A federal magistrate judge has found that former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, adviser Corey Lewandowski and Elon Musk took part in a "premeditated campaign" to spread false claims about fired FEMA finance chief Mary Comans.
Comans, a career civil servant who served as FEMA's chief financial officer, was fired in February 2025. DHS then said she had "circumvented" leadership to make "egregious" payments for migrant hotels in New York City. Musk posted her photo on X and called her conduct "criminal action."
U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick ruled in a name-clearing proceeding that every accusation was false. He found that the payments had been approved by senior DHS and FEMA officials and by DOGE staff. The government itself conceded that, apart from her firing, the information Noem and Lewandowski gave blogger Laura Loomer was "entirely false" and known to be false at the time.
"Armed only with false statements, high-ranking government officials undertook a premeditated campaign to impugn the personal and professional integrity of Ms. Comans," Fitzpatrick wrote. He called Musk's post "little more than state sanctioned intimidation."
The hearing followed a July ruling that Comans was fired without due process. The administration has said the dismissal was within the president's power to remove executive officials. DHS and attorneys for Musk and Noem did not immediately respond to CBS News requests for comment.
Photo: DHS / Public domain
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