CNN’s Tapper Presses DHS Sec. On Biden Saying Border Agents Will ‘Pay’: Will Investigation of Their Conduct Be Separated From ‘Twitter Outrage’?

CNN’s Jake Tapper pressed Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on whether the investigation into the U.S.’s treatment of migrants will be free from the influence of public opinion.

Mayorkas appeared Sunday on State of the Union to face questions about the ongoing situation on the border and the treatment of Haitian asylum-seekers by Border Patrol agents. Tapper noted that President Joe Biden’s recently said that border agents will “pay” for their misconduct, while Mayorkas warned against prejudging the facts of the matter before it is fully investigated.

“But Mr. Secretary,” Tapper said, “you also said that the images ‘horrified us.’ How can DHS claim to have an independent investigation into these border patrol agents when the president says ‘Those people will pay’ and you say the images horrified us?”

Mayorkas answered that he was referring to the imagery that gave rise to the recent claim Haitian migrants were being whipped by horseback-riding patrolmen. The photographer behind those images said that the Border Patrol agents were not using whips.

“That is quite different than learning what actually happened, determining the facts, and the fact determinations will be made in an independent investigation by the Office for Professional Responsibility,” Mayorkas said. “And the facts that are deduced, the facts that are determined will drive the outcome. Nothing less and nothing more. What those images suggest, what they appeared to portray was horrifying, and that, I think, deserves attention.”

“Some of the initial descriptions of those images were just patently false,” Tapper countered. “There’s now video out there that provides more context. Having seen the video, are you certain that there was actually wrongdoing?”

Mayorkas responded by once again saying investigators will make that determination, so Tapper asked if the Biden administration can guarantee that without being influenced by public outrage.

“Can the Border Patrol count on you and President Biden — who has said that people will pay — to come to a determination based on the facts, and not based on Twitter outrage?” Tapper asked.

“They sure can,” Mayorkas answered before offering his compliments to the “heroism” of Border officials.

“The nice words you said about them, you should probably share with President Biden,” Tapper recommended.

Watch above, via CNN.