Kristi Noem's Unofficial Chief of Staff and Rumored Lover Corey Lewandowski Is Accused of Soliciting Bribes In Exchange for DHS Contracts

Kristi Noem may be on her way out at the Department of Homeland Security, but her tenure has shown us the vast corruption that is tolerated and encouraged in this administration. Much of it involves her unofficial chief of staff and rumored lover, former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski who was thrown out, among other things, due to allegations of unwanted sexual overtures toward a donor.

NBC News reports on just one allegation of Lewandowski soliciting bribes:

Lewandowski took a role as an unpaid “special government employee” at DHS once the new administration was sworn in, where he advised and acted as a “de facto chief of staff” to Noem and, sources said, influenced contract awards. …

Zoley offered to put Lewandowski on retainer—a recurring consulting fee—with GEO Group, according to two industry sources familiar with the matter.

Lewandowski balked, saying he wanted to be compensated based on the company’s new or renewed contracts with DHS, the two sources said.

“He wanted payments—what some people would call a success fee,” said a person with knowledge of the meeting. Zoley declined, the two sources said. ...

A senior DHS official told NBC News that within weeks of Lewandowski’s second meeting with Zoley, Lewandowski told him not to award more contracts to GEO Group. …

White House officials have not taken any action against Lewandowski, in part out of fear that Trump will come to his defense, according to three sources familiar with the thinking inside the West Wing.

That last part is important. This is not just a story about a guy seeking to profit from his proximity to power. It’s about the impunity granted to him by his loyalty to a president who sees this kind of corruption as merely one of the perks of power.

The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.

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