Noem shuts down Swalwell on question regarding MS-13 tattoos

Former Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and I have a very similar opinion of congressional hearings… they are more theater than anything else, and serve very little purpose.

Well, actually, they can be entertaining at times, and that is what happened when Rep. Swalwell (D-CA) tried to take on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

The Tattoos

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom Trump had deported with alleged gang members to El Salvador, has become the poster boy of the Democrat Party.

When Trump was recently asked to support the claim that Garcia was an MS-13 gang member, he held up a photo that had clearly been photo-shopped with the letters and numbers “M,” “S,” “1,” and “3” over tattoos on Garcia’s hand.

The letters and numbers were apparently put there to show the meaning of each tattoo, but Trump, when asked about the picture being photo-shopped, stated that the journalist had no way of knowing that. I think Trump misunderstood the question, thinking they were talking about the actual tattoos, but nevertheless, it opened the door for attacks.

Not long after that presser, the New York Times did a piece consulting gang tattoo experts, who concluded that the tattoos were unlikely to have any significance in terms of Garcia being a member of MS-13. Jorja Leap, an anthropologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, and considered an expert on MS-13, stated, “I can tell you, MS-13 does not equivocate; they don’t leave any ambiguity when it comes to their tattoos.”

Swalwell v. Noem

This week, Noem appeared before Congress to answer some questions, and Swalwell decided to waste everyone’s time by showing a picture of Trump holding up the photo in question, drilling Noem on whether the photo had been doctored.

He asked Noem, "I want you to have credibility and I want you to be taken seriously. Is this doctored or is it not?"

When Noem tried to respond as to the reason he was deported, Swalwell cut her off, and again pushed the idea of the picture being doctored, clearly more interested in taking a shot at Trump rather than getting a real answer.

Noem then exploded on Swalwell, saying she had not seen the picture before, calling the fact he was so focused on that photo “unbelievable,” later adding, "Abrego Garcia is a known terrorist and member of MS-13, a wife beater and a human trafficker that should never have been in this country to begin with.”

But There’s More

Over and above these ridiculous hearings, Border Czar Tom Homan and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) are continuing their little battle in the media.

AOC continues to push the narrative that the DOJ has not been forthcoming to let her know if she is under investigation over her social media posts explaining rights to illegal immigrants.

Homan has had enough, stating, "I wish she'd do her job. She's a legislator, right? Why doesn’t she pass some legislation… and actually improve this country like President Donald Trump is already doing?"

He hit the nail on the head, and ironically, it was only about two weeks ago that Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) openly admitted she is only interested in blocking Trump, and legislating is not anywhere near a top priority for her. Sadly, that appears to be the case for the entire Democrat Party, and has been since January 2017.