Critical of federal prosecutors' use of trafficker in the case involving Border Patrol agents, five in the House show copies of crossing cards
By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The Mexican drug smuggler involved in the controversial prosecution of two Border Patrol agents was granted six border crossing passes to enter the U.S. unescorted — including two after he was linked by federal law enforcement to a million-dollar marijuana payload.
Copies of the six crossing cards, which in some cases were good for months at a time, were released Wednesday by five House Republicans who have been harshly critical of federal prosecutors for using an admitted drug trafficker to prosecute Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.
"The whole episode stinks, and now we are beginning to see evidence of just how rotten it really is," Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., said at a Capitol news conference Wednesday.
But U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton said Wednesday night that Osvaldo Aldrete Davila was not, in fact, permitted to travel unescorted into the U.S. after word surfaced that he may have been involved with a subsequent drug shipment. "From there on out, he was escorted personally by federal agents to the U.S.," Sutton said.