General Discussion

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.
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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.

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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.