Democrats in Congress are pushing for criminal charges against Kristi Noem, just weeks after President Donald Trump removed her from her position as Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS). The leading Democrats from the Judiciary Committees in both the House and Senate, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday. They accused Noem of lying to Congress during recent hearings.
The letter claims, “Many of her statements seem to violate criminal law related to perjury and knowingly making false statements before Congress.” It goes on to say that Noem has dodged committee requests for testimony and made several false statements in an apparent effort to undermine Congress’s oversight of the DHS.
Democratic leaders have identified four possible instances of perjury by Noem during her testimony. Among the issues raised was whether DHS complied with court orders, Corey Lewandowski’s involvement in a DHS contract, detaining U.S. citizens, and particularly, the contracting process for a substantial $220 million advertising campaign where Noem was prominently featured.
This advertising campaign became a focal point during Noem’s recent testimony, especially when Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) questioned her about the competitive bidding process. Noem assured the panel that the contract had undergone such a process and claimed that “career officials at the department selected the advertising team.” When asked if President Trump was aware of the campaign and its significant budget, Noem said he was.
Trump, however, disputed her comments in a Reuters interview, while Kennedy expressed skepticism about whether Trump would have approved it. “That’s something we have to defend. I’m on the Appropriations Committee. So my research shows that you didn’t auction them off,” he added.
Kennedy further asserted that the group receiving most of the funds had connections to former DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin and her husband, Benjamin Yoho, who manages the company involved. Even if Noem were truthful about Trump’s knowledge, Durbin and Raskin argued, she still misrepresented the contract’s bidding process.
Yoho denied any wrongdoing, emphasizing in a letter to Senate Democrats that their claims were incorrect and requesting a correction and apology.
Making false statements to Congress is treated as a felony, which can lead to a five-year prison sentence and fines up to $250,000 if someone is convicted. Still, the Trump administration has come to Noem’s defense, with a DHS spokesperson claiming, “Any accusation that Secretary Noem committed perjury is entirely unfounded.”
Nonetheless, Democrats indicated that their inquiries would continue beyond the Trump administration, stating, “We have little faith you’ll address this matter given the partisan use of the DOJ, but we note that the statute of limitations for perjury and lying to Congress is five years.”
This comes after President Trump recently announced that Noem would step down from her position and take on a new role as special envoy for his military coalition, Shield of the Americas. This decision follows increasing criticism from both sides concerning Noem’s management of the department and Trump’s immigration enforcement policies.
President Trump then nominated Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to replace her, with confirmation hearings scheduled for this week.
