US Attorney Anderson

An astounding takedown of ABQ Mayor Keller and the city's progressives by US Attorney John Anderson continues to reverberate. His eight page missive was in response to the city attorney's letter expressing deep worry over an additional 35 agents being sent to ABQ as part of Operation Legend, designed to assist local law enforcement in fighting the violent crime epidemic here.

We've acknowledged that the timing of the operation lends credence to the argument that this was a political stunt from the Trump administration, but the wild overreaction was unjustified.

Anderson, appointed by Trump, pushed back in no uncertain terms against progressives who labeled the operation "stormtroopers" or "gestapo" that would be infiltrating crime-soaked ABQ and robbing people of their civil liberties. And he called out the Keller administration for accusing the Feds of holding up a promised $10 million grant to hire more police.

Anderson's letter to Keller reads like a wake-up call to him, Sen. Heinrich and others in the progressive bubble when it comes to crime and what most of of the population here thinks. Excerpts:

Operation Legend was not conceived or announced in response to the events in Portland. As I informed you in our telephone conversation Operation Legend is not directed at protecting federal monuments, policing assemblies, or enforcing immigration laws. Operation Legend is. . . to identily and remove the most dangerous violent offenders from our communities.

One reason that Albuquerque was selected for Operation Legend is because, according to statistics published by the FBI, Albuquerque's violent crime rate is 3.7, or nearly four times the national violent crime rate. While we have been eagerly awaiting current, year-to-date statistics, I am sure you will agree that the pace oflethal shootings in Albuquerque from 2019 into 2020 is conceming. Of course, in 2019, the City experienced a record high number of homicides. Now in 2020, in one weekend this month alone, APD has opened four separate homicide investigations And a survey of APD officers at the beginning of this year suggested that those surveyed believed Albuquerque's crime problem was "getting worse."

As for the $10 million the city says it has not collected from federal Operation Relentless Pursuit, Anderson wrote:

You  (Keller) are quoted as saying, "We've had a lot of challenges where the federal govemment will work with us, say. 'Yes' to a program and then either the check never comes in the mail, which is the case with we think roughly $10 million with this past operation."

. . .These funds are the same Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) funds that I have been imploring the City to accept for several months. As further enticement to accept these funds, the Department of Justice even waived the standard 25 percent local match that generally accompanies COPS Hiring Program (CHP) funds. So I am confused by statements. . .that clearly suggest to the public that the City has said "Yes" to these funds, but that the Department of Justice has failed to honor its promise to deliver them.

My office. . . sent the City the grants award package. (It) instructed, in bold lettering on the first page, that the City needed to officially accept the awarded funds within 45 days of receipt of the award package. To date, the COPS Office has received no communication from the City. 

Obviously, no federal funds can be sent to Albuquerque unless the City officially accepts the award. In other words, the ball has very much been in the City's court for more than a month. So it is confusing to the public, and certainly unfair to the Department of Justice, for any City official to represent or suggest that the Department has somehow failed to follow through on its promise to get these funds to Albuquerque.

The newspaper reports:

Anderson and city officials had previously told the Journal that the city’s “immigrant-friendly” resolution did not allow it to agree to some of the grant conditions.

So it is city politics holding up the $10 million. 

After being taken to the woodshed, the Mayor had a mild response:

We asked the US Attorney to give us assurances in writing about Operation Legend, and we got them for our city. Specifically, the US attorney has provided a written guarantee that Operation Legend will not be what we saw in Portland. However, we remain concerned about the President’s own words that contradict these assurances, and we will hold the appropriate people accountable if this is not true.

Even the NM branch of the American Civil Liberties Union lost its way and called for the resignation of BernCo Sheriff Manny Gonzales simply because he showed up at the White House when Operation Legend was announced and offered support afterwards. What happened to the ACLU NM sacred pledge to protect free speech? Apparently it's been undone by the racket from their progressive donors who see a stormtrooper behind every tree, but don't seem to see the hundreds of people of color being maimed and murdered here nor the general lawlessness that has come to define their "Burque."

Progressives truly get our education and environmental challenges but too many appear tone deaf or worse when it comes to the crime and violence that has cost so many lives, caused thousands to flee and businesses to shun us as as we become known as a lawless, dusty border town. The US Attorney will be called a Trump political hack and maybe he is but when it comes to crime he has the truth on his side and for many of our progressives that truth hurts.

THE BOTTOM LINES 

In our first draft Monday we identified Cobre High School as being in Deming. The correct location is Bayard.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2020