Trump Throws Noem Under the Bus in Contempt Hearing

26 Nov 2025 · 26 min

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The MeidasTouch Podcast Episode Summary Episode Title: Trump Throws Noem Under the Bus in Contempt Hearing Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas Release Date: [Insert Date Here]

Overview In this episode of the MeidasTouch Podcast, Ben Meiselas discusses a recent legal development involving former President Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The episode dives into the criminal contempt proceedings initiated against Trump administration officials, with a focus on Noem being identified as the key decision-maker responsible for potentially unlawful actions regarding the treatment of migrants.

Key Points

Criminal Contempt Proceedings

  • Judge's Orders: Judge Jeb Boesberg had previously issued an injunction prohibiting the unlawful removal of migrants to facilities in El Salvador without due process.
  • Violations: The DHS allegedly defied this order, leading to the unlawful transfer of migrants to a concentration camp in El Salvador, where they faced severe mistreatment.
  • DOJ's Position: The Department of Justice (DOJ) pointed to Kristi Noem as the decision-maker responsible for the actions taken against the court's order.

Key Arguments

  • Blame Shift: The DOJ's filings appear to shift blame away from itself and onto Noem, arguing she made the final call to send detainees despite legal advisories to the contrary.
  • Noem's Legal Advice: It was revealed that Noem sought legal advice from the DOJ but ultimately chose to proceed with the unlawful actions, contradicting the court's injunction.

Allegations Against Kristi Noem

  • Perceived Accountability: Noem is portrayed as a central figure responsible for the violations, with implications that if anyone should face charges, it should be her, not the DOJ.
  • Historical Context: The episode recounts past incidents involving Noem that illustrate her controversial actions and temperament, including a public incident involving Senator Alex Padilla, highlighting her aggressive stance against critics.

Personal Stories

  • Testimony of Victims: The episode features testimonies from individuals affected by ICE actions, emphasizing the real human impact of the policies overseen by Noem.
  • Andrea's Story: A specific testimony reflects the harsh treatment of citizens and non-citizens alike during ICE operations, showcasing the trauma experienced by individuals caught in these scenarios.

Conclusion The episode concludes with a call to action for listeners to hold officials accountable and emphasizes the ongoing struggles faced by immigrant communities due to policies implemented by the Trump administration. Ben encourages listeners to spread awareness and engage in discussions about the importance of democratic values.

Key Takeaways

  • Accountability in Governance: The discussion highlights the need for accountability among government officials and the consequences of unlawful actions.
  • Human Impact of Policy: Personal stories shared emphasize the importance of recognizing the human toll of immigration policies.
  • Political Commentary: The Meiselas brothers continue to blend humor with serious political discourse, maintaining their unique approach to discussing current events.

Additional Resources

  • Remy Night Guards: Special promotion for a night guard with a discount code for listeners.
  • Other Podcasts: Encouragement to subscribe to other podcasts within the MeidasTouch Network for further political discussions.

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For more insights, subscribe to the MeidasTouch Podcast, available on various platforms, and stay updated on political developments through their daily breaking news updates.

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Transcript

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0:00Christy Noem, you're getting thrown under the bus by the Trump regime's DOJ right now for potential criminal contempt. That's right. The DOJ was ordered to respond by yesterday evening from Judge Jeb Boesberg, who has re-initiated criminal contempt proceedings against the Trump regime officials, who could later be identified as being responsible for defying the judge's orders several months back when the judge made the order, do not send these migrants to the concentration camp in El Salvador without providing them due process. The court issued an injunction. The injunction was transmitted to the DOJ, who transmitted it to the Department of Homeland Security.

0:52But the Department of Homeland Security, while they could have turned around the flight of the hundred plus migrants who were being sent to CICOT, which is called a terrorist detention center in El Salvador, but it's really a concentration camp there. The DHS said, damn the order, basically F the order, go to CICOT and bring these migrants there. Those migrants went there. They were tortured. They had their lives destroyed and ruined before ultimately we saw Abrego Garcia, his return got facilitated. And then the regime had to unwind the fact that they sent these migrants unlawfully to concentration camps in El Salvador.

1:34So what do I mean that the DOJ threw Kristi Noem under the bus? The judge said, identify the final decision maker who made that order. And the Department of Justice put forward a response to the court's order. And they say, after receiving legal advice, Secretary Noem directed that the detainees who had been removed from the United States before the court's order could be transferred to the custody of El Salvador. As explained below, they say the decision was lawful and was consistent with a reasonable interpretation of the court's order. That's on paragraph four where they say Kristi Noem did it.

2:17Let's go to paragraph 10. It says, nevertheless, insofar as the court has inquired into the identities of the decision-making officials for purposes of making a potential criminal referral, the actions were taken by DHS through Secretary Noem after being formally advised about compliance with this court's order, both by the DOJ leadership and the acting general counsel of the DHS, Department of Homeland Security. In other words, the DOJ, and you see their lawyers here, Brett Shoemate, Drew Inson, and others, they're saying, we told Kristi Noem about the court's order, saying, turn around that plane, turn it around now, bring the migrants back, and then we can deal with it.

3:07Don't send them to the concentration camp. The DOJ said, we told Kristi Noem. Kristi Noem sought the legal advice from the DOJ, but ultimately she was the one who made the determination, send the people to the concentration camp. You take a look right here, it's defendant's response to court order and they admit the court, the federal judge, Judge Bosberg, directed the parties to propose next steps for its inquiry into potential for criminal contempt. Defendants respectfully submit that no further steps are warranted. They go though, insofar as this court disagrees with our interpretation of the law, defendants identify below officials who made and advised on the decision not to recall the flights in transit and instead to transfer detainees out of the U.S.

3:59custody on March 15th and 16th, 2025, which is the only remaining information necessary for this court to proceed with a referral. If the court believes any further information is needed for that purpose, Defendants respectfully request an opportunity to provide that information. One of the things that they also say in this motion is that they say they don't want to put Kristi Noem in front of the court for live testimony. Look at paragraph 11. The DOJ claims no live testimony is warranted at this time. They say, let us provide a declaration of Kristi Noem. Let's do this by declaration, judge.

4:41She doesn't want to come in to testify. She's too scared to show up and testify after the DOJ throws her under the bus and say, it was Noam who ultimately made that call to violate your order, judge. Then you go to paragraph 12 and they say, defendants object to the involvement of the plaintiffs in this case because they say this no longer involves the original litigants because the issue of criminal contempt involves the dignity of the court. and they say plaintiffs lack standing to participate as anything other than fact witnesses. They are afraid that the plaintiffs have done such a good job in cornering these rats, these fascists, these despicable humans like Christy Noem, that they're like, we don't want to deal with any more judge.

5:31It's just you, criminal contempt. It's up to you. You're the one who makes that call. Now, I want to make this point as well before going on more about Kristi Noem, who the DOJ and Trump says she did it. If anyone's responsible for criminal contempt, basically go after Kristi Noem, not the DOJ. Do you see what they did right there? They go, look, we think that what she did was lawful. But if you think it's unlawful, it's her. It is not us. But when they say they want to submit declarations, we also know that the DOJ has a pattern in practice of submitting false declarations or declarations from people who don't know anything about the case.

6:12And where do we know that from? Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was one of the individuals who was unlawfully sent to El Salvador in the concentration camp there. Now, Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States where he was faced criminal charges in the middle district of Tennessee based on some fabricated, ginned up claim that he was trafficking other migrants when he was pulled over for a traffic stop like four years ago and he wasn't even arrested. So that's what they charged him for. But they don't even want to go through with the criminal case. Instead, they want to deport him now to Africa.

6:55They've tried to deport him to Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana, and now Liberia. And there are separate proceedings of deporting him in a court in the district court in Maryland before a judge by the name of Judge Zinnis. That's a separate proceeding than the case that's the criminal case against Abrego in the Middle District of Tennessee. See, now, as I've said, let's use common sense right here. If the DOJ thought Abrego is a really bad guy and they have all this evidence, why wouldn't you want to criminally prosecute him, throw him in jail, throw him in prison the same way El Chapo is and the way America used to deal with it?

7:36Why separately are you trying to get rid of him to these African nations like Eswatini and Ghana and Liberia? You just want to send him there where maybe you could just make him disappear and he wakes up one day and there are people there with the gun and they just kill him. Maybe that's what you're trying to actually, you know, pull off. But one of the things we've learned in the Abrego Garcia case too, is that Costa Rica and their leadership has always said they're willing to take Abrego Garcia. But the DOJ submitted a false declaration from a DHS person, also with Kristi Noem and an ICE person as well, an ICE director of enforcement named Jose Cantu.

8:20And Jose Cantu put forward a declaration saying that he's aware that Costa Rica said they're refusing to take Abrego Garcia. But then the Washington Post reached out to Costa Rica and they said, we never said that. We are perfectly fine with having Abrego. In fact, we want Abrego. Send him to Costa Rica. At which point the federal judge in Maryland Judge Zinnes said bring Jose Cantu in let's have Cantu testify and he better be prepared to tell us what he meant in his declaration when he said Costa Rica would not accept Abrego when we know that Costa Rica would accept Abrego so Jose Cantu shows up and he goes I didn't even draft my declaration Judge Zinnes goes you didn't draft your declaration he goes no the DOJ wrote it for me and I just signed my name to it.

9:14I was on a Microsoft Teams call for about five minutes. They just told me what to sign and I signed. To which Judge Zinnis said, this was the worst witness that I've ever seen. Literally the worst, she goes. He knew nothing. He didn't know any of the words that were on that piece of paper, Judge Zinnis says. And guess who was coordinating that as well. Kristi Noem, who oversees DHS, which oversees ICE and Border Patrol, it all goes back to Kristi Noem. So you can't trust any of the declarations that are submitted. That's why Bodega, we want to do it by declaration. So you have Abrego exposing the lies there and Costa Rica was willing to take him back.

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11:13Go to shopremi.com slash Midas and use code Midas to receive 55 % off your new night guard plus a free foam gift. That's shop R-E-M-I dot com slash Midas M-E-I-D-A-S for 55 % off a night guard plus free gift using code Midas. Thank you, Remy, for sponsoring this episode. Now, going back to Kristi Noem. Yes, we now know because the DOJ says it that Noem did it. But Kristi Noem is a, she's a fascist. I mean, she's a horrible, despicable individual. Do you remember when after this went down, especially knowing what she did now, that she was the direct one responsible for violating the court's order?

12:03Remember she went in front of those cages at the concentration camp and then she used some of the prisoners there? Not the group that was sent from the United States, but she used the prisoners as props while wearing her like$50 ,000 or$60 ,000 Rolex. She just stood there in front of the prisoners, used them as props, which by the way is a violation of international law to use prisoners as props and propaganda. What a despic - These are such despicable, despicable people, these Trump regime. Here, play this clip. I also want everybody to know if you come to our country illegally, this is one of the consequences you could face.

12:42First of all, do not come to our country illegally. you will be removed and you will be prosecuted. But know that this facility is one of the tools in our toolkit that we will use. And does it shock you that Kristi Noem is at the center of this as well? She'll do anything that Donald Trump wants. She is a sicko. I mean, do you remember when Senator Padilla showed up at a press conference back in June in order to ask a question of Kristi Noem and then she had the ICE and border patrol agents brutalize a sitting United States Senator and throw him to the ground. And then she played the victim like, oh, he was attacking me.

13:22He was attacking me. Here, play this clip.

13:41a dozen violent criminals that you're rotating on your, on your. I also want to talk about specifically. Hands on your back. Hands on your back. Let me get it on my hands. Go ahead, sit behind my back. All right. Cool. Lay flat. Lay flat. Other hand, sir. Other hand.

14:06There's no recording loud out here. And this is where, you know, She was attacking me. Here she is here giving an interview. I had no idea he was a senator and he started to go. He went after me. So I had to protect myself. Yeah, a real sociopath, this one, a real sociopath. She would fit in perfectly well in Nazi Germany, don't you think? Here, play this clip. It was very productive and I wish that he would have reached out and identified himself and let us know who he was and that he wanted to talk. His approach, you know, was something that I don't think was appropriate at all. But the conversation was great and we're going to continue to communicate.

14:47We exchanged phone numbers and we're going to continue to talk. Why did you detain him? Why was that the action you decided to take? I'll let the law enforcement speak to how this situation was handled. But I will say that it's people need to identify themselves before they start lunging at people during press conferences. Is it appropriate? Important to point out in the video of his apprehension, he says out loud, I'm Senator Alex Padilla. I'm allowed to be here. So he did identify himself. Yeah. According to his office, he was there in the federal building receiving a briefing. And then he was there listening to the press conference.

15:23Let's bring in our bureau chief and political director, David Shalian, to talk about this. It's interesting that that now appears to be the narrative coming from DHS that they didn't know who he was. Now let's tell the story of Andrea. She testified at the recent Democratic Oversight shadow hearing that we exclusively covered at the Midas Touch Network. Listen to her story. This was ordered by Kristi Noem as well. Play this clip. Good morning and thank you for having me. My name is Andrea Velez, a proud daughter of Mexican immigrants and a Cal Poly Pomona graduate. I was raised with morals, kindness, respect, and always doing what is right.

16:03I am soft-spoken, but today I must speak for myself and for those who cannot. On Tuesday, June 24, my mother and sister dropped me off at work. Seconds later, unmarked cars swarmed the streets, and masked men in plain clothing began chasing and attacking people without identifying themselves as eyes. One of them ran towards me, terrified I'd used my work bag as a shield, but he slammed me into the sidewalk and accused me of interfering. When I asked for his badge or a warrant, he refused and handcuffed me. They didn't believe I was a U.S. citizen or bothered to check my ID. My mother and sister saw it all.

16:38Powerless to intervene, they called 911. But LAPD assisted ICE instead of protecting me. Another U.S. citizen, Luis Ipolito, was detained that day for reporting. He was pepper sprayed, beaten. They minimized his pain as not a big deal, despite convulsing, bleeding, and struggling to breathe. Only after he was into shock did ICE call an ambulance. I spent most of that first day shackled in a van, watching others arrive distraught and taken against their will, while ambulances came and went for those attacks. Inside, I was denied the right to call my family or speak to a lawyer. ICE refused to disclose my whereabouts.

17:15requests to use the bathroom or asking for food were met with hostility and anger. At the Metropolitan Detention Center, I could not access drinking water without purchasing a cup. Thankfully, another detainee let me there. I was held there until Thursday, and my case was dismissed two weeks later for lack of evidence. Since that day, I no longer feel safe. I detached from my trauma, yet our community continues to be targeted because of the color of our skin. I urge you to hold ICE and other agencies accountable for dehumanizing our Hispanic and immigrant communities. Thank you. And lastly, I want to remind you when Kristi Noem showed up to testify before the United States Senate.

18:01Remember when she testified back in May of 2025? Remember Senator Murphy's cross-exam of her? I remember it. Here it is. Let's play it. I mean, I think this is really troubling if you can't answer this simple question. Do you believe that the U.S. government can detain and deport a legal permanent resident for expressing a political opinion that the administration disagrees with? The determination you're asking for is based on things that you are determining that the secretary of state has considered and evaluated. We don't evaluate that, the administration, along with the partnership with the Department of State, on what is political speech and what's an affiliation with a foreign terrorist organization.

18:45Do you believe that you can detain and deport a legal permanent resident for expressing a political opinion? We have not detained or we have not deported anybody who's a legal permanent resident or a citizen of the United States. Okay, then say you don't have the ability to do that. We have not. Clarify that for the millions of— That is exactly what I'm doing, is that we have followed exactly what the law is and that we have not detained or deported anybody who's a citizen or has legal status in this country. We are focused on the worst of the worst dangerous criminals to get them out of the country.

19:20You do not believe you have the ability to do that. We have not done that at all. And the Trump administration has no plans to do that. Well, just because you haven't done it doesn't mean that you won't do it in the future. We are following the federal law to ensure that we are doing the exact appropriate thing in partnership with the Department of State and in partnership with the Trump administration. Have you read the, I assume you have read the Supreme Court decision in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia? Yes. That court decision requires the administration to facilitate Kilmar Abrego Garcia's release from El Salvador.

19:55Can you describe the steps that you have taken to facilitate this release? And specifically, can you answer as to whether you have reached out to your counterpart in El Salvador to facilitate Mr. Abrego Garcia's release? Abrego Garcia is a citizen of El Salvador and should never have been in this country and will not be coming back to this country. There is no scenario where Abrego Garcia will be in the United States again. If he were to come back, we would immediately deport him again because he is a terrorist. He's a human smuggler and he is a wife beater. Does does the you've read the Supreme Court decision, does the Supreme Court decision not require you to facilitate the return of Mr.

20:37Obrego Garcia? The Trump administration is complying with all court orders and judges orders. Does does the does the Supreme Court order require you to facilitate the return of Mr. Obrego Garcia? Is a citizen of El Salvador. It is up to the president of the El Salvador to make the decision. You're a defendant in the case coming back. It's been a big topic of conversation between all of us, between the country. When the president visited the United States of America, it was discussed and talked about there. The president has been very clear on this issue as the secretary of state. And I have as well.

21:10Abrego Garcia is not a citizen of this country and is a dangerous individual who does not belong here. I will not ask another question. If you were back in this country, we would immediately. But the discussion ends when the Supreme Court rules 9-0 that you have to facilitate his release. And the fact that you can't even acknowledge the wording of the order, which commands you to facilitate his release, and you advertise to this committee that you are going to willfully ignore the ruling. And that is incredibly chilling for the balance of powers in a democracy that relies on the executive branch to honor decisions made by the highest court of the land.

21:48There you have it, folks. Let me know what you think. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million. We know it was you, Christy. Despicable person.

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From the publisher

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump throwing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem under the bus in a new filing where she may now face criminal contempt charges have Trump’s DOJ identified her as the person responsible for the possible unlawful conduct. 

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