Former Homeland Security Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen is a liar. She lied to both the American public and members of Congress when she claimed that there was no family separation policy, despite the horrific fact that the tally of children stolen from their families has now topped 5,500. Her former chief of staff Chad Wolf, who has reportedly been selected by Donald Trump to take over her former department, isn’t any different.
During a hearing this past June, Wolf told Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen that he had no part in developing this humanitarian disaster at the southern border. “Did you help develop that policy?" she asked. “No ma'am," he replied, claiming that he learned of the policy “through discussions with staff, leading up to the attorney general's announcement, I believe in April of 2018.” But this, government watchdog group Restore Public Trust says, was a lie.
“In December 2017, Wolf sent an email to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ counsel in his capacity as then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen’s chief of staff that outlined 16 options for curbing undocumented immigration,” the group said in a report. “Among the list was ‘separate family units,’ as well as expediting the deportation of children and requiring migrants to seek asylum in Mexico.”
That sure doesn’t match up with his “no ma’am” to Rosen, and that’s because being a liar isn’t the exception when it comes to being an official in this current administration, it’s a prerequisite. Restore Public Trust is now calling on the Senate committee that he lied to “to refer Wolf for investigation by the Justice Department over alleged false claims to Congress,” NBC News reports.
“Chad Wolf’s involvement in the horrifying child separation policy—and lying about it under oath — disqualifies him from serving as acting secretary, full stop,” said Restore Public Trust Director Lizzy Price. “Not only did Wolf promote the child separation policy, but he lied to Congress about his role in crafting the policy. And if that wasn’t enough, he’s the protege of Kristjen Nielsen, under whose watch children taken from their families were abused and sexually assaulted. Some even died.”
Nielsen herself has been unrepentant about her role in this crime against humanity. In fact, she was still lying about the policy as recently as last month, again falsely claiming the previous administration were engaged in this same sort of child abuse. Lies, lies, and more lies. This was a policy she signed off on permitting “the separation of parents or legal guardians and minors,” and it was a policy that Wolf helped conceive, despite his lies to the Senate.
Wolf already faces a convoluted path to lead Homeland Security. But the truth is that anyone willing to work for Trump is unfit, period, and a man who so shamelessly lied to a member of Congress under oath during an official hearing will have no qualms about lying to you and me. “Chad Wolf would be a rubber stamp for this administration’s inhumane policies,” Price continued, “and should be disqualified to lead the Department of Homeland Security.”
