Durbin and Raskin call for perjury investigation into Kristi Noem
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem testifies at the House Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Department of Homeland Security Oversight” at the Rayburn building on Wednesday, March 4, 2026.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
Top Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary committees are calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lied under oath before Congress.
The Senate panel’s ranking member is Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the House committee’s top Democrat, sent a referral to Bondi on Monday saying Noem may have violated laws prohibiting perjury and making false statements to Congress when she appeared before the committee on March 3 and March 4.
“Some of his statements appear to violate criminal statutes prohibiting perjury and knowingly making false statements to Congress,” lawmakers said, focusing on his remarks that the department did not violate court orders regarding immigration enforcement. he wrote.
President Donald Trump fired Noem after her testimony earlier this month and appointed Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to replace her. Mullin will need to be confirmed by his Senate colleagues before taking over DHS and will appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
According to Durbin and Raskin, Noem has claimed on multiple occasions that DHS did not violate any court orders.
“These statements were false. DHS repeatedly defied court orders to release individuals from ICE custody and even failed to release individuals for days or weeks after the court-ordered date,” they wrote.
They also said he made false claims about the DHS contract bidding process, the detention of U.S. citizens, and the conditions of detention for a $220 million television ad campaign.
Members of Congress and committees may: criminal referrals Summarizing the evidence regarding the alleged crimes to the Department of Justice. However, such communications do not compel the Department of Justice to investigate.
“While we have low expectations that you will pursue this matter given your partisan arming of the Justice Department, we note that the statute of limitations for perjury and knowingly and willfully making false statements to Congress is five years,” the lawmakers wrote.
