Obama Administration Ordered ICE to Stand Down in Case of Senator Bob Menendez' Visa-Overstaying Sex-Criminal Intern, Thus Granting the Intern, Much Like David Gregory, the Official Favor of the Imperial Court

This was reported previously, but I'm glad to see it reported again. AP's hook for this second report is that the Administration called the story "categorically false" the first time -- but now they have documents confirming it.

Newly released documents show that federal immigration agents were prepared to arrest an undocumented immigrant and registered sex offender days before the November elections.

However according to the internal agency documents, the agents were ordered by Washington to hold off after officials warned of “significant interest” from Congress and news organizations since the suspect was a volunteer intern for New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez.

...

When The Associated Press first disclosed the delayed arrest of last month, Sanchez, 18, the Homeland Security Department said AP’s report was “categorically false.”

...

According to those documents, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Newark had arranged to arrest Sanchez at the local prosecutor’s office on Oct. 25. That was fewer than two weeks before the election.

Noting that Sanchez was a volunteer in Menendez’s Senate office, ICE officials in New Jersey advised that the arrest “had the possibility of garnering significant congressional and media interest” and were “advised to postpone the arrest” until officials in Washington gave approval. The documents describe a conference call between officials Washington and New Jersey to “determine a way forward, given the potential sensitivities surrounding the case.”

In a letter Monday, Assistant DHS Secretary Nelson Peacock said an allegation that the government delayed Sanchez’s arrest “for political purposes” was categorically false. Neither the unnamed U.S. official cited in AP’s original story or the senators in their letters to the department had specifically alleged that the arrest had been delayed for political purposes.

The article goes on to note ICE's friendly treatment of Obama's various illegal relatives.

Sanchez, the sex-criminal in question, was convicted of sexually assaulting an 8 year old, when he himself was 15. The AP pointedly does not report the relationship between Sanchez and his victim, to protect the victim -- which makes it pretty clear the victim is a member of his family.

posted by Ace at 02:03 PM

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