President Donald Trump's Immigration and Customs Enforcement leadership has finally identified a line they crossed that is a bridge too far.
The news broke on Friday, as ICE Director Todd Lyons admitted that two agents lied that a Minneapolis shooting incident in January was carried out in self-defense, and said they could face prosecution.
Commenters on social media were taken aback that Trump's administration would even be willing to admit such a thing, but many were quick to point out that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem immediately defended the agents without even bothering to check whether their claims were true.
"Incredible. This is the case in which @DHSgov claimed that ICE officers had been attacked with a shovel and fired back in self-defense," wrote American Immigration Council fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick. "Evidence since suggests an ICE officer fired through a closed door and struck someone on the other side. Will @DHSgov retract the prior claims?"
"This has been a rampant problem under DHS in this administration," wrote attorney Blake Allen. "We have multiple instances of DHS officials and officers lying under oath, refusing to comply with court orders and the deluge of lies from official DHS press statements. It breeds an internal culture for abuse."
"Relentless lying. Relentless," wrote conservative analyst David French.
"This is why states like New Jersey do not believe they can allow rogue federal agents to be left unchecked in their communities," wrote Rider University political analyst Micah Rasmussen. "Noem blindly pronounced they did nothing wrong, before she knew the facts."
"Good for Lyons, I suppose. But also, another data point for people reporting on this stuff that you simply can not trust accounts from Noem," wrote The Bulwark's Sam Stein.
"Compare this to J.D. Vance's statement that ICE has 'absolute immunity,'" wrote ex-GOP veteran and trial lawyer John Jackson. "Bring the pressure, make people like Lyons know that if they don't prosecute obvious crimes, they will, with a new administration, be prosecuted themselves. Let's see the follow-through."