[calcowgirl]

I was referring to the January article, that relied entirely on Johnny Sutton's press releases as a source for his "guilty" verdict. His February article relied entirely on the DHS-OIG Report written by the folks that lied to Congress alleging R&C were "out to shoot Mexicans."

The transcripts of the trial were released after both these articles were written . Neither article addresses legal points. They do however throw in lots of hyperbole, like that Compean was "lying in wait" for Aldrete-Davila that day.

In the Border Patrol Case, the Best Defense Is a Good Offense
National Review Online ^ | February 9, 2007 6:45 AM | Andrew C. McCarthy
Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 5:22:17 PM by 1rudeboy

The Border-Patrol Two Deserve Jail (Despite the “hero” propaganda)
National Review ^ | 01/27/2007 | Andrew C. McCarthy
Posted on Monday, January 29, 2007 9:30:51 AM by SirLinksalot

To say that McCarthy "debunked" anything is just nonsense.

[AndrewC]

Holy Toledo! The January article is worse than the February one. I guess that shows that Andrew M "improved" a little, but January is still a lulu.

• Ramos contends that while in pursuit, he heard shots; saw his fellow officer, Compean, down on the ground; kept chasing Aldrete-Davila; and finally fired at him because, through thick dust, he thought he saw something shiny in the smuggler’s hand that, he surmised, must have been a gun. ---

  Ramos testified dust obscured his vision? lie.

• Besides Compean and Ramos, there were several other agents on the scene. None of them believed Aldrete-Davila posed a threat to their safety; none, other than the two defendants drew their weapons; ---

  more lies --- Only one agent at the scene other than Ramos and Compean saw Davila outside of the van and Davila testified that at least two agents behind him had drawn their guns. Compean was in front of him.

• Compean admitted to investigators early on that the smuggler had raised his hands, palms open, in an attempt to surrender. This jibed not only with Aldrete-Davila’s account but with that of another Border Patrol agent.

  --- even more lies --- Compean testified that Davila raised his hands while on the other side of the ditch and outside of it. Jumping into the ditch and then advancing on Compean with hands down while being told repeatedly to stop is a strange way to indicate surrender. Plus Davila testified that he raised his hands when he was only within one or two steps of Compean. That was when Compean was using his shotgun as a stick to fend off Davila instead of blasting him with it as he probably should have. What the heck is a shotgun for? Wikipedia---However, in a military or law enforcement context, the large number of projectiles makes the shotgun useful as a close quarters combat weapon or a defensive weapon

• But it turns out the agent was as hapless as he was malevolent. In the assault, he succeeded only in losing his own balance. The smuggler, naturally, took off again, whereupon Compean unleashed an incompetent fuselage — missing Aldrete-Davila with all fourteen shots. ---

  Fuselage?? I'll end the agony here.