Drug dealers' pardons left unexplained

The White House has left unexplained the president's decisions to grant pardons to drug dealers, carjackers, thieves and a moonshiner, but deny the same mercy to two former U.S. Border Patrol agents each serving more than a decade in prison for shooting at a fleeing drug smuggler.

The issue arose during a news briefing at the White House, held by Dana Perino, the president's spokeswoman.

"Both Republicans and the Democrat Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee have now deplored the president's pardoning of drug dealers and carjackers while refusing to pardon two U.S. Border Patrol agents who shot a Mexican drug smuggler who disobeyed their order to stop…" asked WND's correspondent at the White House, Les Kinsolving.

"I answered this question," said Perino.

"And my question," said Kinsolving.

"I answered this question," said Perino.

"Wait a minute, I haven't asked it," Kinsolving said.

(Story continues below)

"I'm sure it's the same one," Perino responded.

"Would the White House like to respond to Chairman Delahunt, as well as Congressmen Hunter and Rohrabacher, or will you stiff-arm them with a 'no comment'?" he asked.

"What I'll do is refer you to the briefing on Monday when Kathleen asked the same question," Perino said.

"Not exactly the same," Kinsolving said.

Perino's response earlier to questions about pardons, referencing another case, was, "We don't speculate on any possible pardons."

As WND reported earlier, the White House has released its list of 29 pardons granted traditionally around Christmas time, and they included carjackers, drug dealers, thieves and a moonshiner.

But not Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who were convicted of firing their guns at a fleeing drug smuggler while they were protecting the integrity of the U.S. border with Mexico.

However, Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., has launched a campaign to assemble a House resolution urging Bush to provide those pardons, and he says more than two dozen members already have signed on as sponsors.

"I am completely confident we will be able to pass a bipartisan resolution that includes support from the right and the left," Delahunt said. He said he expects action soon after Congress reconvenes after the Christmas break.k

"Members in the House feel strongly the excessively long sentences Ramos and Compean are serving is a miscarriage of justice," he explained. "We have strong bipartisan agreement in the House that President Bush should immediately commute the sentences of Ramos and Compean to the time they have already served."

Ramos and Compean are serving 11- and 12-year sentences, respectively, for shooting after fleeing drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila in an incident on the Texas border with Mexico on Feb. 17, 2005.

Delahunt objected strongly to the mandatory minimum 10-year sentence Ramos and Compean are serving under 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c), a law Congress passed to increase the prison terms of federal felons, including bank robbers, who carried a weapon in the commission of their crimes.

"It just isn't right, period," Delahunt said. "In this case there is bipartisan agreement in the House that Ramos and Compean have already served enough time."

As WND reported, their case already is on appeal, and a ruling from the 5th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals is expected within weeks.

In another question, Kinsolving asked about the reports of drug use coming from Sen. Barack Obama's past.

"Sen. Clinton's national co-chairman Bill Shaheen has just announced that Republicans will work hard to discover new aspects of Sen. Obama's youthful drug problems, which were repeatedly detailed by Shaheen. And my question: Since Clinton's spokeswoman Kathleen Strand announced that Shaheen's comments were not authorized or condoned by the campaign in any way, does the head of the Republican Party wonder why there were no reports of Shaheen being fired for this smear of Republicans and Senator Obama?"

"The president is not following the 2008 campaign that closely," Perino said.

Hours after the news briefing, Clinton officials also announced they had accepted Shaheen's resignation.

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Moonshiner, thieves, drug dealers get Bush's help

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Another win for border agent who struck illegal

Feds admit smuggler lied in Ramos-Compean case

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