MS NOW's Jen Psaki ruthlessly mocked Department of Homeland Security official Corey Lewandowski's efforts to pressure department officials to let him carry a government service gun with him, despite him not in any way meeting the criteria to be armed on duty.
This comes after extensive reporting about the friction caused behind the scenes by Secretary Kristi Noem's alleged romantic affair with Lewandowski, whom she has effectively let run massive parts of department policy. Among other things, Noem is said to have fired a pilot over a missing blanket and to have made extensive use of a luxury plane with a private cabin in the back for herself and Lewandowski to travel in.
"There's the incredible saga over Corey Lewandowski's attempt to play policeman," said Psaki. "This may be one of my favorite details ... according to the Wall Street Journal, Lewandowski made it known to top ICE officials that he wanted to be issued a law enforcement badge and a federally issued gun, despite the fact, of course, that he was not a law enforcement official and he has not undergone any law enforcement training that we know of whatsoever."
"Now, Lewandowski tried asking ICE's legal center to write him a justification for being issued a badge and a gun, and when a top ICE lawyer declined to sign off on the whole thing — I wonder why — he was placed on administrative leave," said Psaki. "Lewandowski then eventually persuaded other lawyers to sign off on his gun-toting ambitions, feeling like a big man. Corey Lewandowski, I guess. And this is my favorite part. The ICE director's autopen was used to sign off on the paperwork."
"Now, of course, DHS denies that all of this happened and claimed that the ICE lawyer was put on administrative leave for other reasons," Psaki continued. "Okay, but MS NOW has confirmed a large part of that story tonight, also reporting that the ICE lawyer was actually escorted from the building after refusing to sign off on Lewandowski's request for a gun, according to two current and former officials."
"The whole incident," Psaki said, was "wild."