Members Of Congress Demand Report On Border Patrol Officers Accused By President Biden

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

We have previously discussed how the Biden Administration appears to be withholding the conclusions of investigations into Border Patrol agents that President Joe Biden accused of whipping migrants from horseback.

Now, members of Congress are raising concern over an account from an anonymous DHS official that they now do not believe that they will release the report.

The letter sent to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demands to know the status of the report and the status of these officers who may still be on administrative leave or temporary duties. The letter states:

“It has been more than four months since senior members of the Biden Administration, including President Biden and Press Secretary, Jen Psaki participated in a widely spread falsehood and accused United States Border Patrol agents of ‘whipping’ Haitian migrants attempting to illegally cross into the United States near Del Rio, Texas on September 19, 2021.”

As noted earlier, Biden’s Red Queen justice approach was most alarming with regards to the agents who were falsely accused of “whipping” undocumented immigrants on the southern border.

Before any investigation was actually started, Biden expressed anger at the agents and publicly pledged punishment:

“It was horrible what — to see, as you saw — to see people treated like they did: horses nearly running them over and people being strapped. It’s outrageous. I promise you, those people will pay.”

“Those people” are federal employees who have a right to due process and a presumption of innocence, including from the man who heads their branch of government. However, the President of the United States declared them to be guilty as the matter was sent for investigation. That creates an obvious pressure on lower-ranked executive branch officials to reach the same conclusion — to not contradict the President.

The question is why this call has only come from Republicans and largely ignored by the media. I thought that transparency was not just key to democracy but a value supported by both political parties. There is no reason given for the total blackout on information from the DHS Secretary and his agency. In the initial days of the controversy, President Biden and others did not hesitate to hold forth on the alleged facts of the case. Now, however, the promise of a quick investigation has dragged on for months without explanation.