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If you have watched a lot of congressional hearings, you will have noticed that Trump administration officials appear to be more evasive than witnesses in the past, and that, instead of answering questions, they prefer to make lengthy statements, attack the questioner, and run out the clock.

Which makes sense. After all, most of them are not very competent, and they have to represent the most lawless, dishonest, and corrupt administration in US history.

On Thursday, Secretary of Homeland Security and avid cosplayer Kristi Noem took things to the next level by leaving in the middle of a House hearing to attend a FEMA review council meeting that turned out to be canceled.

However, even if it had taken place, it’s tough to see how her presence there would have been more important than testifying before Congress. It also defies belief that this meeting could not have been rescheduled. Then again, maybe this conflict was the point because it allowed her to evade answering the questions of Democrats who quizzed her about some of the shady things happening under her leadership at DHS.

In retrospect, Noem probably wishes that she had skipped the hearing altogether or left even sooner, because, it appears as though she still managed to perjure herself.

When Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) asked her how many veterans DHS has deported, Noem responded that her department has not deported any US citizens or veterans.

That answer was exposed as a lie within seconds when a staffer for the lawmaker held up a tablet showing a live feed of Sae Joon Park, a veteran and purple heart recipient who was forced to leave the United States earlier this year when ICE  threatened to arrest and deport him.

“He has sacrificed more for this country than most people ever have,” said Magaziner, who pointed out that Park had been shot twice while serving in Panama.

The lawmaker also noted that Park, like many veterans, had struggled with PTSD and substance abuse following his service and was convicted of “minor drug offenses” in the 1990s after being discharged but has been sober for more than a decade.

In her answer, that is the part that Noem seemed to seize on.

“I’m grateful for every single person that has served our country and follows our laws,” said Noem, whose boss is a convicted felon and avoided the draft.

Now, technically, Park self-deported after he was threatened with arrest, so one might argue that the secretary wasn’t exactly lying in his case.

However, earlier this year, Noem said in a letter to Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) that ICE had deported eight military veterans, which is more than zero.

“If [Secretary Noem] thinks kidnapping US citizens without due process isn’t a crime, wait till she learns what perjury is,” Moulton stated in response.

Of course, it seems unlikely that Trump’s weaponized Department of Justice would ever bring these charges against a member of the administration. Nowadays, accusations of perjury are reserved primarily for people the president considers to be his enemies.