ICE Barbie Offers Her Own Made-Up 'Habeas Corpus' Definition

[Jilly_in_VA]

Kristi Noem gave an egregiously wrong definition of the legal principle habeas corpus while testifying to senators Tuesday.

“Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country,” President Donald Trump’s homeland security secretary said.

She was quickly cut off by the stunned senator who had asked her to define the term, Maggie Hassan. “That’s incorrect,” the New Hampshire Democrat said.

Hassan explained that the well-known legal concept refers to a detained person’s right to know why they are being held so they can challenge their imprisonment in court.

The Trump administration is considering revoking habeas corpus, which is enshrined by the Constitution, allowing it to hold detainees without any recourse to challenge their detention.

“If not for that protection, the government could simply arrest people, including American citizens, and hold them indefinitely for no reason,” Hassan told Noem. “Habeas corpus is the foundational right that separates free societies like America from police states like North Korea.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-barbie-kristi-noem-offers-her-own-made-up-definition-of-habeas-corpus/

JHRC, these people really are wantonly stupid!

[magicarpet]

1. Their Meritocracy,... yup like Idiocracy,..

... is more a documentary and not a improvised comedy. Djt's cabinet are a bunch of stone cold idiots.

[Midnight Writer]

2. Reminds me of Sarah Palin recounting the story of Paul Revere's ride.

Sounded like an unprepared school kid trying to bullshit the teacher into believing she read the assignment.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. Maddow Blog-Kristi Noem flunks an important test on the basic meaning of habeas corpus

The homeland security secretary was asked to define habeas corpus. Her outrageously wrong answer was humiliating — but it was also important.

It's tempting to laugh at Kristi Noem’s humiliating ignorance about the meaning of habeas corpus, but this isn’t just some embarrassing gaffe.

Given the scope of her powers, her cluelessness matters.

(And in a healthier environment, Noem would be forced to resign in embarrassment right about now.)

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-05-20T16:48:08.242Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/kristi-noem-flunks-important-test-basic-meaning-habeas-corpus-rcna207982

There’s been considerable discussion in recent weeks about basic legal principles such as habeas corpus and the degree to which the Trump administration is hostile toward the bedrock foundations of the American system of government. What’s gone largely overlooked, however, is whether Trump administration officials have a high-school-civics-class-level understanding of what these legal principles are.

Take Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, for example. Axios reported:

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem botched questions about habeas corpus at a Senate hearing Tuesday, falsely asserting the check on the government’s power to detain people actually gives President Trump a “constitutional right” to conduct deportations.

There’s been considerable discussion in recent weeks about basic legal principles such as habeas corpus and the degree to which the Trump administration is hostile toward the bedrock foundations of the American system of government. What’s gone largely overlooked, however, is whether Trump administration officials have a high-school-civics-class-level understanding of what these legal principles are.

Take Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, for example. Axios reported:

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem botched questions about habeas corpus at a Senate hearing Tuesday, falsely asserting the check on the government’s power to detain people actually gives President Trump a “constitutional right” to conduct deportations.
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3lpmbmmjkjk2i?ref_src=embed&ref_url=https%253A%252F%252Fiframe.nbcnews.com%252FM7Qndazh

Link to tweet

.....In case this weren’t quite enough, when Democratic Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey asked the Cabinet secretary which part of the Constitution includes habeas corpus, Noem was again stumped.

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3lpmdrjzm4k2i?ref_src=embed&ref_url=https%253A%252F%252Fiframe.nbcnews.com%252FlyrF0Vwh

Link to tweet

The significance of this goes well beyond marveling at a powerful official’s ignorance. Earlier this month, Stephen Miller, a White House deputy chief of staff, told reporters that White House officials are “actively looking” at possibly suspending the writ of habeas corpus. If this were to happen, the Trump administration would have the power to lock people up without charges, and prisoners would not have the ability to contest their incarceration.

Eleven days after Miller made those comments, the homeland security secretary couldn’t even offer a basic definition of what habeas corpus is — despite the scope of her powers, and despite the fact that this legal principle has existed for the better part of a millennium.

In a healthier political environment, a fiasco such as this one would lead to credible discussion about whether Noem should be forced to resign in embarrassment.