'Straight to jail': Explosive report on Trump DHS aide's dealings reverberates

A Wall Street Journal investigation published Monday night portraying Corey Lewandowski as the unofficial power broker who steered billions in Department of Homeland Security spending has set off a wave of fury online.

The report alleged that Lewandowski, Donald Trump's 2016 campaign manager, operated as the department's "shadow secretary" under then-Secretary Kristi Noem, his long-rumored romantic partner, pitched himself for private hire to Qatari and Emirati officials, and helped slash a Palantir contract from $2.7 billion to $1 billion after the company refused a one-on-one meeting. Lewandowski has denied wrongdoing, and a federal watchdog investigation is weighing a criminal referral.

The report sparked a firestorm online.

Former CIA officer and MS NOW national security contributor Marc Polymeropoulos applauded the report: "Bravo to the WSJ. Staggering corruption now for the American people to see. But is anyone really surprised? This administration will go down as the most corrupt in modern history. This is just the tip of the iceberg. The rent is coming due."

Dartmouth political scientist Brendan Nyhan, who co-directs the democracy watchdog Bright Line Watch, chimed in: "Unprecedented corruption," while writer Hemant Mehta added: "There is no bottom to how corrupt Republicans are."

The account posting as Maine, a Democratic strategist, went further, branding Lewandowski a "corrupt piece of s---" who "was procuring side deals from Gulf State" and "held up a Palantir deal because he demanded a 1:1 with Alex Karp."

Others pointed to the consequences coming down the pike with Democratic strategist Mike Nellis offering a prediction: "Straight to jail." All-In podcast co-host and investor Jason Calacanis warned, "Not looking good for Corey."

The Palantir thread also drew reaction, with conservative national security commentator Melanie Marlowe cheering the company's refusal to play along.

"Good for Karp/Palantir," she clapped.

Jim Stewartson of the MindWar newsletter floated a theory about who engineered the fall.

"This is why organizations that are only made up of psychopaths—like the current federal government—fall apart. They always chew each other up trying to extract the most out of every situation. If it cost him $1.7B, guessing Peter Thiel got Kristi and this a--hole fired."

Lewandowski and Noem were pushed out of DHS in March, and Lewandowski, associates told the Journal, expects a presidential pardon if charges come. Nothing in the Journal's report tied Thiel to the pair's exit.