Duggan Flanakin did some cleanup work for Kristi Noem in his March 18 Newsmax column:
The media were ecstatic that President Trump was “forced” to remove Noem from her job at DHS – then despondent that he had the chutzpah to choose her to coordinate his signature hemispheric initiative.
President Trump describes the novel “Shield of the Americas” as a “military coalition to eradicate the criminal cartels plaguing our region.”
At its launch, representatives of 17 Latin American and Caribbean nations signed on.
No mention, of course, of how Noem was actually fired due to issues Trump had with a multijmillion-dollar ad campaign. Instead, Flanakin repeated DHS talking points gushing over Noem’s tenure:
Speaking of those 13 months, a quick review shows, perhaps contrary to popular belief, that Noem was very effective across the board.
Perhaps the greatest DHS accomplishment under Noem was achieved by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which recorded the lowest border-crossing totals in agency history.
Noem ended “catch-and-release,” ordered consistent use of detention and removal, and sent a clear message that saw daily encounters dwindle by 95%.
CBP also increased its seizures of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other narcotics by 8% over the final Joe Biden year – totaling over 600,000 pounds.
Between self-deporting and joint ICE-CBP operations in multiple U.S. cities, DHS under Noem saw more than three million illegal aliens leave the U.S. – three-fourths of them voluntarily.
Included in those numbers were nearly 50,000 “special interest” aliens and thousands of known or suspected terrorists.
DHS under Noem also began executing a plan for a more comprehensive border security strategy that includes constructing modern infrastructure, advanced technology, and increased law enforcement staffing to counter transnational criminal organizations (the same ones Shield of the Americas is designed to eradicate).
Flanakin did one more bit of cleanup as well:
Oh, about that $143 million Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., claimed was paid “to the husband of your press person” to promote DHS/ICE activities (against an unending onslaught of venom spewed by media and politicians)?
Safe America Media LLC hired the Strategy Group for Media as a subcontractor for video and audio production for the “Stronger Borders, Stronger America” campaign – and paid “the husband” just $226,137.17 for his company’s work.
Flanakin didn’t mention that the Strategy Group not only has as its CEO the husband of DHS press person Tricia McLaughlin, former aide and alleged paramour Corey Lewandowski is also involved in the company. He also failed to mention that Safe America Media was formed only about a week before it received the $143 million no-bid contract — which would be a problem even if the husband of Noem’s press secretary were not involved.