'They will face prison': Kristi Noem vows retribution for 'criminal leakers'

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced in a post to X on Friday evening that she has identified two "leakers" within the agency — and vowed there would be swift criminal prosecution.

"We have identified criminal leakers within @DHSgov and are preparing to refer these perpetrators to the @TheJusticeDept for felony prosecutions," wrote Noem in the post above the video. "These individuals face up to 10 years in federal prison. We will find and root out all leakers. They will face prison time & we will get justice for the American people."

Noem, who has aggressively worked to reorganize the department under President Donald Trump's new agenda, including efforts to shut down union bargaining for TSA workers, is far from the first Trump administration official to take a hard line against leaks. The constant, low-level revolt of staffers who revealed behind-the-scenes information to the press in his first term led to him constantly raging about the embarrassment.

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At the outset of this new administration, Trump sought to minimize the likelihood of leaks, with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles sharply cutting down the number of staffers who can act as "assistant to the president," a title that allows them unlimited access to the Oval Office.

Nonetheless, leaks have continued, often in lower-level offices where Trump's appointees are causing controversy among career staff.

One of the most notable examples is the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, where Trump's chosen federal prosecutor, longtime GOP activist Ed Martin, has faced a stream of leaks by attorneys in the office enraged over potential ethics breaches and prosecutorial procedure, and in one case this week, a flagrant threat to the free speech rights of a private Catholic university.

Watch the video below or at the link here.