DHS catches alleged leaker, will refer to DOJ for charges

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday announced that her agency had identified an alleged leaker and referred the individual for prosecution by the Department of Justice.

"[Shawn Cohen] is down another source— we just caught another prolific leaker putting our [DHS] law enforcement at risk as they already face 8,000% increase in death threats against them," Noem posted on X. "I plan to refer this individual to [the DOJ] for criminal prosecution."

Cohen is a reporter for the New York Times who has repeatedly published claims about the agency based on anonymous sources.

"We are agnostic about your standing, tenure, political appointment, or status as a career civil servant—we will track down leakers and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law," Noem warned.

She did not name the individual or indicate their rank. During the first Trump administration, anonymous leakers and internal saboteurs were pervasive in the DHS, with agency chief of staff Miles Taylor later being outed as "Anonymous," the author of an op-ed detailing internal efforts by anti-Trump figures to derail his agenda from within.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.