Cover Up? Judicial Watch Sues DHS for Documents Detailing Investigation of Illegal Alien Charged With Killing Nun in Drunk Driving Accident

FOIA Request Seeks DHS Communications with Obama White House

WASHINGTON, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --  Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on April 14, 2011, against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to obtain records detailing Homeland Security's investigation of Carlos Martinelly-Montano, an illegal alien charged with striking and killing a Virginia Benedictine nun in a drunk driving accident on August 1, 2010. Judicial Watch obtained an internal DHS report on the Martinelly-Montano investigation in response to a previous lawsuit. Judicial Watch now seeks all communications between the DHS and the Obama White House, as well as internal DHS records regarding the investigation and the report (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Case No. 11-725)).

On February 16, 2011, Judicial Watch sent an FOIA request to the DHS seeking access to the following:

• Any and all records of communications, contacts, or correspondence with the White House and/or Executive Office of the President concerning a report/memorandum prepared at the direction of the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, related to Carlos Martinelly-Montano, an unlawfully present alien charged with killing a Benedictine nun and injuring two others in a August 2010 drunk driving incident in Prince William County, Virginia for the period of October 1, 2010 through February 15, 2011.
• Any and all records of communications, contacts, or correspondence within the Department of Homeland Security concerning a report/memorandum prepared at the direction of the United States Secretary for Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, related to Carlos Martinelly-Montano for the period of October 1, 2010 through February 15, 2011.

In a letter dated February 24, 2011, DHS acknowledged that it received Judicial Watch's request on February 17, 2011. DHS was required to respond by March 17, 2011. However, to date, DHS has failed to produce responsive documents or indicate when a response is forthcoming.

On March 3, 2011, Judicial Watch obtained an edited "final" DHS report detailing the agency's investigation of Martinelly-Montano. DHS had promised a federal court that it would release the report earlier in the year, but afterward claimed that the document was in "draft" form and therefore would not be released. The final report is curiously dated November 24, 2010. It details the policies and actions of the Obama administration and local governments that allowed Montano, an illegal alien who committed a series of crimes, to remain on the streets despite being subject to deportation. Specifically, the report confirms that the Obama administration decided to not detain the illegal alien after he served his jail sentence for other offenses, and to release him onto the streets.

"The suspicious manner in which the DHS handled the release of this report merits further investigation. There is no question the 'final' report released to the public was edited and polished by DHS, and it smacks of a cover-up. The American people deserve to know who was involved and what information was withheld," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "Even in its edited form, this report is an indictment of the Obama administration's lax approach to illegal immigration enforcement. Illegal alien sanctuary policies almost certainly led to the release of Martinelly-Montano and subsequently to the death of Sister Denise Mosier."

Carlos Martinelly-Montano, who entered the country illegally as a child from Bolivia, is charged with killing Sister Denise Mosier and critically injuring two other nuns while driving drunk in Prince William County, Virginia. He has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and drunk driving. Martinelly-Montano had previously been arrested in October 2008 for another drunk driving incident and was placed in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Though he was scheduled for deportation, his hearing was delayed three times, and deportation never occurred.

(Reporting by The Associated Press suggests that DHS political appointees have improperly delayed FOIA requests on politically sensitive topics.)

For further information, visit www.judicialwatch.org to access the report, correspondence with the ICE and DHS, and the court filings by Judicial Watch.

SOURCE Judicial Watch