March 16 (UPI) — House and Senate Democrats on Monday called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem for allegedly lying under oath to Congress.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter to Bondi asking for the inquiry. They allege that Noem may have broken the law when she testified before the committees on March 3 and 4.
“Making false statements to Congress is a crime. … While we have low expectations that you will pursue this matter given your partisan weaponization of the Department of Justice, we note that the statute of limitations for knowingly and willfully making false statements to Congress is five years,” the letter said.
President Donald Trump fired Noem on March 5, replacing her with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla. Mullin must be approved by the Senate and is set to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
“A number of her statements appear to violate criminal statutes prohibiting perjury and knowingly making false statements to Congress,” they said of her testimony saying that the department didn’t violate any court orders on immigration enforcement.
They also said she made false claims about bidding for a DHS contract for a television ad campaign worth $220 million.
“Any claim that Secretary Noem committed perjury are categorically FALSE,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told CNBC via email on Monday.
