Thread by @weareoversight

Donald Trump's former DHS chief just launched a consulting firm. Records and reporting show that Chad Wolf played a key role in implementing some of the Trump administration's cruelest and most undemocratic policies, including family separation.
americanoversight.org/chad-wolfs-leg…

On Tuesday, @Politico reported that Wolf—who served as DHS chief of staff while the department was systematically separating families, & who was acting secretary as Trump increasingly weaponized DHS for his political aims—is starting a DC consulting firm.
politico.com/news/2021/03/2…

In a September 2020 congressional hearing, Wolf denied that he helped to develop the policy that led to the separation of thousands of migrant families, saying that it “was not my portfolio” and “was not my issue set at that time.”
borderreport.com/politics/actin…

Yet documents that we obtained through FOIA, as well as media reporting and government investigations, show that Wolf was involved in high-level discussions of the “zero-tolerance” policy, beginning months before it was implemented at a large scale.
americanoversight.org/a-timeline-of-…

For example, documents we obtained show that Wolf was included in a number of discussions about the development of the family-separation policy and how to communicate about it to the public.

Wolf’s DHS also served Trump’s tough-on-crime posturing through its participation in Operation Legend, a DOJ initiative that sent federal law enforcement officers to major U.S. cities in summer 2020, sometimes going against the wishes of local officials.
americanoversight.org/records-highli…

In July, Wolf traveled to Portland, Ore., the site of prolonged demonstrations, to denounce the protesters as a “violent mob” — a publicity stunt tacked on to meetings in Las Vegas that we later found cost taxpayers more than $90,000.
americanoversight.org/steep-price-ta…

In November 2020, a federal judge found Wolf’s appointment to be unlawful, throwing into question the legality of many of the actions he took during his time as acting secretary.
lawfareblog.com/no-light-end-t…

But regardless of what becomes of specific policy decisions, Wolf’s legacy of loyalty to Trump — and to the former president’s most undemocratic impulses — remains.
americanoversight.org/chad-wolfs-leg…