By Steve Neavling

Two Democrats in the U.S. House are calling on the FBI to investigate President Trump for pressuring Georgia election officials in a phone call to “find” enough votes to overturn his election defeat in the state. 

The Washington Post released audio of the entire call, prompting legal experts to question whether Trump violated the law.

“As members of Congress and former prosecutors, we believe Donald Trump engaged in solicitation of, or conspiracy to commit, a number of election crimes,” Reps. Ted Lieu and Kathleen Rice wrote in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray.

“We ask you to open an immediate criminal investigation into the president,” they added.

In the call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Trump repeated baseless conspiracy theories. Raffensperger rejected Trump’s claims, saying there is no evidence of widespread election fraud. 

The Democrats said the phone call provided “evidence of election fraud” and said “we are making a criminal referral to you to open an investigation into Mr. Trump.”

By Steve Neavling

Joel Martinez has been named deputy chief patrol agent of the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector. 

Martinez replaces Austin L. Skero II, who took over as chief patrol agent in the Laredo Sector about six months ago. 

Martinez joined the Border Patrol in 1992 at the Laredo South Station in the Laredo Sector. He perviously served as patrol agent in charge of the Laredo South Station, executive responsible for the Sector Intelligence Unit, and assistant chief of the Southeast Border Operations division at Border Patrol headquarters. 

Martinez spent much of his 28-year career at the RGV Sector. 

“I am happy to return to the RGV and look forward to continuing the great work underway in the sector,” Martinez said in a statement. “The sector remains the busiest in the nation and I am proud to join dedicated men and women working hard to secure the border in Rio Grande Valley.”

A native of San Benito, Texas, Martinez graduated from the CBP Leadership Institute-Cohort 1503-University of Maryland-Smith School of Business and has a bachelor’s degree in homeland security and emergency management from Ashford University.  

The RGV Sector includes nine stations and 277 river miles and 316 coastal miles.