MIAMI (AP) — A controversial policing tactic that permitted staggering amounts of deadly fentanyl to reach the streets as federal authorities sought to build bigger drug cases is now under investigation by Republicans on the House Oversight Committee.The committee’s chairman, Rep. James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, sent a letter Monday to Attorney General Todd Blanche requesting records related to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s controversial strategy of monitoring — yet not seizing — major fentanyl shipments.The request echoes concerns raised by officials in New Mexico, the epicenter of the fentanyl crisis, where DEA whistleblowers recently reported being ordered to stand down rather than seize hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills in possible violation of Justice Department rules intended to safeguard communities. Last week, the state’s attorney general, Raúl Torrez, sued the Justice Department seeking to force it to turn over some of the same records being sought by Republicans on Comer’s committee.
“While DEA agents may not have the resources to intercept every single known shipment, a policy directing them not to intercept significant shipments is unconscionable and undoubtedly resulted in considerable harm and lives lost,” Comer wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.The DEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
