May 20, 2025

One would think the Secretary of Homeland Security would know the definition of "habeas corpus," but she offered Democratic New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan the exact opposite of what habeas corpus is.

She's either stupid and unfit for the job, or she's gaslighting us. Or, she's all three.

"So, Secretary Noem, what is habeas corpus?" Hassan asked.

"Well, habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country and suspend their right to...," Noem wrongly said.

"Let me stop you, ma'am," Hassan said.

"Habeas corpus is the legal principle that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people," Hassan continued. "If not for that protection, the government could simply arrest people, including American citizens, and hold them indefinitely for no reason."

"Habeas corpus is the foundational right that separates free societies like America from police states like North Korea," she told Noem. "As a senator from the live free or die state, this matters a lot to me and my constituents and to all Americans."

"So, Secretary Noem, do you support the core protection that habeas corpus provides, that the government must provide a public reason in order to detain and imprison someone?" Hassan asked.

"I support habeas corpus," Noem said, "I also recognize that the president of the United States has the authority under the Constitution to decide if it should be suspended or not."

"It has never been done without approval of Congress," Hassan shot back. "Even Abraham Lincoln got retroactive approval from Congress."

Imagine the outrage if Alejandro Mayorkas said something like that under oath, when Handsome Old Joe Biden was in office.

HASSAN: What is habeas corpus?

NOEM: Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country

HASSAN: That's incorrect

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-05-20T14:16:31.383Z

Can you help us out?

For over 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but social media is limiting our ability to attract new readers. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon