U.S. Representatives Chip Roy (R) and Josh Brecheen (R-OK) are asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whistleblower allegations surrounding Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza's decision not to prosecute an Afghan national accused of felony solicitation of prostitution.
In a letter to federal officials, the lawmakers cite a Sept. 14 whistleblower complaint filed by Major Joshua Mast concerning Aminullah Amin. According to the congressmen, Garza's office declined to pursue the charges on July 22, citing the "interest of justice."
Amin is also involved in a custody dispute with Mast and his wife over a seven-year-old girl.
"The complaint raises the question whether the charging decision may have been improperly influenced so that the accused in that case could continue his custody pursuit of [the] seven-year-old little girl in our nation's highest court," Reps. Roy and Brecheen wrote.
The dispute began after an Afghan infant was found in rubble following a U.S. Army Rangers raid on a rural compound. The State Department helped place the child with an Afghan couple identified as relatives, who raised her for 18 months.
Mast and his wife later obtained a Virginia adoption order without notifying the Afghan couple. After helping the family evacuate to the United States in 2021, Mast took custody of the girl.
Lower Virgina courts ruled for the Afghan couple, but the state's highest court sided with the Masts, citing a statutory deadline for challenging the adoption. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the couple's appeal earlier this month.
Roy and Brecheen are requesting a review of forensic extractions from two phones Amin used in 2021. They say Mast's complaint identifies potential investigative leads involving alleged Taliban contacts, possible al-Qaeda connections and 11 SIM-card identifiers.
The request follows a June congressional inquiry into Garza's immigration-related policies. Roy, Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Tom McClintock (R-CA) previously questioned the district attorney's approach to immigration enforcement and public safety.
