sutton convinced a jury to believe the drug-smuggler. This is a decision many of the jurors now regret, by the way.

Are you putting all this together? U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton ignored the fact that Aldrete-Davila had been caught smuggling drugs a second time before giving him immunity and proceeding with his testimony against Ramos and Compean. Of course, all of this was kept from the jury. By any standard of justice, this would constitute grounds for complete dismissal of all charges against Ramos and Compean.

In today's congressional hearings, Rohrabacher will also focus on the fact that the Justice Department did not decide to prosecute Ramos and Compean until after receiving a demand from the Mexican Consulate that the two agents be punished for wounding the Mexican drug dealer.

Remember, too, that the physician who removed the bullet-fragment from Aldrete-Davila's leg testified that the bullet placement was not inconsistent with someone who might be in a position to fire a weapon at the agents. This means the drug dealer was not shot in the back as Sutton claimed. In other words, the only word we have that the drug dealer was unarmed is the word of the drug dealer. The agents said they believed they saw a weapon.

At this point, let me invite readers to listen to my interview with Todd Hartley and PHX News out of Phoenix, Arizona regarding the imprisonment of Ramos and Compean. In his interview with me, Todd said that as he spoke with Ramos' family, my name kept coming up, so he wanted to do an interview with me for the benefit of his radio listeners. That interview can be heard at

http://www.phxnews.com/fullstory.php?article=50772

Feel free to listen and share this interview with everyone you can.

If there is one message the White House needs to hear, it is this:
Mr. President, release Ramos and Compean!

News & Views on Ramos & Compean

From Center for Individual Freedom

You know all-too-well about Agents Ramos and Compean.  They have already been in federal prison for more than six months now.  And they still face more than ten years each. During the six months, they have suffered more outrages than most people endure in a lifetime:

Agent Ramos was attacked in prison by five Hispanic illegals with steel-tipped boots, shouting "****la migra" -- an obscenity.  Congressman Ted Poe said bitterly: "The federal government doesn't do any better job of protecting border agents in jail than it does protecting them on the border."

The bank has foreclosed on Agent Ramos's house, and his wife and three children have been forced to move in with relatives.  Likewise, Agent Compean's wife -- with a new baby and two other children -- is struggling to get by, courtesy of the federal government, yours and mine.

The Bush Administration -- after promising months ago to review their case -- has done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! 

Yet something good HAS happened! 

Politicians in Washington are finally starting to pay attention to this outrage, thanks to the willingness of thousands of CFIF activists who continue to make their voices heard on this injustice.

Just last week, Congressman Tom Tancredo introduced an amendment to a House appropriations bill, a provision that would withhold funding for the imprisonment of Agents Compean and Ramos.

And guess what!  The DEMOCRAT-CONTROLLED HOUSE PASSED IT BY A VOICE VOTE!

If the Senate approves a bill with the same wording, and dares President Bush not to sign it, the Bureau of Prisons will be forced to free Ramos and Compean, and America can again go to bed with a clear conscience.

The Center for Individual Freedom has more information and a link that you can use to fax to all the Senators and President Bush.

House Panel to Probe Mexico's Role in Ramos-Compean Affair

Kevin Mooney, Staff Writer

7-31-07 --(CNSNews.com) - A congressional panel will Tuesday try to establish whether the Mexican government played a role in the prosecution of two former Border Patrol agents serving lengthy prison terms for shooting a Mexican drug smuggler. . . . The House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight will hold a hearing on the case of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. In prison since January, they face 11- and 12-year sentences, respectively, for shooting and wounding Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila in February 2005 and then trying to cover up the incident. . . . Aldrete-Davila had been attempting to smuggle 743 pounds of marijuana across the border. . . . Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) told Cybercast News Service on Monday that the Mexican authorities had been wielding far too much influence over their U.S. counterparts in matters involving border security. . . . "Why is our government so willing to accept demands from Mexico?" he asked. "What the Mexican government thinks about these cases should be irrelevant -- they don't have a vote." . . . Poe said Mexican officials have previously attempted to influence the prosecution of U.S. agents, and he cited the case of Texas Sheriff Deputy Gilmer Hernandez, who was sentenced last December to imprisonment for one year and one day for violating the civil rights of an illegal alien. . . . Hernandez in April 2005 confronted a group of illegal aliens in a van after he observed the vehicle running a red light. . . . Time for cop-citizen alliance.

Time for cop-citizen alliance
By Joseph Farah
7-31-07 -- Over the years, I've noticed a schism develop between many law enforcement people and ordinary "civilians" – you know, the poor schlemiels who pay their taxes, empower the high mighty and employ the cops. . . . This division takes many shapes and forms, but nowhere is it more obvious than on the issue of firearms. . . . Many police officers have come to believe guns are only safe in their hands – that they cannot be entrusted into the custody of untrained, unqualified citizens. . . . Obviously, this is a non-starter from a constitutional, freedom-oriented perspective. But there's a practical new reason for cops to begin rethinking where this anti-gun hysteria is leading our country. . . . I don't know how many of us thought to question passage of law 18 U.S. Code section 924(c)(1)(a), which calls for a mandatory 10-year sentence for using or carrying a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence. . . . Off hand, it sounds pretty good. . . . Who could argue with a law that says, "Hey, if you commit a violence crime with a gun, you go to jail for at least 10 years"? . . . I could live with that. It sounds just. I like to see bad guys put away for a long time. Anyone who commits a crime of violence and has a gun on them is probably a very bad actor.

January 2007

Feds 'knew smuggler' in Border Patrol case
Critic charges prosecutor lied, made 'deal with the devil'
By Jerome R. Corsi, © 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

1-30-07 --New evidence suggests prosecuting U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton of El Paso lied about how the government found the fleeing illegal alien Mexican drug smuggler, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, according to a Border Patrol advocate closely following the case of former agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. . . . Contrary to claims, no Mexican attorney was involved as an intermediary offering to reveal the identity of the drug smuggler and bring him back to the U.S. in exchange for given immunity to testify against Border Patrol, contended Andy Ramirez, chairman of Friends of the Border Patrol. . . . "It's shocking how much lying Johnny Sutton has done about Aldrete-Davila," he told WND. . . . "The government made a deal with the devil to put Ramos and Compean behind bars," Ramirez said. "Sutton's story about the lawyer in Mexico is a total fabrication, completely and maliciously false. The government knew Aldrete-Davila's identity from Border Patrol and DHS sources almost immediately after the event." . . . Commenting to WND for this story, Sutton insisted there was insufficient evidence to charge the drug smuggler, who was in a foreign country, which would have made it difficult to extradite him.

Ballistics data don't support charge against border agents
Investigator: U.S. attorney twisted evidence to fit case – 'guilty of malicious prosecution'

By Jerome R. Corsi, © 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

1-28-07 -- Ballistics reports, used in the trial of Ignacio "Nacho" Ramos, one of two Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting fleeing drug dealer Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, do not support the prosecution's claim the bullet was fired from Ramos' gun, according to documents provided to WND from Andy Ramirez, chairman of the Friends of the Border Patrol. . . . Despite the conclusion of a laboratory criminalist that he could not conclusively link the bullet removed from Aldrete-Davila with Ramos' service weapon, a Department of Homeland Security agent swore, in an affidavit of complaint filed against Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, that Aldrete-Davila was hit by a round fired by Ramos. . . . "Johnny Sutton and his assistants are guilty of malicious prosecution," Ramirez charged to WND. "The prosecutors lied to the jury and he twisted evidence to make it fit his case. And when he couldn't twist the evidence, the government demanded that the court seal evidence which would have been exculpatory to the defense." . . . Nearly two years after the conclusion of the trial, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas has yet to release a transcript of the trial. . . . WND asked Ramirez if he was aware of the seriousness of his charges. . . . "I am very aware and I am accusing Mr. Sutton of a felony," Ramirez told WND, "but I am basing my conclusion on the evidence I have examined in this case and the refusal by the government to provide evidence to substantiate its claim to the Congress and the American people."

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