Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, during her testimony this morning before the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, was asked if she knew what Habeas Corpus was, and it became obvious very quickly that she had no idea whatsoever, claiming that it was a Constitutional 'right' given to the president which allowed him to suspend the rights of individuals and remove them from the country, she went on to claim that Lincoln used this 'right' during the civil war. When it was pointed out to her that she had gotten it totally backwards, that the right of Habeas Corpus was a Constitutional right protecting a person from being arrested without the government providing them with a reason for their arrest and allowing them to make a defense, she then claimed that the Constitution allowed the president to suspend that right anytime that he wanted to. She was again told that NO, that that was wrong, that the president would first need the approval of Congress.

Noem has a BA in Political Science, but perhaps the class covering the US Constitution was one that she got 'college intern credits' for while she was serving as a member of Congress in 2012.

OCU