November 7, 2019
BY FAX
The Honorable Ron Johnson, Chair
The Honorable Gary Peters, Ranking Member
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs
340 Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Re:

Referral of Chad F. Wolf for Potential False Statements Violations

Restore Public Trust respectfully suggests that the Senate Committee on Homeland
Security and Government Affairs refer Chad F. Wolf to the Department of Justice for
investigation into whether Mr. Wolf may have provided false testimony to the committee during
his confirmation hearing to be Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy and Plans at the Department
of Homeland Security.
Background
During his June 2019 confirmation hearing, Mr. Wolf was asked several questions about
his role in developing the Trump administration’s controversial policy of separating immigrant
children from their parents. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) engaged Mr. Wolf in the following
exchange:
ROSEN: When the AG announced their zero-tolerance policy. […] Did you help develop
that policy?
WOLF: No, ma’am, again, we were given direction both through an executive order and
the attorney general’s zero-tolerance policy at the time. The discussions that were
underway at the department at that time were operational.1
And

U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Full Committee
Hearing on the Nominations of Chad F. Wolf to be Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and
Plans, et al, June 12, 2019 at 00:57:50.
1

1919 M St., N.W. Suite #450 Washington, D.C. 20036
RestorePublicTrust.org

 The Honorable Ron Johnson
The Honorable Gary Peters
November 6, 2019
Page 2
ROSEN: Let me ask it this way, as her chief of staff then, how did you become aware of
this policy?
WOLF: Through discussions with staff, discussions leading up to the attorney general’s
announcement, I believe in April of 2018. 2
Mr. Wolf also stated that following the April 2018 announcement, he “was involved
sitting on various discussions with our operators; that would have been CBP, USCIS, and ICE, as
well as the general counsel, on how to operationalize the decision made by both the president
and the attorney general.”3
Despite Mr. Wolf’s statements under oath, in December 2017, when serving as thenSecretary Kiersten Nielsen’s chief of staff, Mr. Wolf sent a list of 16 options to curb the number
of undocumented immigrants to Gene Hamilton, counselor to then-Attorney General Jeff
Sessions, for review. The list included family separation and expedited child deportation. In
fact, “Separate family units” was number two on the list.4
In addition, Mr. Wolf’s calendar for March 15, 2018 reveals a scheduled phone call with
Ryan Scudder, the Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the El Centro Sector of U.S. Customs and
Border Patrol.5 The entry states “Ryan wanted to touch base with you regarding the meeting you
requested to take place regarding ‘Separating Children and Families.’ He had a question
regarding the fingerprinting component.’6
Further, on March 19, 2018, Mr. Wolf attended a “Family Separation Issue/Hill Prep
Meeting.”7 The objective of this meeting, which included as attendees the Secretary, the Deputy
Secretary, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Scudder, and a long list of DHS and DHS component officials, was “to
discuss the issue of family separation as well as DNA and fingerprinting issues . . .”8

Legal Violation

Id at 00:58:08.
Id. at 00:58:22.
4 Julia Ainsley, Katy Tur and Laura Stricker, Trump Admin Considering Chad Wolf, An Author of Family
Separation Policy, for DHS Chief, NBC News, October 22, 2019.
5 See https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/border-patrol-stops-tractor-trailer-finds-30-immigrantsinside#.
6 Calendar for Chad Wolf, March 15, 2018, available at https://www.americanoversight.org/document/dhscalendars-for-senior-officials-from-2018
7 Calendar for Chad Wolf, March 18, 2018, available at https://www.americanoversight.org/document/dhscalendars-for-senior-officials-from-2018
8 Id.

2

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 The Honorable Ron Johnson
The Honorable Gary Peters
November 6, 2019
Page 3
As you know, it is a federal crime to make a materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent
statement or representation in response to any investigation or conducted pursuant to the
authority of any committee of Congress.9
Records reveal that in 2017, Mr. Wolf sent an email proposing family separation as one
of 16 potential policies to curb immigration. Therefore, Mr. Wolf’s statement that he first heard
of the policy in discussions with staff in the lead up to the attorney general’s April 2018
announcement is, at a minimum, inaccurate. In fact, Mr. Wolf was directly involved in
discussions about the policy several months earlier. Including family separation as a specific
policy proposal for the attorney general’s consideration surely qualifies as helping to develop the
policy and his claim that he heard of the policy from others appears untrue.
Further, Mr. Wolf discussed family separation in a phone call with Mr. Scudder on
March 15 and participated in a meeting specifically convened with DHS employees, to discuss
the topic on March 19. These calendar entries again belie Mr. Wolf’s claim that he heard of the
policy only from others and was not involved in its creation himself.
In light of the evidence, it appears Mr. Wolf made a deliberate attempt to mislead the
committee about his role in developing the family separation policy in violation of the
prohibition against making false statements to Congress.

Conclusion
Americans have the right to expect that those appearing before congressional committees
testify truthfully, whether under oath or not, and failing to testify truthfully is a violation of
federal law. Knowing how controversial the policy of family separation has been to Americans
across the political divide, it appears Mr. Wolf sought to downplay his role in developing that
policy. The facts suggest, however, that by shifting responsibility for the policy to others, Mr.
Wolf may have made false statements. As a result, referring Mr. Wolf to the Department of
Justice for investigation into whether and the extent to which he may have provided false
testimony to the committee is simply the right thing to do.

Sincerely,

Kyle Herrig
Senior Advisor

9

18 U.S.C. § 1001.

 The Honorable Ron Johnson
The Honorable Gary Peters
November 6, 2019
Page 4
cc:

Corey R. Amundson
Chief, Public Integrity Section
Department of Justice