Guest post from The State News Foundation – republished with permission.
Kilmar Abrego García, an MS-13 gang member recently returned to El Salvador.
Photo courtesy of En Vivo – Screenshot from video.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now referring all questions regarding the 2022 Tennessee Highway Patrol traffic stop of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, even though State News Foundation inquiries had nothing to do with either DHS or ICE.
As The Tennessee Star has reported, on the evening of November 30, 2022, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol for driving erratically. Troopers suspected that the eight people in the SUV were illegal aliens and that Garcia, who was driving with an expired Maryland Driver’s License, may have been part of a Human Trafficking operation.
As has been widely reported the FBI either ordered or requested that Garcia and his SUV be released. There have been other reports DHS was contacted that night but declined to respond to the scene. So, the question remains, who on the federal level was involved in the decision.
There would have been more clarity on the matter were it not for the fact that the Tennessee Highway Department redacted parts of the police cam video that involved conversations with unnamed federal officials. Though the video confirms that Troopers on the scene strongly believed they had encountered a potentially illegal operation, they redacted the audio conversations Troopers had that night with federal law enforcement partners.
The State News Foundation asked the FBI National Press office the following questions:
During the 11.30.22 traffic stop, did the FBI order or recommend that the Tennessee Highway Patrol release Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
Who at the FBI made that decision?
What was the rationale for ordering or recommending that Garcia be released?
Did the FBI consult with ICE on this matter?
It has been widely reported that the matter is under review at the DOJ? Can you confirm if the FBI has been contacted by the DOJ as part of that reported investigation?
The response was terse: “We refer you to DHS and ICE for any inquiries about Mr. Abrego Garcia.”
The Tennessee Star recently reported that some of their inquiries in this matter went unanswered because the Department of Justice was investigating the matter. The State News Foundation reached out to the Assistant US Attorney for Middle Tennessee, Mark Wildisin, for clarification. He responded it is the general policy of the US Attorney’s office “to not confirm whether an investigation has been opened or its scope.”
From the beginning, the reporting on the Garcia traffic stop has been cloudy on one issue: who actually asked the Tennessee Highway patrol to cut Garcia loose. The THP clearly knows but is not saying. The THP, without explanation, redacted the parts of the video that would answer that question and has been vague about the nature of conversations that night with their federal law enforcement partners.
Even though both are under different leadership today, it is customary for the FBI and DOJ to limit comment about cases that are under investigation. However, there is no indication the Tennessee Highway Patrol is under investigation. THP’s reluctance to be more forthcoming is unusual.
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Brian Wilson is the Managing Editor of State News Foundation. After 31 years covering politics in Washington, he now lives near Nashville, Tennessee.
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