A top Border Patrol agent was reportedly suddenly removed from his job just hours after he testified to Congress on the Biden administration's mishandling of border security.
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) are now investigating whether U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials and the Biden administration retaliated against the witness.
โIn a letter to the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner Troy A. Miller, Chairmen Comer and Green demand a briefing and all documents and communications relevant to any reassignment and the reasons for any related employment action regarding Gregory K. Bovino, Chief Patrol Agent of the El Centro Border Patrol Sector,โ the lawmakers report.
In an unusual move, Bovino was reportedly relieved of his command just hours after he provided transcribed testimony to congressional investigators.
โAccording to a whistleblower familiar with CBP law enforcement and personnel practices, within hours of that transcribed interview having concluded, a senior U.S. Border Patrol official informed Chief Bovino that he was relieved of command of the El Centro Sector effective immediately and would thereafter report to CBP headquarters in Washington, D.C. for a temporary duty assignment of indefinite nature and time,โ the House Oversight and Accountability Committee reports.
โThe whistleblower describes that temporary assignment as one of no certain mission, no articulable purpose, and without any timeline of completion. The whistleblower further alleges that this practice is consistent with the way in which CBP officials have dealt with employees who they wish to leave the agency, by placing maximum pressure on them to relocate, retire, or resign,โ the Committee reports.
โWe write with deep concern that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials may have retaliated against a witness in a Congressional investigation,โ wrote the lawmakers in their letter.ย
โThe Committees have received an allegation from a credible whistleblower with extensive experience in and knowledge of CBP personnel practices thatโwithin hours of concluding a voluntary transcribed interview with the Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Committee on Homeland Security on July 12, 2023, Gregory K. Bovino, Chief Patrol Agent of the El Centro Border Patrol Sector, was relieved of his command over the El Centro Sector and reassigned to a vague, indefinite, and temporary headquarters assignment,โ they write.ย
โGiven the suspicious timing of the reassignment coinciding with Chief Bovino's cooperation with a Congressional inquiry, we demand CBP account for the current status of Chief Bovino's employment and assignment within the U.S. Border Patrol, provide documents and communications relevant to any reassignment and the reasons for any related employment action, and brief the Committee on this matter,โ they requested.
โThe ability of Congress to receive truthful testimony about the activities of the Executive Branch is paramount to performing essential oversight functions necessary to inform the legislative process,โ they continued. โAny retaliation against witnesses who cooperate with Congressional inquiries will not be tolerated, especially when that retaliation may have been committed by government officials.โ
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions ofย American Liberty News.ย
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5 Comments
Those responsible for his “reassignment” need to be removed post haste.
Hell Yes thatโs what the communist do threaten intimidation jail look at the J6 the real ones that belong in jail are politicians and those they hired to infiltrate and cause chaos
For the Cartels right Joe
The person that issued the reassignment needs to be questioned by the committee and his supervisor and on and on.
That’s the games commies play.