Representative Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, and other House Appropriations Committee members sent a letter to the attorney general Tuesday requesting an explanation after being denied access to the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC).
Garcia, along with representatives Brian Babin (R-TX), Steven Palazzo (R-MS), and John R. Carter (R-TX) as well as five other Republican lawmakers sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in protest of being turned away from EPIC by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and asked to return in a few months due to alleged time constraints.
“The DOJ’s decision to restrict our access is truly inconceivable under our democratic republic, where congressional oversight is a fundamental check-in potential abuse of the president’s executive power,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. “No excuse, whether it be ‘time constraints’ or otherwise, is acceptable when it impedes Members of Congress from performing their jobs as established by Article I of the U.S. Constitution.”
The congressional representatives were not granted entry into EPIC during their visit to the southern border on May 25, 2021, according to the letter.
EPIC is a facility shared between the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and other law enforcement used to identify threats to the nation, especially along the Southwest border, the representatives said.
The lawmakers had intended to visit EPIC to better understand what is being done to address threats to the nation resulting from the current lack of border security, a representative for Garcia said.
Additionally, according to a representative, Garcia planned to speak with DEA officials about the illegal marijuana grows threatening communities in California’s 25th District, a problem that is fueled by the current lack of border security.
“First, we want to be clear: The DEA staff have been cooperative and professional,” the lawmakers wrote. “However, the public should know that it was the DOJ who ultimately rejected our request and instead offered for us to come back in ‘September or October’ due to ‘time constraints.’”
The representatives claimed to have filed a request to make a Congressional visit months before their arrival at EPIC.
“This is completely unacceptable,” the lawmakers wrote. “Cherry-picking the dates of Congressional visits, particularly when they’re several months after an initial request, is a recipe for a dog-and-pony show, not legitimate oversight.”
To read the full letter, click here.
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