But agents sure as hell got acculturated
Top Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials testified on Thursday before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. They no doubt enjoyed the roasting (New York Times):
Testifying before the Senate panel, Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE], repeatedly said he could not offer comments on the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti because of continuing investigations. But asked by Senator Maggie Hassan, Democrat of New Hampshire, if they were “domestic terrorists,” a label that Trump administration officials used to describe them shortly after their deaths without providing evidence, Mr. Lyons said he did not have knowledge that they were.
Ongoing investigations and all that.
Mr. Lyons and Rodney S. Scott, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection [CBP], were also pressed about Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s description of Mr. Pretti as a domestic terrorist. In response, they said their agencies did not provide her an assessment that Mr. Pretti was engaged in domestic terrorism.
Democrats condemned random violence by CBP/ICE agents. Republicans focused on reinforcing the White House’s “Democrat-run cities” run amok narrative.
Then came Kentucky Republican Rand Paul’s turn, along with Democrat Gary Peters of Michigan:
Mr. Paul and Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, the top Democrat on the committee, played a video analysis of the moments leading up to Mr. Pretti’s killing, stopping at various frames to question Mr. Scott and Mr. Lyons about their agents’ conduct.
“It’s clearly evident that the public trust has been lost,” Mr. Paul said. “To restore trust in ICE and Border Patrol, they must admit their mistakes.”
“No one in America believes shoving that woman’s head and her face in the snow was de-escalation,” said Paul, reacting to witness videos.
Asked if it was appropriate for federal officers to beat someone with a pepper spray canister, Mr. Scott placed blame on Mr. Pretti. He said the video showed that Mr. Pretti was “not compliant, he’s not following any guidance, he’s fighting back nonstop.” But Mr. Scott would not answer whether it was appropriate, given that federal investigations into the shooting were ongoing.
But this the money exchange: