President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, made a thinly veiled attack on Kristi “ICE Barbie” Noem when asked if the Department of Homeland Security has a “lying problem.”
During a Friday appearance on CNN’s News Central, Homan was pressed about his rival’s outlandish remarks last month, when Noem claimed that Minneapolis man Alex Pretti had brandished a gun before he was shot and killed by federal immigration agents, despite video evidence disproving the claim.
Noem had also suggested Pretti was a “domestic terrorist” who wanted to harm federal agents before he was killed—a line the Homeland Security secretary and other Trump administration officials also used to try to smear Minneapolis woman Renee Good after she was shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross.
“Pretti was not brandishing a gun. The gun was on his hip and was taken by Border Patrol officers, on video, and he was shot and killed after that. Does your agency, or the entire agency, have a lying problem?” CNN’s Sara Sidner asked Homan.
Homan said he would not comment on the investigation into the shooting of Pretti but quickly took a swipe at Noem for her remarks.
“I don’t know what information the secretary had when she made those statements. I can tell you I didn’t make those statements,” Homan said.
“I don’t want to influence an investigation,” he added. “I have an opinion, and I won’t share my opinion, because I want a thorough investigation. If people violated the law, if people violated policy, they need to be held accountable.”
Sidner then asked Homan whether this also applied to top Border Patrol goon Greg Bovino, after a federal judge found last November that he had lied in a deposition about being hit in the head with a rock in order to justify his deployment of tear gas against protesters in Chicago.
“Do you know if there is an investigation into his lying in a deposition?” Sidner asked.
“That’d be a question for the secretary,” Homan replied. “If anybody acts outside of policy, then internal affairs opens an investigation. That’s the way we handle it.”
Noem and Homan have been feuding for months, though the exact reason for their hostility remains unclear.
Last month, Trump deployed Homan to lead on-the-ground immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, Minnesota, effectively replacing Noem and Bovino following their disastrous handling of operations in the city.
Homan also gave a sly dig at Noem last week as he outlined plans to “defuse the chaos” and ease anti-ICE tensions by withdrawing 700 federal immigration officers from Minnesota.
“We made this operation more streamlined, and we established a unified chain of command so everybody knows what’s going on,” Homan said. “This is smart law enforcement, and smart law enforcement makes us safer.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
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