Pam Bondi asked to open perjury investigation into Kristi Noem

The Justice Department will receive a recommendation Monday to investigate whether recently ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem perjured herself in the congressional testimony that already cost her job.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee and Rep. Jamie Raski (D-MD), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, will submit the recommendation to Attorney General Pam Bondi asking the DOJ to look into whether Noem knowingly made false statements two weeks ago before their congressional panels, reported journalist Scott MacFarlane on his Substack page.

"The recommendation for a criminal investigation will cite at least four statements made by Noem, including her responses to questions about a controversial, taxpayer-funded $220 million ad campaign, which prominently featured Noem," MacFarlane reported. "The proposal ... will also recommend a probe of Noem’s statements about the conditions of U.S. immigrant detention facilities, the Trump Administration’s detention of U.S. citizens and the Department of Homeland Security’s alleged defiance of federal court orders."

The lawmakers are expected to send transcripts of Noem's statements about the advertising campaign and the bidding process, and they will also seek a probe of her claims about meeting federal standards of detention for detainees

Noem was reassigned by President Donald Trump to serve as a special envoy within days of her testimony, and he has nominated Sen. Markwayne Mullin as her replacement pending Senate confirmation.

The recommendation is not expected to be well-received or acted on by Bondi, and a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson defended Noem when asked by MacFarlane about the matter.

“Any claim that Secretary Noem committed perjury is categorically false,” the spokesperson said.