ICE Barbie Kristi Noem goes viral after bizarre flub that should 'disqualify' her from Trump's Cabinet
Online critics are lambasting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for flubbing the definition of the latin legal term 'Habeas Corpus' at a congressional hearing on Tuesday.
Even worse, however, is that the DHS head provided a completely inaccurate definition for the phrase.
Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) questioned Noem on the meaning of Habeas Corpus, which is the legal principle ensuring those in the U.S. court system have the right to challenge the legality of their detention.
Essentially, it protects people from being detained and held in custody without a valid legal reason – even if they are not an American citizen.
'Secretary Noem, what is Habeas Corpus?' Hassan asked the DHS Secretary.
'Well Habeas Corpus is a constitutional right that allows the president to remove people from the country, suspend their right to –' Noem began before she was cut off by the Democratic senator.
'Let me stop you, ma'am. Excuse me, that's incorrect.'
But Noem, who was on Capitol Hill for testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, went on to insist that presidents do have the right to suspend Habeas Corpus.
'Secretary Noem was right: Presidents have suspended habeas corpus in practice—Lincoln, Grant, FDR, and Bush—all during moments of crisis,' DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told the Daily Mail when asked about the interaction.
She added: 'Technically, Congress holds that power under the Constitution, but in reality, presidents have acted first, and legal authority followed. The precedent is real.'
Social media critics jumped on the flub.
'Kristi Noem just confused habeas corpus; the right to challenge unlawful detention, with deportation powers,' one wrote.
They added: 'This isn't a slip-up. It's a governor who can't define basic constitutional rights. And wants to wield power without understanding it.'
And another said that Noem 'has no f-cking clue what habeas corpus means.'
'We are living in the dumbest of times,' they posted to X on Tuesday.
Hassan explained that the protection ensures that the U.S. government cannot arrest people and hold them indefinitely. Instead, they have to provide a public reason for why an individual is being imprisoned.
'Habeas Corpus is the foundational right that separates free societies like America from police states like North Korea,' Hassan went on.
'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?'
Noem replied: 'I support Habeas Corpus. I also recognized that the President of the United States has the authority under the Constitution to decide if it should be suspended or not.'
Hassan pushed back, claiming that it needs congressional approval.
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