DOJ Softened Drug Seizure Rules While Investigating the Agent Who Exposed It

A House Oversight Committee investigation is examining whether DEA agents in New Mexico were directed not to seize known fentanyl shipments in order to build larger trafficking cases, according to a whistleblower represented by the nonprofit Empower Oversight. Empower Oversight President Tristan Leavitt discusses the case of DEA Special Agent David Howell, who says he was told fentanyl should be seized as soon as possible under Justice Department protocols, but that agents in New Mexico allowed increasingly large shipments to proceed — including transactions law enforcement watched happen in real time under a federal wiretap. Leavitt says the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility investigated the claims but the DOJ separately loosened its fentanyl seizure protocols during that same period. Two additional whistleblowers have since come forward and say they are facing retaliation. Committee Chairman James Comer has requested records from the Justice Department, New Mexico's attorney general has filed a related lawsuit against the DOJ, and Leavitt compares the case to his earlier work investigating the ATF's Operation Fast and Furious.