The Trump administration manufactured a border crisis in order to secure funds to build a wasteful wall and satisfy the white supremacists who lifted Donald Trump into office. This statement, on its face, is only shocking to those of us who haven't followed how the government shutdown came to pass, and why government won't reopen anytime soon.

Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley went on Chris Hayes' show last night to outline how they planned to make this crisis work to their benefit.

Merkley outlines four false claims Nielsen made:

1. False Claim: There is no child separation policy

Administration claim: DHS Secretary Nielsen “We do not have a policy of separating families at the border. Period.” (June 17, 2018).

Under Oath, on December 20, 2018 before the House Judiciary Committee, Nielsen stated again: “I’m not a liar; we’ve never had a policy for family separation.”

Policy Options Memo: This document shows that as early as December 2017, the administration was actively developing and implementing a policy of family separation.

“2. Separate Family Units. Announce that DHS is considering separating family units, placing the adults in adult detention and placing the minors under the age of 18 in the custody of HHS as unaccompanied alien children…Once legal coordination between DHS, HHS, and DOJ is complete, begin separating family units”

Other false claims include blaming Obama for the family separation policy, even as they acknowledged that their new policy would face legal challenges, that family separation was not a deterrent when it was clearly intended as such, and the Greatest Lie: Unmanageable influxes of violent criminals are forcing the administration to expand detention facilities.

It is that last lie which they built their claims that the border is a dangerous place (what with prayer rugs and all), and that there is a "crisis" which can only be handled by building a wall. This is their chorus, they sing it on Fox News and on hate radio, they use it as an excuse for everything, and it is...manufactured.

The REAL crisis is that this White House and those in this Administration are all liars. Straight-up, bald-faced liars. They do it with no shame whatsoever. They lie about little things and big things. Here's a video of Neilsen and former Rep. Luis Gutierrez, where he walks out rather than sit and allow her to lie to him:

Senator Merkley is now calling for the FBI to investigate Nielsen's lies to Congress, in light of the new whistleblower documents he's received.

That investigation cannot be opened soon enough. And while we're at it, let's reopen the government and call off the "crisis."