Corey Lewandowski Chased Foreign Deals At DHS: Report

Corey Lewandowski, a longtime aide to President Donald Trump, effectively oversaw billions of dollars in contracts when he was Kristi Noem's right hand at the Department of Homeland Security, a bombshell Wall Street Journal report claims. The newspaper on Tuesday reported on Lewandowski's time as a "special government employee" at DHS, and claims he "was effectively the shadow secretary at the department" — a role that included sitting in on most departmental meetings and controlling how vast taxpayer funds were allocated. Politics: GOP Strategist Has 'Apprentice' Theory For Why Trump's Not Spending Midterm War Chest In one instance that apparently underlined his status, the report claims an agreed $2.7 billion deal with Palantir remained unsigned as Lewandowski demanded a meeting with the tech company's CEO Alex Karp, which did not go ahead. The contract was eventually slashed to $1 billion. The article goes on to allege that as well as having an influence over contracts, Lewandowski approached officials from two Middle Eastern countries — Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — and offered to help them with services that fell under the department's remit, such as smoothing over visa issues. The newspaper characterizes Lewandowski as trying to "sell government services for personal gain." Politics: WATCH: Wolf Blitzer Delivers Scathing Award Presentation For Epstein Reporting In Front Of Trump The report comes as the DHS inspector general continues an investigation into contracts handled by Lewandowski. A former Trump campaign manager, Lewandowski left the department when Noem was ousted by the president in March. Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost. Lewandowski took to X hours after the story was published to hit out at the "anonymous-source, politically driven reporting." "I'm tremendously proud of my work as a volunteer in advancing this administration's agenda and remain confident that the facts and not anonymous accusations will ultimately speak for themselves," he continued. Politics: Donald Trump's Latest Promise Is Savaged By Critics, Including A Former MAGA Ally "The whole story is fiction," Lewandowski added in a second post. Rumors have circulated for years about the close relationship between Lewandowski and Noem. The two have denied suggestions they were lovers since at least 2021. In March, Noem denied they were having an affair when confronted with the allegations at a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee. Politics: Critics Demand Proof After Trump Revives One Of His Most Dubious Claims About 9/11 "So, Secretary Noem, at any time during your tenure, as director of Department of Homeland Security, have you had ****** relations with Corey Lewandowski?" asked California Democrat Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove. Noem called the claim "tabloid garbage." Related... Read the original on HuffPost