Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has openly acknowledged a significant loss of trust in the Trump administration, following its handling of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by border patrol agents in Minnesota.
In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Paul expressed his concerns about the actions of key administration figures, specifically Kristi Noem, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol Commander. They had labeled Pretti as a domestic terrorist and accused him of intending to inflict “maximum damage” after a video of the incident went viral.
Paul criticized these statements, describing them as “terrible judgment.” He argued that their conclusions were both incorrect and unsupported by the video evidence. “You can lie to your heart’s content if there’s no video,” he noted, “but the video doesn’t support what they’re saying.”
During the interview, correspondent Scott Pelley pointed out Paul’s sentiment about the breach of trust.
Paul confirmed, “Without question,” indicating his agreement with the assertion that trust had been compromised.
Additionally, Paul raised doubts about the FBI’s ability to conduct a fair investigation into the circumstances of the shooting.
“I think, really, if it were an independent group outside of the federal government, it would be better, actually,” Paul said.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the shooting of a 37-year-old anti-ICE protester in Minneapolis
While Paul criticized the federal government’s response to the shooting and ongoing anti-immigration enforcement protests, he said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s refusal to cooperate with federal authorities was “a significant part of the problem.”
Paul also disagreed with the actions of protesters targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
“I mean the thing is, if you were my son or daughter would I tell you to spit on the police? Absolutely not. Would I tell you to yell and scream at them? No. I would tell you to go to a primary and knock on doors, sign up people, and try to convince people, particularly in a primary, of who to vote for. That is the way I would protest. But is it illegal to protest? No,” Paul said.
The White House referred Fox News Digital to a comment from President Donald Trump in support of an investigation into the shooting.
“We’re doing a big investigation. I want to see the investigation. I’m going to be watching over it. I want a very honorable and honest investigation — I have to see it myself,” Trump said.
Paul has called on the heads of ICE, Customs and Border Patrol and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services (USCIS) to come before his panel, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, later this month to testify.
