Ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was accused of lying to Congress after a watchdog group had warned about “serious vulnerabilities” at airport security checkpoints in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog report revealed several concerns about the TSA’s screenings at airport security lines, the new policy allowing passengers to keep their shoes on, according to CBS News. Five months after the memo, the agency still hadn’t responded to the findings.
Noem, during a hearing with congressional leaders, told lawmakers that “all of the recommendations” outlined by the inspector general were addressed.
But that wasn’t the case. And according to a March 4 memo from Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, he wrote that his office had no written or oral evidence that suggest those security issues were addressed, The Daily Beast reported.
A key finding in the report was designated as “top secret,” limiting access to the information to only 13 people in the government. Cuffari told Noem that only “three Members of Congress; two employees in OIG; seven employees in the [DHS]; and one employee in the Executive Office of the President” had access to this information.
Cuffari was clear that Noem had not responded to the security concerns.
“I am writing to inform you that OIG has not received such information — written or oral — from DHS or TSA, despite our requests to the Secretary and you for that information,” Cuffari wrote in his March 4 memo, which was addressed to senior TSA official Ha Nguyen McNeill. “Please promptly provide an original copy of the documents describing any actions the Department and/or TSA took on each of the recommendations and any supporting evidence.”
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