Trump’s ‘striking’ reaction to Corey Lewandowski criminal probe stuns DOJ watchers

CNN's justice correspondent singled out President Donald Trump's response to a new criminal probe targeting one of his longtime political allies.

CNN senior justice correspondent Evan Perez called the president's remarks "striking" on Thursday's episode of "The Lead with Jake Tapper," after Trump appeared to throw his weight behind the Justice Department's criminal investigation into Republican operative Corey Lewandowski.

"In fact, they've shut down investigations into people inside the administration," Perez said. "This is a remarkable one. And the president's comments there are striking."

Trump weighed in on the investigation shortly before the segment. "I want my people to be honest. And if they're not going to be honest, they have to be prosecuted," Trump said. "People are not honest. They're stealing from me as president. They're not honest. I'll have my DOJ go and do whatever they have to do."

Sources told CNN the department is investigating Lewandowski over allegations of contract misconduct at the Department of Homeland Security, where he served as an unofficial chief of staff to former Secretary Kristi Noem. The mishandling of DHS contracts was reportedly one of the main reasons Trump fired Noem, most notably a multimillion-dollar, taxpayer-funded ad campaign featuring Noem on horseback that Trump says he never approved.

Perez, whose CNN colleagues broke the story, said the probe follows a DHS inspector general investigation into contracting practices under Noem that has been underway for several months. He described Lewandowski as "essentially a gatekeeper" in Noem's office who "had a lot of power over firings."

Noem required any contract over $100,000 to come across her desk, a policy she framed as a way to fight waste, fraud and abuse, Perez noted. Multiple people have alleged it was instead a way for Lewandowski to request kickbacks, he said.

Lewandowski has not been charged with a crime or formally accused of wrongdoing, Perez stressed. CNN reached out to him and did not receive a comment.

Former federal prosecutor Elie Honig, CNN's senior legal analyst, said a specific federal kickback law could be in play if a government official involved in awarding contracts took money from the party receiving them, though he cautioned that it remains unclear whether the facts amount to a crime.

"What's really notable and remarkable to me about this development is this appears to be the first time we've seen this Justice Department look inward and open a serious criminal investigation of somebody who held a position of real power within this administration," Honig said. "Now, that's what DOJ is supposed to do. But I can't think of another example where that's happened."

Honig added that the DOJ "seems to have turned a blind eye to other prior instances that would ordinarily get the attention of prosecutors."