Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol commander who led controversial immigration crackdowns in Chicago and Minneapolis, was secretly under internal investigation when he suddenly announced his retirement in March, per newly released records.
Emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show a federal watchdog official contacted Bovino on March 2 to open an “official Inquiry into allegations of misconduct,” the Chicago Tribune reported on Monday.
Just over two weeks later, on March 18, Bovino informed officials he planned to retire. The investigation centered partly on a federal judge’s finding that Bovino had lied under oath, and partly on allegations he made antisemitic remarks toward a Minneapolis prosecutor.
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis had ruled last fall that Bovino’s testimony in a Chicago civil rights case was “not credible,” writing that he’d appeared evasive and untruthful during depositions. Investigators directly asked Bovino whether that finding made him “Giglio impaired” — legal jargon for an officer whose credibility problems must be disclosed to defense attorneys in future criminal cases. Separately, investigators asked whether Bovino had commented that a Jewish federal prosecutor’s Sabbath observance meant “orthodox criminals” also take Saturdays off, and whether he’d made a reference to Jewish people as the “chosen people.”
Bovino denies any wrongdoing, telling the Tribune both probes were “drummed up” after he left Minnesota and calling the whole episode a “political hit job.” He claims Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott forced a second review after an initial board cleared him, framing his ouster as retaliation.
“Open a file. Strip the security detail. Investigate the security,” Bovino wrote in a recent social media post, describing what he called a deliberate effort to push him out quietly.
Since retiring, Bovino has turned increasingly critical of the Trump administration’s immigration approach, pushing conspiracy theories that one-third of the entire U.S. population should be deported, and even suggesting in a Tucker Carlson interview that officials stripped his security detail because they wanted him dead. Homeland Security officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the newly surfaced records.
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