Torrez separately sued Justice Department for those same records
The Drug Enforcement Administration has used a strategy of monitoring — yet not seizing — major fentanyl shipments. DEA whistleblowers in New Mexico have reported being ordered to stand down rather than seize hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills, and have alleged the stand-down orders may have violated Justice Department rules intended to safeguard communities.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., sent a letter Monday to Attorney General Todd Blanche requesting Justice Department records on the policy. Officials in New Mexico have described the state as the epicenter of the fentanyl crisis.
Separately, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed suit against the Justice Department last week to compel turnover of some of the same records Comer’s committee is now seeking.