Senator Feinstein and Senator Cornyn held a bipartisan hearing about border patrol agents Ramos and Compean’s trial and sentence. After the hearing, both Senators agreed that the agent’s sentence should be commuted and that they have concerns about the perversion of priorities by Attorney General Gonzales’ office for going after agents rather than drug smugglers. What do you think?

FROM LOU DOBBS SHOW

DOBBS: I’m joined now by Senator Dianne Feinstein, who led today’s hearings into the Ramos and Compean case, and Senator John Cornyn. Together, they led the questioning over the — the hearing.

If I may, Senator Feinstein, let me begin with you.

You were, frankly, far more determined than I expected. I thought you were aggressive.

Did you learn what you wanted to in today’s hearing?

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Yes. I learned what I wanted to learn. And, basically, I think this is a case of prosecutorial overreach. Senator Cornyn and I have talked and we have decided that we will write a letter to the president and we will urge commutation of the sentence, both of Border Patrol Agent Ramos and Border Patrol Agent Compean.

DOBBS: Senator Feinstein, can I just say thank you?

That’s amazing.

And Senator Cornyn, it is — I think for those of us who have been following the case, to watch the five senators in that room today, to watch each of you, it was restore — I think we could call it restorative.

You were looking for the truth. The idea of seeking computation — I know two families that are going to be thrilled, as well as those two men, for your efforts.

What — what changed — if, indeed, your views were changed — after today’s hearing?

FEINSTEIN: Do you want to go ahead, John?

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Well, Lou, I would say I think, as Senator Feinstein indicated, this sentence was clearly excessive and mainly because of a statute that Congress never really intended would be applied to a law enforcement officer under these circumstances. It gave a minimum mandatory 10-year sentence stacked on top of the other offenses. And then, of course, there was the immunity deal offered to this drug dealer and an unlimited visa which allowed him to travel back and forth without supervision and probably allowed him to do another — dump another load of narcotics in the United States.

A lot of — a lot of mistakes, a lot of errors that just didn’t need to be.

FEINSTEIN: But, if I — if I might just add to that.

DOBBS: Sure.

FEINSTEIN: because I agree very much with what Senator Cornyn said. And I think the fact that he’s a former Texas State Supreme Court jurist means something, a great deal, in all of this.

I’m not a lawyer, but I have sat on the Judiciary Committee now for some 14 years and hopefully have picked up some law.

The reason I say this is a prosecutorial overreach is because 12 counts were charged against these two men. There were, in fact, plea bargains. The plea bargains submitted by the prosecutors were for sentences maybe in the vicinity of two and three years. They were turned down by the defendants. What the jury didn’t know was that the mandatory sentence was in one of these counts.

DOBBS: Right.

FEINSTEIN: And that mandatory sentence was 10 years. So if they found them guilty, they had no choice but to have 10 years put on top of everything else, which would have totaled about two years.

DOBBS: Well —

FEINSTEIN: So it seems to me that there is a good case that can be made for a commutation sentence.

DOBBS: A commutation of sentence. We — we also have in Congress the House of Representatives pushing through Congressman Hunter’s pardon, seeking a Congressional pardon for these agents. A pardon is also possible.

Do you think you’re using — obviously, you’re referring to a commutation of sentence.

Why would a pardon not be as effective or as desirable, in your judgment, Senator Cornyn?

CORNYN: If I could weigh in on that. Let me just say that Senator Feinstein — I’d would take her over a lot of lawyers I know any day.

DOBBS: After watching her today, I think a lot of people would agree with you.
CORNYN: She’s tough.

But I have to tell you that, of course, a pardon or commutation, which are both within the power of the president of the United States — obviously, “Scooter” Libby getting a commutation of his sentence by the president recently. And I hope he’ll give the same sort of consideration to these two Border Patrol Agents.

But I know Congressman Hunter, in the absence of that executive branch commutation or pardon, has introduced a bill.

I’m going to have to look at that to see if I — I think that will fly. I think that’s, in the absence of anything else, a good effort. But I think eventually this is going to be something the president is going to have to decide.

DOBBS: So —

FEINSTEIN: There’s one thing that I’d just like to mention —

DOBBS: Yes, sir.

Yes, ma’am.

FEINSTEIN: — that became clear to me in this case, that a law enforcement officer, faced with somebody that’s bringing over $1,200,000 worth of marijuana, and the culprit wants to escape. So the law enforcement officer says, Stop!” And the culprit just keeps going.

Now, he cannot fire. He cannot stop him. So he is faced with either having to outrun him — and let’s say it’s a 45-year-old police officer.

DOBBS: Yes.

FEINSTEIN: How does he outrun a 22-year-old?

The fact is, he can’t. And I think this may be one of the reasons why we’ve got so much — so much drugs coming across the border.

DOBBS: Yes.

FEINSTEIN: Some — a law enforcement officer says, “Stop!” and it means nothing.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0707/17/ldt.01.html

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