DEA tactic that let fentanyl flood the streets is being investigated by House Republicans

MIAMI — A controversial policing tactic that permitted staggering amounts of deadly fentanyl to reach the streets as federal authorities sought to build bigger drug cases is now under investigation by Republicans on the House Oversight Committee.The committee’s chairman, Rep. James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, sent a letter Monday to Attorney General Todd Blanche requesting records related to the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s controversial strategy of monitoring — yet not seizing — major fentanyl shipments.The request echoes concerns raised by officials in New Mexico, the epicenter of the fentanyl crisis, where DEA whistleblowers recently reported being ordered to stand down rather than seize hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills in possible violation of Justice Department rules intended to safeguard communities. Last week, the state’s attorney general, Raúl Torrez, sued the Justice Department seeking to force it to turn over some of the same records being sought by Republicans on Comer’s committee.