Eric Swalwell Mercilessly Confronts Noem Over Trump's Doctored Pic Of Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Forbes Breaking News

At Wednesday's House Homeland Security Committee hearing, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) questioned DHS Sec. Kristi Noem about a doctored picture of Kilmar Abrego Garcia pushed by President Trump.

Transcript

00:00Time has expired. I now recognize Mr. Swalwell for five minutes of questioning.

00:03Thank you, Madam Secretary. You have an important job. I think you have one of the most important

00:08jobs in the cabinet. Thank you for doing it. I want you to have credibility and be taken seriously

00:15as you do the job. And so I want to put to rest this question about Mr. Garcia in this photo that

00:23the president posted on April 21. Madam Secretary, you agree that the letters MS and the number 13

00:31in Times Roman numeral font, that they are doctored on this photo, right?

00:39Congressman Abrego Garcia. No, no, I'm just asking about this photo. It wasn't based off of tattoos.

00:44It was based off an entire case. And I'll accept that for the purpose of this question. You agree

00:49though that this is doctored. Is that right? The same protocols that are applied to every

00:54I want you to have credibility and I want you to be taken seriously. Is this doctored or is it not

00:58doctored? I am taken quite seriously. Is it doctored or not doctored? The importance that the president

01:03has given me to do my job. I understand. Is it doctored or not doctored? One thing that's important

01:06to remember is that every single time a case is built. Madam Secretary, I have a seven-year-old,

01:11a six-year-old, and a three-year-old. I have a bullshit detector. I'm just asking you,

01:15is this doctored or not doctored? Sir, the protocols in the case built against

01:20Abrego Garcia were exactly the same. Madam Secretary, I don't have any knowledge as to

01:24that photo you're pointing to. Okay. Can you show the photo? Walk with the photo down there.

01:29No, that one. Please take a look at this photo. It was tweeted by the president on April 21. It's

01:34been hanging out there for about a month. So what is your point? My question is the numbers and the

01:40letter MS-13. Could you look at the photo, please? It's right in front of you. Are you saying Abrego

01:43Garcia is not a white leader? No, no, ma'am. He's not a criminal. Ma'am. He's not a human

01:48trafficker. Ma'am, you vouched for Mr. Garcia when your team said, ma'am, you vouched for him when

01:54you said he was mistakenly deported. I didn't vouch for him. I did not say that. He should have been

01:58deported. Absolutely. It's so telling that you won't look at the photo. And we will not be

02:04bringing him back. Was it doctored or not? In staying here. Can you look to your right at the photo in

02:09front of you? Madam Secretary, can you look to the right at the photo in front of you? I have seen

02:13this photo as you held it behind your head. Thank you. And the letters MS and the numbers 13,

02:20are those doctored or not? Is this your entire testimony today is on a doctored photo? You don't

02:24want to talk about the facts? Okay. The importance of our national security? You acknowledge it was

02:29doctored. You want to make sure that the United States

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