Offensive Facebook posts draw federal investigation
WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said Monday that 62 current and eight former Border Patrol employees are under internal investigation following revelations of a secret Facebook group that mocked lawmakers and migrants.
Most are under investigation for posts that surfaced in a secret group called “I’m 10-15,” in which messages questioned the authenticity of images of a migrant father and child dead on the banks of the Rio Grande and depicted crude, doctored images of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-cortez, D-N.Y., purporting to perform a sex act on President Donald Trump.
Matthew Klein, assistant commissioner of the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility, said his agency had referred the case to the Homeland Security Department’s watchdog agency, which declined to investigate and sent the case back to Customs and Border Protection.
He said investigators are now focused on fact-finding and would identify criminal behavior if there was any, but he said it was not considered a criminal probe.
Asked whether Trump’s comments were racist, Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, told reporters he had been responding to “very specific” comments by Omar and was not making a “universal statement.”
“I don’t think that the president’s intent in any way is racist,” said Short, repeatedly pointing to Trump’s decision to choose Elaine Chao, who was born outside the country, as his transportation secretary.
“The administration is welcoming of all nationalities into the United States,” he said.
Omar and Tlaib are the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Omar faced rebuke over her comments on the clout of the pro-israel lobby in the U.S. that were criticized as anti-semitic.
Tlaib was caught on camera earlier this year telling activists that they would impeach Trump, using an expletive to refer to the president.
The group has called for the elimination of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has carried out the administration’s zero-tolerance policy. That policy has resulted in family separations at the southern border.
Trump shrugged off criticism of his tweets and social media rants.
“It doesn’t concern me,” Trump said, adding that although many people see the tweets as racist, “many people agree” with him.
Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@ reviewjournal.com or 202-6627390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter. Review-journal White House Correspondent Debra J. Saunders and The Associated Press contributed to this story.