Law enforcement groups call for probe of U.S. Rep. Reyes’ handling of kidnapping case

The Friends of the Border Patrol (FOBP), a nonprofit law-enforcement advocacy group, has filed a complaint with a Congressional committee calling for an ethics investigation into the activities of U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas.

The 23-page complaint, including exhibits, focuses specifically on the alleged impropriety of Reyes' actions in seeking the assistance of a federal law enforcement agency late last month to assist in rescuing his kidnapped relative — a Mexican citizen who was abducted in Juarez, Mexico. The woman was eventually released, with the help of both U.S. and Mexican law enforcement, after a ransom was paid.

The involvement of Reyes' office in that little adventure was exposed after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memo was leaked to Narco News.

From the FOBP complaint (which can be found at this link):

I am writing to respectfully request an immediate formal investigation by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct into a recent request for assistance from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) by Silvestre Reyes, Member of Congress (El Paso), and chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

The matter involved a relative of the Congressman's spouse who had been kidnapped in Juarez, Mexico on June 19, 2008 and was being held for ransom. According to a number of publications, including Narconews.com, which broke the story, a sensitive memo prepared by Donald Bruckschen in ICE Office of International Affairs to ICE Assistant Secretary Julie Myers was leaked, detailing ICE's role in the matter.

... A number of retired senior federal law enforcement officials ... collectively call the ICE request "bizarre, questionable, inappropriate and highly unusual..." and that "it raises serious questions" considering Mr. Reyes' previous employment as Chief Patrol Agent in the McAllen and El Paso Sectors of the U.S. Border Patrol.

Therefore, under the "Code of Official Conduct", it appears Mr. Reyes has violated the following ...

The complaint then goes on to cite the specific alleged violations of the House ethics code.

The FOBP ethics complaint also references a number of other border tragedies — including the House of Death kidnappings and murders and the slaying earlier this year of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar — that involved U.S. citizens or residents who have family members residing in Reyes' Congressional district. The complaint alleges the Congressman has failed to take adequate action to address the plights of the victims in those cases while at the same time he seeks to justify invoking U.S. law enforcement resources to investigate a kidnapping in Mexico involving a foreign citizen — who happens to be related to his wife.

"I respectfully ask for the [House] committee to conduct an investigation and hearing into all these matters as stated herein, given the fact that this complaint is filled with actions and statements that can be viewed as contradictory and even hypocritical on the part of the former chief and current chairman Reyes," the FOBP complaint concludes."

On another front, the Federal Hispanic Law Enforcement Officers Association (FHLEOA) also issued a press release today in support of the FOBP's call for an investigation into the Reyes kidnapping affair.

From the FHLEOA press release [link here]:

Recent media coverage of a leaked memorandum and official statements relative to Congressman Silvestre Reyes' role in involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the investigation of a relative's kidnapping in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, are cause for concern, particularly when the victim was not a United States citizen, ICE clearly lacks jurisdiction in crimes that occur in foreign countries, and Reyes has failed to make similar efforts for other victims of crimes in his congressional district.

Add to that the statement by Reyes that the investigation was compromised with the release of the ICE memorandum to the press, and that the Inspector General has begun an investigation of the leaked memorandum, and we have yet another all too common occurrence in federal law enforcement -- a government conspiracy to retaliate against a whistleblower.

Congressman Reyes' actions in this case, as well as the official statements released by his office and by ICE, are the height of hypocrisy when considering that in January 2004 it was learned that ICE and the U.S. Attorney's Office in El Paso were allegedly involved in allowing the murders of at least 12 Mexican citizens and one U.S. Permanent Resident in Ciudad Juarez, with the participation of a U.S. informant controlled by ICE. [The House of Death case.]

In the wake of Reyes' involvement in the kidnapping rescue being made public late last month, the Congressman's office issued the following statement to the media.

... Whenever the Office of Congressman Silvestre Reyes is notified of a potential criminal matter, the incident is immediately reported to law enforcement, particularly when an individual may be in imminent danger. This kidnapping was reported to Congressman Reyes's district office by the victim's family, who are citizens of the United States and constituents of the 16th District of Texas. The Congressman's staff immediately notified law enforcement authorities. We notify law enforcement in these circumstances without regard to the victim's identity, country of citizenship, or legal status.

Congressman Reyes was informed of the incident by his staff after law enforcement had been notified. While the Congressman was kept apprised of the situation, he had no other role. Any suggestion that Congressman Reyes somehow influenced the actions of law enforcement is false....

The FOBP and the FHLEOA are not the first groups to question Reyes' explanation of his involvement in the kidnapping case. Last month, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a nonprofit group focused on ethics and accountability in government, issued the following press statement concerning the kidnapping caper:

CREW is asking [Department of Homeland Security] Secretary Chertoff to immediately order an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding ICE's involvement in the matter to determine the nature of the inquiry by Cong. Reyes' office, whether ICE [part of DHS] had the legal authority to intercede in this matter, why ICE chose to get involved in this matter, whether the State Department was consulted, and whether ICE has offered assistance in other cases involving foreign nationals kidnapped on foreign soil.

CREW's executive director Melanie Sloan stated, "While the release of any kidnapping victim is always a positive development, this matter raises serious questions about whether ICE acted appropriately here." Sloan continued, "Did ICE officials assist in resolving a foreign kidnapping simply because the victim is related to a powerful member of Congress? While Congressman Reyes undoubtedly was overwhelmed by concern for his relative, officials with more objectivity should have been considering the greater political and policy issues raised by ICE's intercession.

Stay tuned....