Sen. Markwayne Mullin says he regrets calling Alex Pretti a "deranged individual" at Senate hearing
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who is President Trump's pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, said at a confirmation hearing Wednesday that he regretted calling Alex Pretti a "deranged individual" after he was shot and killed by Customs and Border Patrol agents in south Minneapolis.
Mullin appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee as he is poised to take over the department for Kristi Noem, who was sidelined by Mr. Trump in early March.
Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan pressed Mullin over his comments about Pretti, who he called on Fox News "a deranged individual that came in to cause max damage." Noem called him a "domestic terrorist." Video from the scene and witness testimony contradicts those claims.
Peters asked whether the American public should expect Mullin to make similarly "quick" comments as secretary.
"Those words probably should have been retracted. I shouldn't have said that," Mullin said in response.
When pressed further, Mullin said that he "responded immediately without the facts. That's my fault, that won't happen again as secretary."
Mullin however stopped short of apologizing to Pretti's family, citing an ongoing investigation. Multiple sources have told CBS News that the probe does not involve any federal prosecutors from the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division who specialize in excessive force cases.
"I haven't seen the investigation," Mullin said. "We'll let the investigation go through, and if I'm proven wrong, then I will, absolutely."
Later, when questioned by Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut about the shooting of Renee Good, Mullin did not say whether he regretted saying that her shooting was "absolutely" justified in a CNN interview.
"Senator, it's very clear than an officer had to make a split decision in that case," Mullin told Blumenthal.
Mullin also added that an "investigation is going on." Minnesota officials were cut out from accessing case material in a federal probe that focused on the case as an assault on a federal officer and not a civil rights issue. Several career prosecutors at the Department of Justice and the Minneapolis U.S. Attorney's office disagreed with the angle of the investigation and resigned.
When Blumenthal asked Mullin if there is indeed an investigation going on, he replied "my understand is that there is. I will find out if I'm able to get confirmed."
