Homan vs. MSNBC’s Melber: Arrested Congresswoman Put Her Hands On An ICE Officer, “She Needs To Pay The Consequences”
Trump administration border czar Tom Homan joins MSNBC’s Ari Melber to discuss the charges brought against Democratic politicians who visited an ICE facility in Newark, NJ:
ARI MELBER: We’ll move to — we’ll move to the congresswoman. But just to finish the point here, when you look at the investigations, it’s a lot of critics of Donald Trump and Democrats. Can you think of or name any public official or individual who’s in these crosshairs other than those folks? I’ve got some up on the screen. It goes from Cuomo to Comey to Springsteen at this point. TOM HOMAN: Those who — those who break the law should be prosecuted. And I don’t know if any of these people have been prosecuted. That list, I’m looking at the screen now, many of them, people have been prosecuted, other than the congresswoman and other than two judges that impeded law — impeded ICE and tried to harbor and conceal illegal alien and impede their enforcement efforts. So, no, I — that list shows — I can’t see everybody on that list. But are you telling me everybody on that list has been indicted? No. (CROSSTALK) MELBER: No, it says investigations. HOMAN: … or arrested if they violate the law. MELBER: But James — no, it’s investigations. But the fact that so many in these first 110 days, some of them which are announced on social media or other avenues before the defendants are even read their rights and given information, raises the question that it looks like to some that this is political targeting. The ACLU says it’s autocratic targeting. And you respond tonight by saying, well, they did it, the Democrats did it. Well, if they did it, that’s your view. Does that make it OK? (CROSSTALK) MELBER: That’s what I’m asking. HOMAN: I said I find — wait a minute, I said I find it shocking that they would accuse the Trump administration of weaponizing against their opponents when they did the exact thing during the Biden administration. I’m not making any comparison. I’m just saying I find it shocking for them to make that claim when they did it for four years. I don’t — I’m not making any claim we’re weaponizing anything. MELBER: All right. Heard you on that. HOMAN: I don’t think President Trump’s weaponizing anything against his political opponents. We’re enforcing the law. We’re investigating crimes. If there’s evidence that a crime has been — has been acted upon, then they need to be charged. No one’s — the last four years, we heard no one’s above the law either, well, either are members of Congress, either are judges, and neither are other people. You’ve crossed the line,. you violate the law, you should be indicted. You should be charged. MELBER: So I know you brought up Congressman McIver. I said I’d give you time on that. The reports here, that part of the narrative about her has been, quote, contradicted by the video footage and witnesses who were at the scene. It was a scuffle, that’s on video. She says it’s intimidation. I know you have said that she was, quote, unprofessional. And people in public life can agree or disagree on who, in whichever branch of government, are professional. But does it concern you that someone who in a co-equal branch is supposed to oversee ICE, I’m sure you don’t deny her elected authority to do that, along with every other member of Congress from both parties, does it concern you that now it looks like, according to her lawyers, that the law enforcement agencies are trying to intimidate her out of that enforcement? And — and do you really think the video suggests that she was physically assaulting and battering armed agents, because it looks more like a kind of out of control scuffle? HOMAN: She claims she was there on oversight. We open facilities to oversight every day across this country. There are — you know, all you have to do is show up to a facility in a professional manner and request a visit, go through screening, and go see it. We are proud of that facility. I — I want everybody to go look at it. Maybe all the — the false narrative will stop about how ICE’s detention standards are — are just so terrible. But she put hands — she shoved an officer. She put hands on her officer. That’s unacceptable. These ICE officers — and when you when you cause a ruckus like that, then that makes that — that facility unsecure, because officers who should be dealing with the prisoners, very serious prisoners, criminals in that facility, they’re — they’re dealing with a ruckus outside. It makes the facility unsafe. It’s unsafe for the officers. And it’s unsafe for the general public. We take the security of those facilities very seriously. She knows how to do oversight, should go there and request to look at it. Don’t — don’t barge your way in. And regardless of what happens, you don’t put hands and you don’t shove an ICE officer who’s there to protect the facility and protect the public from the people in that facility. MELBER: Do you think DoJ will win that case? HOMAN: What I saw, I think she put hands on an officer. She shoved an officer. She needs — she needs to pay the consequences, absolutely. MELBER: Yeah, OK, well, look, they dropped the one… HOMAN: You know, I spent — I spent 40 years doing this. MELBER: No, I know your experience we’re talking here. HOMAN: This is the same week we’re — we’re in the same — no, we’re in — the same week we’re in — we’re in Washington, D.C, you know, supporting the men and women of law enforcement, state, local, and federal who gave the ultimate sacrifice, it’s Law Enforcement Week, Police Week. I attended memorials for Border Patrol and ICE. I’ve buried Border Patrol agents. I’ve buried ICE agents. And I — I met with many families of fallen officers from federal, state, and local law enforcement. We were supposed to celebrate law enforcement. We’ve got a member of Congress putting her hands on one at a facility. MELBER: All right. Well — well, I’ll tell you… HOMAN: Very unprofessional conduct. And like I said… MELBER: I said I’d give you time on that but… HOMAN: … then the mayor shows up for one reason, he wanted — he wanted press time, he got it. MELBER: Well, Mr. Homan, like I said, we heard from the mayor. I’m giving you time on that.