Trump CBP Nominee Grilled Over Role in 2010 Border Death

Rodney Scott is accused of ‘cover-up’ by Senate Democrats

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nominee, Rodney Scott, to lead U.S. Customs and Border Protection is facing intense scrutiny after a human rights tribunal found the U.S. responsible for the 2010 death of a Mexican national at the hands of federal border agents—an incident Senate Democrats say Scott helped cover up.

During a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Wednesday, lawmakers confronted Scott, a former Border Patrol chief, over his role in the death of Anastasio Hernández Rojas, who was severely beaten and repeatedly electroshocked while in CBP custody in San Diego.

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights determined that the U.S. violated Hernández Rojas’ right to life and failed to adequately investigate or hold agents accountable. The tribunal’s decision marks the first time it has held the U.S. responsible for a death caused by law enforcement.