WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is investigating former Trump aide Corey Lewandowski over allegations that he profited from his senior role at the Department of Homeland Security, The Post has confirmed.
Lewandowski, who served as Donald Trump’s first campaign manager during the 2016 presidential race, came under scrutiny after a watchdog referred a complaint alleging he misused his position at DHS during Trump’s second term.
Earlier this year, the DHS Office of Inspector General began examining claims that Lewandowski benefited from federal contracts awarded while he was a senior adviser to then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
In March, the inspector general’s office directed DHS employees to preserve records related to hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts, including no-bid agreements tied to a $220 million advertising campaign featuring Noem, three sources familiar with the matter previously told The Post.
The inquiry also covered alleged efforts involving foreign officials and the GEO Group, which operates private prisons.
A fourth person familiar with the investigation said the IG was examining “pay to play visa schemes” that had prompted internal concerns at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a DHS agency.
The referral, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, has been rejected by a representative for Lewandowski. The representative said Lewandowski “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.”
Lewandowski described himself as an “unpaid volunteer” for the Trump administration before he and Noem were forced out in March after the Cabinet secretary faced damaging testimony in the House and Senate over the advertising campaign.
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During her congressional appearances, Noem also struggled to respond to questions about whether she and Lewandowski had been romantically involved.
After leaving DHS on March 5, Noem moved to the State Department, where she served as a special envoy and senior adviser. Lewandowski departed DHS several weeks later, ending his government service altogether.
Lewandowski’s appointment as a special government employee was limited to 130 days per calendar year. However, he allegedly extended his time at DHS by avoiding the requirement to badge into agency headquarters, instead arriving as part of Noem’s motorcade.
Sources previously told The Post that Lewandowski spent a night with Noem at her government-provided residence — the Coast Guard commandant’s house on a Washington military base, where the former DHS secretary stayed for security reasons.
Lewandowski has also denied reports that he acted with apparent impunity because he believed Trump would pardon him if he faced prosecution. One Post source previously quoted the former Trump official as saying: “I’m not worried. I do whatever the f–k I want. DJT will pardon me.”
Trump said Thursday, after the investigation was reported: “All I know is I want my people to be honest, and if they’re not going to be honest, they have to be prosecuted.”
“I view it as if people are not honest, they’re stealing from me as president, 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,” Trump told reporters outside the White House.
During their time at DHS, Noem and Lewandowski instructed subordinates that contracts, grants and other funding decisions worth more than $100,000 could not move forward without their final approval.
In some instances, the requirement delayed the distribution of federal disaster aid and funding for the border wall.
