Stephen Colbert has mocked U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s attempts to walk back her allegations against nurse Alex Pretti, who was shot dead by ICE on Saturday. Noem quickly accused Pretti of “domestic terrorism” after he was killed, though provided no evidence to back up her claims. Widespread video evidence also appeared to debunk the narrative that he was attacking ICE agents, showing that Pretti never drew his firearm, and that said agents had removed it from his holster before he was shot.
Now the Trump administration is backtracking, and apparently throwing each other under the bus in the process. While a few Republicans have called for her resignation, Noem has claimed that she only acted according to the direction of President Donald Trump and U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller.
“Oh, so you were just following orders,” said Colbert. “This was all just a nothingburger. Oh, I’m sorry. I misread that. It’s a Nuremberg-er.”
The Nuremberg defense, also known as the superior orders defence, is a legal plea arguing that an individual should not be found guilty for carrying out crimes if they were ordered to do so by their superior. This defence was famously attempted during the Nuremberg trials, which prosecuted Nazi war criminals following World War II. The defence was rejected.
Colbert further noted that while Noem claimed that she was simply following directions, Miller has stated that his comments were based on information provided by Customs and Border Protection.
“So Kristi Noem, who runs Customs and Border Protection, heard it from Stephen Miller, who says he heard it from Customs and Border Protection, run by Kristi Noem,” said Colbert. “This is a real snake eating its own tail, which I believe is how Stephen Miller reproduces.”
