A bombshell report against the head of the U.S. Border Patrol preceded his resignation announcement Thursday.
Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks said that he was leaving the office to spend time with his family and touted his success at shutting down the border.
Sources said he had been investigated twice but that the latest probe had been shut down after Kristi Noem came to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
“After over 37 years in public service to the people of the United States America, it is time for me to retire and return home to Texas to focus on my family and ranch,” wrote Banks in an email to Border Patrol employees.
The Washington Examiner reported that Banks had been under investigation for allegedly bragging about engaging with prostitutes while visiting Colombia and Thailand. Sources said he had been investigated twice but that the latest probe had been shut down after former Secretary Kristi Noem came to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
A former Border Patrol agent told the Examiner that Banks had allegedly tried to persuade the agent to join Banks on the prostitution trips.
“He’s going to third-world countries to take advantage of poor f**king women, which disgusts the hell out of me,” the agent claimed.
Banks had previously worked as the border czar for Texas during the Biden administration before being tapped for the federal position under President Donald Trump.
“To the men and women that will continue to wear the uniform and protect this great nation defending our borders and our sovereignty know this; you are protecting and defending the sovereignty of the greatest nation in the history of the world,” Banks continued in his email, “the nation that allowed a poor kid from a trailer park in central Georgia to not only serve his country in the military, but ultimately lead the finest law enforcement agency in this country as the Chief of the United States Border Patrol.”
Customs and Border Protection did not respond to the Examiner’s request for comment.
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An Examiner reporter noted that one of the Border Patrol agents had put Banks’ portrait in the trash after the announcement, as shown in a photo on social media.
Noem has since left the DHS, which is now headed up by Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Banks’ replacement will be chosen by Mullin, and the position does not need approval from the Senate.
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