An individual accused of being a major source of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leaks that endangered federal law enforcement has been caught, Secretary Kristi Noem said in a Wednesday post on X.
In her announcement, Noem did not release the name of the individual but vowed to refer them to the U.S. Department of Justice for criminal prosecution.
“[Shawn Cohen] is down another source—we just caught another prolific leaker putting our [DHS] law enforcement at risk,” Noem wrote. Cohen is a Daily Mail reporter who has published stories in the past based on anonymous sources.
In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said the leaker is being referred to the Justice Department and FBI. She added that the government employee involved holds a GS-14 position within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), meaning the individual is in a high-level or senior management role.
When asked about what the person is accused of leaking, McLaughlin said over email, “law enforcement sensitive information but that will all come out with a thorough investigation.”
Federal officers have already been dealing with an “8,000% increase in death threats against them,” Noem’s social media post read.
“We are agnostic about your standing, tenure, political appointment, or status as a career civil servant—we will track down leakers and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law,” Noem wrote.
This is not the first time President Donald Trump’s administration has addressed leakers.
“I have found some leakers,” Noem said in February 2025. “We are continuing to get more. They will be fired and there will be consequences.”
Officials used polygraph tests and examined emails to find the leakers, the Homeland secretary said, accusing the persons of compromising national security.
Earlier in February 2025, Noem also vowed to identify and take action against individuals who leaked an internal memo detailing a large-scale ICE operation in Los Angeles.
“The FBI is so corrupt,” Noem wrote in a Feb. 9, 2025, post on X. “We will work with any and every agency to stop leaks and prosecute these crooked deep state agents to the fullest extent of the law.”
The FBI criticized the DHS secretary’s post.
“Making unfounded allegations calling FBI agents corrupt is deeply irresponsible and has not been supported by any evidence to date,” the agency said in a statement posted on X in response.
Also in February 2025, White House border czar Tom Homan blamed news media leaks for hindering an immigration operation targeting members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang in Aurora, Colorado.
Leaks of this magnitude, Homan said, could lead to federal officers being ambushed.
“This isn’t a game,” the border czar said.
