Kristi Noem flubs habeas corpus in Senate hearing, calls it Trump’s right to ‘remove people from this country’

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem raised eyebrows Tuesday by bungling the definition of habeas corpus, a core tenet of due process in US law, during a Senate hearing.

The botch came during an exchange with Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) that referenced deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller’s claim earlier this month that “writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion.”

“Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country,” Noem replied to Hassan, who had asked for the definition. “President Lincoln used it.”