There is a lot of weird shit happening with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's attempt to cover up ICE abuses, most recently, the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis by one of her goons. Just one day after Good's murder by an ICE agent, Noem quietly ordered new restrictions on congressional visits to immigration detention facilities. And that's possibly illegal, as a judge rejected a nearly identical policy last month.
Still, after her mountain of lies since she was sworn in, Noem told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday, "This administration wants to operate in transparency."
"You've also been criticized for your comments," Tapper said. "The shooting, we should note, was Wednesday at 1037 a.m. Eastern. Just over two hours later, the Department of Homeland Security put out a statement definitively asserting what had happened, defending the ICE agent, accusing Renee Good of domestic terrorism. That's a characterization that you reiterated in a press conference half an hour later. Now, Republican Senator Tom Tillis said, quote, it was very unusual to have a senior law enforcement official to draw a conclusion about an event where the scene was still being processed."
"Generally speaking, law enforcement would recognize that a life was lost, that families are changed forever, the shooter's life will change forever, we're collecting video, we're trying to assess the situation," he continued with his quote from Tillis.
"Why did you not wait for an investigation before making your comments?" Tapper asked.
"Well, everything that I've said has been proven to be factual in the truth," she falsely said. "This administration wants to operate in transparency. I have the responsibility as the Secretary of Homeland Security to know this information as soon as possible. Just been in Minneapolis the day before, had already had conversations with officers on the ground and supervisors, and knew the facts, and decided that the department and the people of this country deserve to know the truth of the situation of what had unfolded in Minneapolis."
"With all due respect, Secretary, the first thing you said was, quote, what happened was our ICE officers were out in an enforcement action," Tapper said. "They got stuck in the snow because of the adverse weather that is in Minneapolis."
"They were attempting to push out their vehicle, and a woman attacked them and those surrounding them and attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle," he continued. "That's not what happened. We all saw what happened."
"It absolutely is what happened," Noem insisted. "Those officers had been out on enforcement action. A vehicle had been stuck. They had come to help get that vehicle out. That's when this individual started blocking traffic for minutes and minutes said that the woman attacked them, and surrounded them and attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle, blocked the road for a long time, and was yelling at them and impeding a federal law enforcement investigation. That's what you need to focus on, Jake: they were breaking the law by impeding and obstructing a law enforcement operation."
Tapper said, "Within hours of her being killed, you said that she was a domestic terrorist. How do you define a domestic terrorist?"
"She weaponized her vehicle to conduct an act of violence against a law enforcement officer and the public," Noem said.
"How can you assert with certainty that she was trying to hurt the officer as opposed to she was trying to flee the scene?" Tapper asked.
Noem insisted that Good's actions were those of domestic terrorism. That's rapey talk. 'Why did you make me hit you?' type of talk, except this time, the agent shot a woman in the face three times. Afterward, he said, "fucking bitch."
