An explosive new filing revealed the Trump administration is keeping its investigation into the shooting death of Veterans Affairs nurse Alex Pretti to a narrow “use of force” review that merely examines whether government employees broke training rules.
Court filings exposed the revelation that the inquiry into Pretti’s death is nowhere near as serious as an actual criminal investigation, The New York Times reported.
Mark Zito, the Homeland Security Investigations honcho running the St. Paul, Minnesota office, swore under oath that his agency is calling the shots.
“H.S.I. is the lead investigatory entity reviewing the use-of-force encounter at issue in this case,” Zito declared. “H.S.I. agents tasked with this investigation are required to preserve all evidence collected, including physical evidence collected by other federal agencies, which are then properly transferred to the custody of H.S.I.”
Pretti was gunned down by Border Patrol agents on Saturday. Minnesota state officials demanded a court order to preserve evidence for their own investigation, but the Trump administration insisted they’ve already got everything covered.
A use-of-force review only checks whether personnel followed the rulebook on when and how much force is acceptable. It’s not a criminal investigation. The FBI could investigate whether Pretti’s civil rights were trampled by feds abusing their power, a charge that could carry the death penalty. There’s no sign the FBI is doing as such.
Court documents hint that FBI involvement is basically just backup for the Department of Homeland Security’s watered-down review. FBI agents grabbed Pretti’s gun and phone at the scene, then handed the phone to Immigration and Customs Enforcement while keeping the weapon. While some Border Patrol agents’ body cameras caught footage, many don’t wear cameras at all.
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