As reported on Instagram
The Justice Department is investigating allegations of contract misconduct at the Department of Homeland Security, including the role of Corey Lewandowski, the Republican operative who served as the top adviser and de facto chief of staff to former Secretary Kristi Noem. The investigation, first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, follows a criminal referral from the DHS inspector general's office, which has been examining how contracts were handled at the department during Noem's tenure.
According to the reports, DHS investigators concluded in July that they had found evidence suggesting Lewandowski may have improperly steered or approved contracts while serving at the department as an unpaid special government employee. Lewandowski functioned as Noem's gatekeeper under a policy that required every contract and grant over $100,000 to cross her desk for approval. Internal DHS records reported by ProPublica showed Lewandowski approving a multimillion-dollar equipment contract, despite Noem having told Congress that he had no role in approving contracts, and contractors told White House officials they had been asked to pay Lewandowski in connection with DHS business.
President Trump was asked about the investigation by a reporter on Thursday. He said he did not know much about it and had only just learned of it, but he returned repeatedly to the same point — that people who work for him and are dishonest should face prosecution. "I want my people to be honest, and if they're not going to be honest, they have to be prosecuted," Trump said. "I don't know about specifically, but I view it as if people are not honest, they're stealing from me as President." He added: "They're stealing from me, so I want my people to be honest. And if they're not honest, I'll have my DOJ go and do whatever they have to do."
The Journal reported that Lewandowski expects a pardon from Trump in the event he is charged in a criminal case. Trump appeared to pour cold water on that idea. "If somebody is dishonest, I consider them not only against the country; I consider that dishonest against me," he said. "So I will never do anything to stop a prosecution if someone is dishonest."
Lewandowski's attorney, Adam Trigg, said his client "has not been contacted by the Justice Department regarding any investigation, and he denies any wrongdoing when he was proudly serving his country in a voluntary capacity." The Justice Department declined to comment, and it is not yet clear which U.S. Attorney's office is leading the investigation. Prosecutors have been awaiting the results of the inspector general's probe; in recent months, Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told officials in her office that she wanted investigators to look into claims of kickbacks connected to contracting at DHS.
Lewandowski left the department in March, when Trump fired Noem amid a series of controversies, including the department's handling of immigration enforcement in Minnesota, a $220 million border-security ad campaign that prominently featured the secretary, and the purchase and contract procurement for several aircraft. Noem's handling of contracts was one of the main catalysts for her removal. The department's inspector general, Joseph Cuffari, complained to Congress in early March that Homeland Security leadership had been obstructing some of his work.