近距离内射合集

Attorney General Raul Torrez says the U.S. attorney for New Mexico鈥檚 continued refusal to produce records on drug agent seizures of fentanyl shipments into the state could end up in federal court.

Torrez in a letter released Monday to first assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison wrote that he appreciated Ellison鈥檚 willingness to work toward a solution, but considered Ellison's stated legal reasons for withholding the documents to be without merit.

鈥淭he federal government cannot hide behind procedural excuses when New Mexicans deserve answers,鈥� Torrez stated on Monday. 鈥淥ur investigation seeks to determine whether federal decisions allowed dangerous quantities of fentanyl to reach our communities and whether those decisions violated New Mexico law. Instead of engaging with the merits of our request, the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office issued a denial that misstates its own regulations and applies legal standards that simply do not exist.鈥�

Torrez on June 26 announced his agency would a conduct an investigation into reports by the 近距离内射合集 and Associated Press that agents with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration intentionally permitted massive fentanyl shipments to go unseized in the Albuquerque area from 2023 to at least 2025 in order to build bigger prosecutions against drug trafficking organizations.

Torrez asked Ellison, whose attorneys oversaw those investigations, for a slate of records by July 31. But Ellison declined to produce a single document.

A Journal request for further comment from Ellison鈥檚 office went unanswered on Monday. There was also no comment as to whether the practice, known as 鈥渇entanyl walking鈥� by the DEA is still occurring in New Mexico.

But in a letter to Torrez last week, Ellison wrote that his office, the U.S. Department of Justice and the DEA  鈥渞ecognize the devastating impacts of fentanyl on families and communities in New Mexico and share the State鈥檚 commitment to holding the criminal organizations responsible for trafficking deadly drugs.鈥�

But Ellison wrote that the AG鈥檚 request in its July 1 letter doesn鈥檛 comport with federal regulations and therefore is denied.

鈥淭he determination should not be understood as diminishing the seriousness with which DOJ, DEA, and the (U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office in New Mexico) regard the threat or the concerns raised in your correspondence,鈥� Ellison stated.

鈥淒OJ remains willing to consider any future requests that are submitted in accordance with the Department鈥檚 designated process and to work with you to reach agreement concerning the scope of the request,鈥� Ellison wrote.

Torrez, a former federal prosecutor, wrote that the 鈥淣MDOJ is investigating the decisions and conduct of the DEA that resulted in a significant quantity of fentanyl unseized on the streets and in the communities of New Mexico. I further previously explained that the investigation requires access to the full record of the DEA鈥檚 activities, operational guidance, and changes to operational guidance in order to assess the lawfulness of these practices.鈥�

The NMDOJ鈥檚 investigation encompasses the operational decisions regarding fentanyl seizure, nonseizures, supervisory oversight of those operational decisions and the handling of concerns elevated to supervisors.

鈥淭o that end, NMDOJ seeks to review USDOJ protocols governing fentanyl seizure decisions, and protocols that were apparently rewritten in 2024 to afford agents greater discretion on the timing of fentanyl seizures.

鈥淣MDOJ is investigating the impact of these protocols and practices on the people of NM.鈥�

Torrez wrote that Ellison鈥檚 denial 鈥渕isinterprets the applicable regulation鈥� and 鈥渢ime sensitivities.鈥� The AG鈥檚 office in Monday鈥檚 letter set out categories of 鈥減riority requests.鈥�

Those include surveillance logs, investigative reports, monitoring records, case agent notes and all communications between federal prosecutors and DEA agents concerning decisions to seize or not to seize.

Torrez launched his investigation at the request of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who asked whether federal agents potentially violated state laws by opting to allow hundreds of thousands of pills to hit the streets during wiretap investigations of drug organizations.

The practice was first revealed by a veteran DEA agent in Albuquerque who filed a whistleblower complaint in 2023. The public outcry that ensued has spurred a separate investigation by the DOJ Office of Inspector General in Washington, D.C., at the DEA鈥檚 request.

Torrez鈥檚 letter asked Ellison to produce the priority materials or provide a substantive response by Aug. 17.

If that doesn't happen, he wrote, 鈥淣MDOJ will treat your denial as final and will seek judicial review in the U.S. District Court in New Mexico.鈥�

Torrez said Ellison himself, in his denial, mentioned that avenue as the 鈥渁ppropriate mechanism" for resolving disputes of this kind.

Colleen Heild is an investigative reporter for the Journal. You can reach her at cheild@abqjournal.com.