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Lawmaker urges independent probes of federal agents, cites shootings and unmarked operations
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Summary
At an oversight hearing, an unnamed committee member described alleged federal law-enforcement tactics across several cities, urged independent investigations and said Congress is working on legislation to provide justice for witnesses cited during testimony.
An unnamed committee member at an oversight hearing criticized recent federal law-enforcement operations and urged independent investigations, saying witnesses named in the session "deserve justice." The speaker cited incidents in Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, Charlotte and Minnesota and called for congressional action.
The lawmaker opened by thanking witnesses for "your bravery" and singled out "Miss Martinez, Miss Raman, Ascon," saying their testimony should be heard "for the world to hear." The speaker said the public and press are paying attention and that the committee was convening to provide oversight.
The speaker said Republican lawmakers and the administration have not engaged in the accountability conversation. "But why is it just Democrats? ... Why is it just us?" the speaker asked, and later said, "our Republican colleagues refuse to" convene oversight at the House or Senate committee levels.
To illustrate the scope of the problem, the speaker listed recent incidents: "we've seen incidents in Chicago... Portland... and now we're seeing it intensely in Minnesota," and described reported tactics such as "masks, unmarked cars, the agents who refuse to identify themselves" and agents "coming out of helicopters rappelling onto an apartment building in Chicago, kicking in doors indiscriminately."
The speaker cited fatal outcomes and violent encounters as evidence of urgency. Referring to one case, the speaker said, "a few weeks ago, we saw the killing of Renee Goode," and later recounted that "less than 3 weeks later, mister Pretti was shot. 10 times in the back." The remarks framed these incidents as part of a pattern that, the speaker said, demands accountability.
On investigations and legal remedies, the speaker said that under normal circumstances agencies would rely on "a credible independent investigation" and, where appropriate, the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division would pursue consequences. The speaker added that victims have an additional recourse with state and local law enforcement through civil-rights actions, but asserted that "that is not an option when it comes to ICE agents or CBP or other federal law enforcement officers," and said this gap leaves victims without recourse.
The speaker also said they and Senator Blumenthal "and others" are working across the Capitol to advance legislation to address those limits and to strengthen oversight. The remarks closed with repeated calls that the named witnesses "deserve justice." No formal vote or committee action was recorded in the transcript excerpt provided.
The hearing record contains inconsistent spellings of some witness names and related references; the transcript itself alternates among variants including "Raman," "Rama," "Ascon," "Lascon" and "Radascon." The article reflects the names as they appear in the hearing transcript and notes the inconsistency.
The transcript also named federal agencies by acronym (ICE, CBP) and the speaker explicitly referenced the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division as the federal office that would normally oversee civil-rights investigations of law-enforcement misconduct.
