NRO columnist gets it all wrong...
In a recent National Review Online commentary piece, Andrew McCarthy blasts and issues ad hominem attacks against WorldNet Daily, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin’s Sara Carter—and me—for writing exposés on DHS Agents who lied in their provision of bogus “evidence” to the prosecutor of US Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. Perhaps Mr. McCarthy failed to read what DHS Inspector General Richard L. Skinner had to say, on Tuesday, to the Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. If so, allow me to assist him. After repeated attempts over a 4-month period, by Committee members to gain the “evidence” against the USBP Agents, Skinner told the Committee that there was no evidence to back up DHS’ claims. Instead, Skinner stated: “The person who told you that misinformed you.” As it turns out, DHS Agents and apparently Skinner—himself—were the ones who “misinformed” Committee members. Note: In this scenario misinformed means lied.
In his piece “In the Border Patrol Case, the Best Defense Is a Good Offense”. McCarthy writes: “For example, columnist Sher Zieve, who apparently knows very little about either trials in general or the trial of these agents in particular, risibly rails: “In order to gain a conviction against U.S. Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has admitted it lied to Congress. Convictions, someone might ‘splain to Ms. Zieve, are not won before Congress by spiffy bureaucrats whose job is Hill hobnobbing.” Actually, I know quite a bit about both ‘trials in general’ and this case in particular. And I most certainly did balk, if not rail, at this miscarriage of justice against the USBP Agents. I am also a strong proponent of principled law and order being affected and maintained within societies. However, trying and convicting anyone based upon supplied false evidence, which has admittedly been made up out of whole-cloth at the highest levels of government, is not only the bane of any and all free societies but, is one of the canaries squawking in the proverbial cage in order to advise said society’s citizens that their country is in peril and may soon suffer a severe threat from tyranny. Mr. McCarthy conveniently leaves DHS’ admission of falsified (AKA non-existent) data out of his piece.
Note: Instead, Mr. McCarthy refers to the now discredited, due to Skinner’s Tuesday admission, IG report to ‘make his case’. Of interest, the IG’s report has been heavily redacted.
Thomas Jefferson said it well and I believe his statement bears repeating: “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” I am one who has chosen not to remain silent.
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/zieve/070207
Andrew McCarthy column
http://www.dhs.gov/xoig/assets/OIG_foia_RamosCompean.pdf
