New Emails Show Greg Bovino Was Under Investigation Prior to His Retirement

Former senior Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino faced an internal investigation prior to his retirement over his lack of credibility and for making offensive remarks about a federal prosecutor’s Jewish faith, according to public records released by Customs and Border Protection.

The emails, which were released in response to Freedom of Information Act litigation, showed CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility contacted Bovino on March 2 for an official inquiry. The office asked him to answer a series of questions in a declaration, including those related to an incident where Bovino allegedly mocked a U.S. attorney for observing the Sabbath, asking, “Do Orthodox criminals also take off Saturday?”

That attorney, a Minnesota federal prosecutor, was not identified in the records, but The New York Times and CBS News reported in June that Bovino was referring to Daniel Rosen, who is an Orthodox Jew.

Bovino was alleged to have said the comments at the height of his authority as “Border Patrol commander-at-large,” a position that made him the face for the Trump administration’s immigration-enforcement operations. He was demoted in January after federal immigration officers fatally shot U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and announced his retirement in a Breitbart interview published March 16. Bovino has since been critical of Trump administration officials, including White House border czar Tom Homan.

He denied allegations of misconduct in a statement Tuesday to Border Hawk, a far-right news outlet. Bovino said he was forced into retirement when CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott “weaponized” the Office of Professional Responsibility against him, saying Scott viewed Bovino as his “de facto political rival.”

Bovino told the outlet he was unaware that he was under investigation until a Times reporter called him in March. He said OPR had no “witnesses or testimony” and that he had “enough experience to know I wouldn’t get a fair shake” from the investigation. He said he was advised by his attorneys to retire immediately.

Bovino said two OPR agents appeared at his home without a warrant in March, and he retired the following day.

The Department of Homeland Security “does not comment on matters regarding personnel who are no longer with the agency,” a spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday.