James Schwab: CBS interview interrupted by a surprise visit from government agents – exclusive

In his first television interview, James Schwab former spokesman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, explained why he had resigned abruptly in March. But his interview with Jamie Yuccas of CBS News was unexpectedly interrupted by agents identifying themselves as agents of the Inspector General's Office of the Department of Homeland Security

"They just said that & # 39; They wanted to talk to me about the leak with the Oakland Mayor, Schwab said of his conversation with the agents.

Before the surprise visit, Schwab told Yuccas that the white houses of Obama and Trump asked him to "turn" the information. But he said that he felt compelled to resign after the current administration told him to lie about an incident that pitted the government against the mayor of Oakland. .

In February, in the month leading up to Schwab's resignation, tensions in the San Francisco Bay Area escalated during a series of raids conducted by federal agents at the USSR. 39; ICE. With the help of his superiors in Washington DC, it was Schwab's job to communicate with reporters about the raids. The eve of operations, Libby Schaaf, mayor of Oakland, warns the community of the operation – a surprise to Schwab

"It was endangering the lives of your officers?" Yuccas asked Schwab. "Okay," he replied.

"We ended up stopping 232, or 16% more than our highest estimates, which was considered an internal success … But what they said publicly, it's a good thing. is that she was letting people go, "Schwab said. According to him, it was not true.

He contributed to the development of a statement to the media saying, "Some of them were able to escape us thanks to the irresponsible decision of the mayor." He was comfortable with this statement, he said, because it included the words "some of".

"This is a spin statement, that's what every public affairs officer does," Schwab said.

A week later, the language of Attorney General Jeff Sessions was significantly different. He said that "ICE has not managed to make 800 arrests" because of the mayor's statement. The words of the sessions did not suit Schwab.

"Completely false … that made me extremely uncomfortable," Schwab said.

When asked by reporters to clarify the discrepancy, Schwab said his superiors in Washington had asked him to simply refer to the original statement he had written without questioning the version of the Sessions events.

"Having failed to correct it – it's a total lie, they know it's a lie, it was shocking to me that no one would want to fix that," Schwab said. .

Disturbed by what he regarded as a public deception, Schwab resigned his resignation.

"I could not imagine staying in an organization that is right to lie to the American public, I hate it: in 17 years in the military, at the Ministry of Defense as a civilian, at NASA, and now at Homeland Security, I've never been asked to lie, I've never been asked to perpetuate a lie, which is tantamount to lying, "Schwab said.

Government Agents Surprise Former ICE Spokesperson At Home

During an interview at his home, about three months after his departure, Yuccas and Schwab were interrupted by a surprise visit by men from the Department of the Fatherland. Office of the Inspector General of Security. He was "completely shocked" to see them.

Schwab said that his conversation with the agents had to do with the mayor of Oakland.

"Have you ever contacted the Mayor's Office of Oakland?" Yuccas asked.

"No, I've never met her before, I've never contacted Libby Schaaf," Schwab said. "Never, I would never tell him, I would never tell anyone … They were very serious, he was very stern with me, and it was worrying."

Schwab said that it was "absolutely" a technique of intimidation.

"Why, three months later, are we doing this?" Schwab said. "It's an intimidation, and that's why people do not want to talk against the government."

Asked that he believes other agencies are struggling with the same thing, Schwab said, "I know they are, because they're there." 19659002] Schwab said that he was now expressing himself because he spoke to others at the federal government with similar concerns.

"It 's the only way it is. One of the most important reasons why I do this is that – for people to hear that someone else is standing up, that someone else is said "No". And worry about that … Getting ready and stand out in front of the public and perpetuating something that you absolutely know is wrong is not correct, and no special agent of the homeland security department does not. will stop saying that, "Schwab told me.

CBS News contacted ICE. They say they disagree with Schwab's claims that he has received the order to lie, but they believe that the warning from the mayor of Oakland helped the targets to escape the arrest. DHS did not return to CBS News about any investigation into who leaked details of the raid.While Schwab is a registered Democrat, he says it has nothing to do with his decision to resign and to express himself [19659031] [ad_2]
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