DHS accuses Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of corruption for allegedly influencing TSA during Biden admin
Federal officials alleged Shaheen pushed then-TSA Administrator David Pekoske to keep her husband, William Shaheen, from the Silent Partner Quiet Skies list, despite allegedly flying with a known or suspected terrorist three times.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday accused Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of corruption, after she allegedly used her influence to remove her husband from an airplane watchlist during the Biden administration.
The department also accused the Biden administration of politicizing the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) watchlist by exempting some public figures from the list while monitoring allies of President Donald Trump.
Federal officials alleged that Shaheen pushed then-TSA Administrator David Pekoske to keep her husband, William Shaheen, from the Silent Partner Quiet Skies list, despite allegedly flying with a known or suspected terrorist three times.
Documents reviewed by DHS allegedly revealed that Pekoske granted the request and removed William Shaheen from the list, which flags people as being potential associates of terrorism suspects, according to the Washington Times.
“It is clear that this program was used as a political rolodex of the Biden Administration—weaponized against its political foes and to benefit their well-heeled friends,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. “This program should have been about the equal application of security, instead it was corrupted to be about political targeting.
"The Trump Administration will restore the integrity, privacy, and equal application of the law for all Americans, including aviation screening," she added.
Other influential people were also excluded from the watchlist, including members of royal families, "political elites," journalists and athletes. Shaheen's exemption has since been revoked.
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.