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A top Customs and Border Protection official apologized Tuesday to a BuzzFeed News reporter who was aggressively questioned by an agent about articles regarding President Donald Trump at a passport control checkpoint in a New York City airport.



"On behalf of the agency, I would like to extend our apologies to Mr. David Mack for the inappropriate remarks made to him during his CBP processing upon his arrival to the United States," CBP Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs Andrew Meehan said in a statement to BuzzFeed News. "The officer’s comments do not reflect CBP’s commitment to integrity and professionalism of its workforce. In response to this incident, CBP immediately reviewed the event and has initiated the appropriate personnel inquiry and action." Mack, BuzzFeed News' deputy breaking news director, landed at JFK Airport Sunday night after a brief trip to the United Kingdom to renew his US work visa. After waiting in line with other non-US residents — Mack is an Australian citizen — he was called to approach the CBP agent at passport control. Mack said that the agent saw BuzzFeed listed as his employer on his visa and began to ask him questions about the outlet's reporting on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.



"The immigration agent at JFK just saw that I work for BuzzFeed and just grilled me for 10 minutes about the Cohen story, which was fun given he gets to decide whether to let me back into the country," Mack wrote Sunday night in a Twitter thread.

the immigration agent at JFK just saw that i work for buzzfeed and just grilled me for 10 minutes about the cohen story which was fun given he gets to decide whether to let me back into the country

"He was 100% convinced Mueller had personally given a press conference calling us fake news and I had to politely assure him that didn’t happen while also not wanting to piss him off any further," Mack said. "There were literally dozens of people waiting and I shit you not he was about to Google the Mueller response to see if it was televised or at least grill me about it."



In an FAQ about what international travelers should expect upon entering the United States, the CBP website lists questions about citizenship, the nature of the trip, and any items brought back to the country.



Drew Angerer / Getty Images Mack