Jeff Merkley says that he asked the FBI to initiate an investigation of perjury to the secretary of DHS because he is "tired of this lying administration"



[ad_1]

"I'm just tired of this administration lying to the American people, lying in Congress, swearing it," he told CNN's "New Day" John Berman.

On Friday, Merkley asked the FBI to investigate Nielsen a day after publishing a draft note indicating that the Trump administration was developing a policy to separate the apprehended families at the US-Mexico border as early as December 2017. The administration and Nielsen have repeatedly said that there is no policy of separation of families. Merkley said Nielsen made the same statement in his congressional testimony last month.

"I am writing to ask for an inquiry into whether Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has perjured perjury in her sworn testimony before the Judiciary Committee of the Judiciary on December 20, 2018". Merkley writes in his request to FBI director Christopher Wray. "New and compelling evidence has emerged that senior officials at the Department of Homeland Security are secretly and actively developing a new policy and legal framework to separate families as of December 2017".

Merkley said Monday that the FBI had not yet responded to his request but said that "it is the official and appropriate way to seize the FBI for it to pursue a investigation of perjury ".

In a statement made to CNN last week, DHS spokeswoman Katie Waldman said, "As Nielsen Secretary Nielsen and several witnesses have publicly said, DHS never had policy of separating families from persons in detention. "

"What this pre-deliberative and deliberative note proves – as well as the previous leaked documents – is that the Secretary has received a menu of options to prevent the humanitarian crisis that we predicted at the time and that manifested itself today, "reads the statement. "Secretary Nielsen specifically rejected a policy proposal to separate all family units held by DHS."

Waldman also stated in a statement that the policy of the administration "was repeatedly explained to members of Congress".

[ad_2]
Source link