All posts tagged "corey lewandowski"

Corey Lewandowski accused of demanding payments from major DHS contractors: report

Corey Lewandowski, a top adviser to now-ex-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, has been accused of direct shakedown attempts against contractors working with the government agency, a report revealed Tuesday.

The founder of private prison operator the GEO Group, George Zoley, requested a meeting with Lewandowski a year ago as the group stood to benefit significantly from Trump's mass deportation agenda, which would require the federal government to spend tens of billions of dollars transporting, detaining, monitoring, and deporting undocumented immigrants, NBC News reported.

The company's existing federal contracts in those areas already totaled more than $1 billion annually.

During Trump's transition to the White House, Lewandowski told Zoley "he wanted to be paid in exchange for protecting and growing GEO Group's DHS contracts," according to a senior DHS official and three people familiar with the discussion. Zoley, concerned about propriety, told Lewandowski "he would have no part of it," sources said, describing the confrontation as tense.

Once the new administration took office, Lewandowski assumed an unpaid "special government employee" role at DHS, where he served as "de facto chief of staff" to Noem and, sources said, influenced contract awards. Seeking to ease tensions from their previous encounter, Zoley arranged a follow-up meeting with Lewandowski in late February or early March 2025.

That second meeting proved little better. Zoley offered to place Lewandowski on retainer — a recurring consulting fee — with GEO Group, according to two industry sources. Lewandowski rejected the offer, stating he wanted compensation based on the company's new or renewed DHS contracts, according to NBC News.

"He wanted payments—what some people would call a success fee," said a person with knowledge of the meeting. Zoley declined. Afterward, two of GEO Group's federal contracts were shortened, and several of its facilities that could house migrants remain idle, even as Congress and Trump have funded DHS's mass deportation campaign. GEO Group officials believe this resulted from refusing Lewandowski's solicitations, a source familiar with their thinking said.

A senior DHS official told NBC News that within weeks of the second meeting, Lewandowski instructed him not to award additional contracts to GEO Group. Lewandowski's spokesperson denied this.

Now lawmakers are scrutinizing Lewandowski's role. After Noem testified at a congressional hearing about her and Lewandowski's involvement in government contracts, Trump called both to discuss his role in DHS contracting decisions, a source told NBC News. Trump subsequently fired Noem, announcing her departure as secretary on March 31. Lewandowski has not decided whether to leave DHS with her.

Trump has also questioned aides about whether Lewandowski personally profited from the advertising campaign, at one point allegedly telling advisers: "Corey made out on that one."

NBC News' report was based on a seven-month investigation and interviews with nearly two dozen people who expressed concerns about Lewandowski's contracting role.

One marketing firm with no prior federal contracting experience abandoned plans to pursue two lucrative DHS contracts after receiving requests to pay Lewandowski indirectly, according to someone familiar with the discussions. The firm's official later recounted the experience to a Trump administration official, who confirmed it to NBC News.

The firm was contacted by Salus Worldwide Solutions, run by William Walters, reported by The Washington Post as a donor to the America First Policy Institute, a nonprofit promoting Trump administration-aligned causes. In May 2025, Salus won a fast-tracked $1 billion DHS deportation contract.

A Salus representative asked the marketing firm owner about pursuing a $20 million contract to create materials for a DHS-affiliated agency, NBC reported. During a September conference call, Salus laid out most details. But afterward, a Salus representative called with a final requirement.

"You're going to have to bring in a consultant to manage it," the representative told the marketing firm owner. When the owner asked what to manage, the representative replied: "Manage the relationship." Confused, the owner asked for clarification, blaming his inexperience with federal contracting.

"We are guaranteed this contract, but we need to make sure we are properly thanking the person who gave it to us," the Salus representative said, naming Lewandowski as the one who secured the contract and deserved gratitude. The owner was told he could hire one of several consulting firms connected to Lewandowski.

This alarmed the marketing firm owner. He called two federal contracting professionals, asking if such an arrangement was standard. One called it a "giant red flag," while the other raised legal concerns, according to the report.

The Salus representative then told the owner that because he refused to hire a consultant, the marketing firm would not receive the deal. The contract was ultimately not awarded to Salus.

Lewandowski's spokesperson called the allegations "patently false. Mr. Lewandowski had no conversations with anyone regarding a marketing contract." The spokesperson added: "Any insinuation that someone was speaking on behalf of Mr. Lewandowski was completely unauthorized and if undertaken, it was done so without his knowledge."

Salus's lawyer denied both meetings' accounts as "entirely false" and stated: "Salus would never entertain this type of arrangement." The lawyer added that Salus "was never funded to perform work involving a subcontract to a marketing firm."

DHS staff used spy-blocking bags and sound machines to hide from Kristi Noem: report

The environment inside the Department of Homeland Security under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski, chief adviser and long-rumored lover, was apparently so hostile that staffers had to take extreme measures, according to reports on Monday.

Top ICE staffers apparently tried to block the duo from alleged spying concerns by using sound machines to block recordings because they worried that they were under surveillance, The Daily Beast reported. An experienced employee described the “distrust, abuse, and corruption” within the agency under Noem's leadership as the "most toxic" they have ever seen.

In a Washington Examiner investigation published last week, three people revealed U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner Rodney Scott was apparently so concerned Noem and Lewandowski were eavesdropping that he carried his phone in a Faraday bag, which is made of aluminum or silver to block electromagnetic signals and shield cell phones from surveillance or interception. Scott has claimed the pair had conducted an "evil" effort to remove him from his role and he was "paranoid" that Noem's chief adviser was "spying on him through his work phone and had bugged his office."

Scott said he thought Lewandowski was "trying to find anything that could persuade Trump to fire Scott, since Noem lacked the authority to do so herself."

That's what led Scott to make an unusual move.

"Rodney had his cell phones in a Faraday bag," an unnamed source said.

"I had never seen that outside of the intel community, where somebody’s putting their phones in a bag so they’re not emanating and can’t be monitored," according to the source. "I went ahead and put my phone in the bag, and that’s when we had the conversation."

Investigation of Noem's FEMA hits snag over hunt for missing million dollar contract

An ongoing investigation into the Department of Homeland Security has hit a snag as a crucial contract has gone missing.

A Federal Emergency Management Agency appointment made by "chief of staff" Corey Lewandowski under DHS head Kristi Noem has sparked a wider search. It was revealed in a report that outsider Kara Voorhies had been allegedly paid $19,000 a week for her role within the department. Documentation of this is yet to surface, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The appointment of Voorhies has left investigators concerned, with an internal watchdog at the DHS flagging the appointment as potentially a matter for criminal prosecution. Tarini Parti, Josh Dawsey, and Michelle Hackman wrote, "It isn’t clear exactly what Voorhies was hired to do, but contractors like her aren’t typically involved in awarding contracts and making spending decisions on behalf of federal agencies, department officials say.

"Her role in those decisions raised alarm bells for the inspector general as well as for lawmakers. The investigation is in its early stages, and it is unclear if the inspector general will refer the matter for criminal prosecution. The office doesn’t have the authority to bring criminal charges."

The ongoing investigation is set to look into "any potential improprieties in the contracting process" and any evidence of "personal enrichment of top officials", according to the report.

But a probe into Voorhies' contract is proving difficult as the watchdog cannot locate the files. "FEMA officials have been unable to locate her contract and investigators are still seeking it, according to people familiar with the matter," the WSJ reported. "Senior FEMA officials were told that Voorhies was getting paid as much as $19,000 a week, some of the people said, which would amount to roughly $1 million a year.

"It is unclear when Voorhies, who officials say was brought into the department by Lewandowski, started at FEMA. She was at the department for most of Noem’s tenure and left this month.

"People close to Lewandowski, who remains on contract as a special government employee, said that he has told them he expects the president would pardon him in the event of a criminal case stemming from the inspector general’s probe." Adam Trigg, a representative for Lewandowski, said his client denies any wrongdoing.

Noem's alleged lover hit with new probe as Dems try to root out 'shadow chief of staff'

A new investigation launched Wednesday demanded that the Department of Homeland Security retain all records relating to Corey Lewandowski, who has long been rumored to be having an affair with outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and served as her top aide.

Lewandowski was named directly in a letter from ranking Democrats in the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, The Daily Beast reported.

“The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Committee on Homeland Security are investigating serious allegations of high-level corruption, self-dealing, and mismanagement under the leadership of former Secretary Kristi Noem," according to the letter. "At the heart of these allegations sits Mr. Corey Lewandowski, who has used his close access to DHS leadership to wield outsized and undue influence over the Department. We request the DHS Office of Inspector General immediately initiate an investigation into Mr. Lewandowski’s role at DHS."

Lewandowski's role was characterized as a special government employee, but insiders have claimed that he wielded more power and could have been acting as a "shadow chief of staff" for Noem. Lewandowski, who previously advised President Donald Trump, has been accused of attending high-level DHS briefings, setting up and reviewing government contracts, and making personnel decisions — all while pursuing his own business interests in the private sector.

The committee requested that the Office of Inspector General release an update on the probe request by April 1.

Kristi Noem's right-hand man at DHS given the boot by admin officials: insider

A right-hand man to former Department of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem has reportedly been removed from his position at the agency.

Noem, who has been reshuffled in Donald Trump's cabinet to a newly created position, the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, had appointed the likes of Corey Lewandowski and Joseph Mazzara to her aides during her year-long stint at the department. Mazzara has since been removed from his position at the DHS, and it is believed Lewandowski may be set to follow.

The Daily Beast reported Mazzara "emptied his office" and was "walked out of the building" by employees. One insider said "Mazzara was very much in the Noem camp, and Rodney Scott can’t stand him. So perhaps Scott was able to get him booted.”

A Customs and Border Patrol source went further: “With Noem gone, Scott was able to fire him. He had the opening and he took it.” Mazarra's time at the DHS appears to be short-lived, with an internal memo dated to December 22, 2025 confirming his appointment.

Insiders suggest Mazzara played an important role not just for Noem, but for Lewandowski too. "He was Corey’s #1," one insider claimed. Another added, "He was Corey’s henchman and sought to fire anyone not loyal to Noem, Corey and Trump."

An official response from the Department of Homeland Security denied Mazzara had been removed from his post, but an unnamed source responding to this statement added, "He will be fired soon if it didn’t happen today."

Insiders sounded pleased to see the back of Mazzara, who was described as Lewandowski's "hatchet man" inside the DHS.

The source added, "He personally removed well over a dozen senior career leaders, some who had served in government since the Reagan years, and replaced them with Trump loyalists. Quite the turn of events for him to be removed from his post.

"Mazzara showed no interest in the actual work of the department. He was more concerned with ‘owning the libs,’ at the expense of the department’s mission and obligation to keep America safe."

Republican knives come out for Kristi Noem: ‘I don’t think she walks away from this’

MAGA lawmakers have started to unleash their real thoughts on ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, The Daily Beast reported on Friday.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) signaled that she would seek a subpoena through the House Oversight Committee and has called for an investigation into Noem's spending after it was reported that Noem claimed under oath that President Donald Trump had signed off on a $220 million advertising campaign — but Trump said he never had. Mace suggested Noem "will pay repercussions for spending taxpayer funds on her 'personal PR.'”

“I don’t think she walks away from this, and she shouldn’t, because as Republicans, we need to hold our own accountable,” Mace told Newsmax in an interview Friday.

Mace said she didn't know about the pricey campaign until Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) asked Noem during the congressional hearing this week.

“I’m very grateful to Republican Senator Kennedy,” Mace said. “I had no idea how much money, hundreds of millions of dollars, that Kristi Noem had wasted on her personal PR for all those TV ads that are running across the country that have nothing to do with deporting illegal aliens.”

Other Republicans have also questioned Noem's leadership regarding the death of two Americans by ICE agents in Minneapolis, questions about FEMA disaster relief and the luxury planes she reportedly flew in with Corey Lewandowski, a special government worker and former Trump campaign aide whom she has been accused of having an affair with.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) told WFMD there are "legit concerns" over Noem's time as DHS head.

“When there was a $200 million advertising [campaign], we should be better stewards of our money,” Bacon said. “I think the president probably saw a need for change.”

DHS insiders 'stunned' by timing of Kristi Noem's firing: report

Department of Homeland Security insiders were stunned Thursday after news that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was ousted by President Donald Trump, and people inside the agency reportedly were growing increasingly frustrated over her leadership and long-rumored affair with Corey Lewandowski, a special government employee.

CNN correspondent Priscilla Alvarez reported that DHS officials were surprised after Trump said that he had decided to replace Noem with former MMA fighter and MAGA Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and demote her to "Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas."

"Multiple officials are stunned by this news," Alvarez said. "Not so much because these officials had a lot of confidence in the secretary and her management in the department, but rather because this happened so quickly after these two congressional hearings, which, as you heard from Kristen, was the catalyst to the president making this decision."

"The officials that I have been speaking with over the last year have raised multiple concerns over the way that the secretary was managing the department and not only her, but her chief adviser, Corey Lewandowski, who was serving as a special government employee," Alvarez said. "In other words, he was supposed to be there on a temporary basis. I had one Homeland Security official who, just hours ago, as we were talking about, the secretary told me this: 'People are tired of their s---. Honestly, it's been unreal.' And that captures what I have been hearing from so many officials over the last several months in a department, by the way, that under the Trump administration had experienced a lot of turnover."

Several insiders have told CNN they were waiting to see if things would change.

"This is a department that is charged with the president's campaign promise of mass deportations, so the department has really pivoted all of its might toward immigration, and that has caused frustration within the department," Alvarez said. "But it's always been clear to the officials who have been there that whoever was leading the department had a tall task, because it is the department charged with this responsibility. And for that reason, the way the secretary was handling the department, especially with Minneapolis in the wake of the shootings of two U.S. citizens who were fatally shot by federal agents, they were just shocked by the way that the secretary handled those initial moments."

Noem had been questioned for her responses to the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both Americans killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis.

"Remember, she called them a domestic terrorist," Alvarez said. "She was asked to apologize this week by lawmakers. She maintained her stance and instead extended her condolences. But it was all of these missteps as these officials saw it, that they believed was going to ultimately lead to her ouster."

Internet erupts as Trump ousts Kristi Noem: 'Don’t let the door hit you'

News that President Donald Trump had fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from her job and demoted her to "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas" caused a wave of reactions online Thursday.

Following two tough days of grilling by congressional leaders who pressed Noem about her leadership and spending, including multiple luxury planes, a blanket incident, and a $220 million ad campaign that Trump confirmed with GOP lawmakers he did not authorize — the president announced Thursday that he was replacing her with former MMA fighter and MAGA Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK).

Noem has also faced increased questions over her long-rumored romantic relationship with Corey Lewandowski and his role at the agency. She was confronted directly about it Wednesday under oath, with her husband sitting behind her during the hearing.

The internet had strong responses to the updates.

"Kristi Noem is gone. Pam Bondi is next. Keep the pressure on these extremists," House minority leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) wrote on X.

"Kristi Noem has been fired and replaced by the dumbest US Senator," Ron Filipkowski, MeidasTouch editor in chief, wrote on X.

"Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Kristi Noem," Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wrote on X.

"Breaking: Kristi Noem is out. Minnesotans stood up for Alex and Renee and so many others. And if anyone ever asked why we have committee hearings and demand answers…" Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) wrote on X.

"Kristi Noem will go down as one of the most disgraceful cabinet members of all time," environmental attorney Mike Levin wrote on X.

"Kristi Noem has Sad Mar-A-Lago Face," author Tom Bradley Jr. wrote on Bluesky.

"Kristi Noem isn't being fired because she was a danger to US citizens and disruptive to communities. She's getting fired because Trump thought she made him look bad. And then he's going to put someone even stupider and worse in. Hence the rumors about Markwayne Mullin taking her place," TJ Denzer, Shacknews senior news editor, wrote on Bluesky.

This Trump ghoul is shocked to learn taxpayers turned her jet into a love nest

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi “KKKristi” Noem is so bad at her job that congressional Republicans this week joined Democrats in demanding her resignation, under threat of impeachment, during fiery hearings in which Noem perjured herself multiple times. And not for the first time, for those of you at home, trying to keep score.

The former South Dakota Governor and Worst Pet Parent Ever could only glare back at her questioners, while trying to justify the murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Good at the hands of ICE agents on the streets of Minneapolis.

As a woman, writing about Republican women, I do what I can to sidestep the low-hanging fruit. I make it a policy to never body shame or comment on their appearances … unless they do something so glaringly egregious that it would be irresponsible to not call attention to it. We don’t have the space here to get into why women have been socialized to please the male gaze, nor enough bandwidth to get into why so many women have fully altered themselves on the Trump Plastic Surgery Plan. Once you decide to commit treason for Epstein’s Wingman, I guess you’re contractually required to get a Mar-a-Lago Makeover.

Whatever happens to Noem now, she will be stuck with Alina Habba’s Ivanka Face forever.

I mean, come on.

I also don’t know why any men would prefer a fully fake face to a real one, but also I do, because I’m a woman in the modern age. Again, we don’t have the time to get into this now, but we do have time to wonder about KKKristi and her close “advisor,” former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.

Full disclosure: Corey blocked me on Twitter all the way back in 2016, because I kept doing this annoying thing called “telling the truth about Trump” and he didn’t like it, just like Trump didn’t. Such snowflakes, I swear. I’m my own MAGA-valanche of Twitter blocks, open to suggestions on how to better monetize this power I have over the worst people this country has ever produced.

Anyway, Kristi and Corey’s alleged affair is said to have begun all the way back in 2019 and is probably the worst-kept secret in Washington besides the Epstein Files and their contents.

The widely reported relationship was a big topic of discussion during Kristi’s Senate Judiciary hearing. She stuck to “We’re just good friends” … while being shown photos of a luxury bedroom on one of her government jets. You might have missed it, but our tax dollars were spent to turn a multimillion-dollar private plane (one of two) into a private getaway up in the sky.

Here’s Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) asking a basic question, with a visual aid. Noem seems incapable of understanding that other people know about her not-at-all-secret relationship.

That woman blankly stared at her own sky bedroom and pretended she didn’t know what it was. But we know she knows. There was a recent story about her leaving her woobie behind during a flight change, and Corey firing a Coast Guard pilot instead of telling Kristi she’s an alleged adult and doesn’t need a special blanket.

Yes, I call him that. I’ve been calling him that since the rumors about him and Kristi began. I’ve posted it so many times that whenever I start a word with “won-”, my predictive text does the rest.

In the same hearing, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) fully unloaded on Kristi during questioning, which also touched on the famous puppy killing incident.

While it’s great to see this from a Republican, keep in mind that Tillis is retiring at the end of the year and so has nothing to lose. I’m going to play amateur psychiatrist for a moment and say there’s some misdirected anger here. Tillis rightfully dragged Noem to filth, but I’m guessing a lot of that was for Trump and the embarrassment he’s caused the party and our country on the global stage.

Noem was being grilled by the House Judiciary Committee while I was writing this. She perjured herself multiple times again. It was also fun watching Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) do what he was born to do, which is own Republicans.

However, Noem had much more support from the House GOP than from their Senate counterparts, many tossing obtuse softball questions about Democrats refusing to fund DHS while Coast Guard ships are being targeted overseas.

Of course, everyone in both hearings knew the truth, which is that Noem is spectacularly underqualified for her job, like everyone else in the Trump regime. And that’s part of their plan to destroy our democracy.

When you have the worst person possible sitting behind the Resolute Desk, and he surrounds himself with unqualified yes men and women as close as possible to being as bad as he is, there’s clearly an intention to implode all political norms.

From the destruction of the East Wing (Did anyone preserve any of our historical artifacts? Has anyone ever even thought to ask besides me? It’s fine, I don’t know all that much about politics) to the bombing of Iran because Trump’s name is all over the Epstein Files, to the deliberate ignorance of the Constitution, no one connected to Trump has even once put America first.

Tara Dublin is a political writer/commentator based in Portland, OR, who has been blocked by Donald Trump on Twitter since August 2015 and can occasionally be heard as a fill-in host on SiriusXM Progress. She is also the author of The Sound of Settling, a rock ‘n’ roll love story available at taradublinrocks.com

Kristi Noem's Congress denial undermined by policy she introduced just last year

A denial made to Congress by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has been undermined by one of her own policies.

The policy, which Noem introduced to the department just last year, now provides evidence that the DHS head misled Congress. Asked whether Corey Lewandowski had any powers of approval for DHS contracts, Noem issued a clear "no". But her answer may not be accurate, according to approved documents that were cleared by Lewandowski.

DHS records reviewed by ProPublica show Lewandowski, a lobbyist with close ties to Trump and Noem, had personally approved contracts worth millions of dollars. This, according to Salon reporters Joshua Kaplan and Justin Elliott, directly contradicts department legislation Noem introduced last year.

Kaplan and Elliott wrote, "The records show Lewandowski personally approved a multimillion-dollar equipment contract at the agency last summer.

"That was not a one-off. Lewandowski has approved numerous contracts at DHS and often needs to sign off on large ones before any money goes out the door, the current and former department employees said."

Lewandowski approving these contracts goes against department policy introduced just last year. The pair added, "Last year, Noem imposed a new policy that consolidated her and her top aides’ power over all spending at DHS, requiring that she personally review and approve all contracts above $100,000.

"Before the contracts reach Noem, they must be approved by a series of political appointees, who each sign or initial a checklist sometimes referred to internally as a routing sheet. Typically, the last name on the checklist before Noem’s is Lewandowski’s, the DHS officials said.

"There have been widespread reports of delays caused by the new contract approval process at the agency, which has responsibilities spanning from immigration enforcement to disaster relief to airport security. DHS has asserted that the review process saved taxpayers billions of dollars."

This sign-off policy has also been used on other contracts within the Department of Homeland Security, with Lewandowski's signature also found on those documents.

"A similar sign-off process exists for other policy decisions at DHS," the pair wrote. "One of the checklists, about rolling back protections for Haitians in the U.S., emerged in litigation last year. It featured the signatures of several top DHS advisers. Under them was Lewandowski’s signature, and then Noem’s."