President Donald Trump has questioned aides in recent days about whether longtime adviser Corey Lewandowski personally profited from a $220 million federal advertising campaign featuring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was fired last week, according to three people familiar with his conversations.
The ads featured Noem on horseback discussing the American dream and talking tough about cracking down on undocumented immigrants. The campaign became a focus of lawmakers' questions during contentious hearings on Capitol Hill last week that contributed to Trump's decision to remove Noem as head of the agency and reassign her to a role as special envoy to the newly formed 'Shield of the Americas.'
What the Right Is Saying
Trump told NBC News that he 'wasn't thrilled' when Noem testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he had signed off on her expensive ad campaign. Contradicting Noem, he said he 'didn't know anything about it' at the time.
In an interview with NBC News, Lewandowski categorically denied that he had made money from DHS contracts. When asked if he has ever received 'any money from any of the contracts' he has signed off on, Lewandowski said: 'zero, not one penny.' The White House declined to comment on Lewandowski's assertions.
Lewandowski said he has spoken with Trump on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of last week — the three days before Noem was fired — and that the president had not brought up the ads or contracts with him. 'Since I've known the guy for 11 years, I think it's fair to say if he had a concern about something I was doing, he would raise it,' Lewandowski said of Trump.
While Trump consistently praises Noem for helping cut off the U.S. border with Mexico, his mounting frustration with her handling of public relations had been spilling into public view for weeks. He has remained personally close to Lewandowski, who was the first manager on Trump's first campaign.
What the Left Is Saying
Democratic lawmakers have seized on the ad campaign controversy as evidence of improper contracting practices at DHS. Senators Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., launched an investigation into three businesses that won contracts from DHS to produce the ads — Safe America Media, the Strategy Group and People Who Think.
In letters to the businesses, Blumenthal and Welch said Safe America Media signed a $143 million no-bid contract with DHS and subcontracted part of it to the Strategy Group. They also said People Who Think inked a $77 million no-bid deal with the agency. The senators asked the three businesses to provide documentation of their agreements with DHS, which companies they subcontracted with and whether they had deals in place with Lewandowski.
The investigation follows a November story by ProPublica detailing ties between the ad contracts and a firm with connections to Noem. Democrats have raised concerns about Lewandowski's influence in awarding federal contracts while serving as a 'special government employee' at DHS operating as a de facto chief of staff to Noem.
What the Numbers Show
The DHS ad campaign totaled $220 million. Safe America Media held a no-bid contract worth $143 million. People Who Think had a separate no-bid contract worth $77 million. The Strategy Group, run by Ben Yoho (the husband of former DHS spokeswoman Tricia McGlaughlin), received subcontracts from Safe America Media.
Lewandowski has served as a 'special government employee' at DHS for more than a year, operating as a de facto chief of staff to Noem. He was placed in charge of overseeing Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis after federal agents shot and killed two American citizens in February.
The Bottom Line
The controversy surrounding the DHS ad campaign represents a test of Trump's promise to crack down on government spending while also raising questions about influence peddling among his inner circle. The president has grown suspicious about Lewandowski's role in doling out government contracts, according to people familiar with his conversations.
Democrats are moving forward with their investigation into the contract firms, seeking documentation that could reveal whether any improper relationships existed. Lewandowski has denied profiting from the contracts and says he has not decided whether to leave DHS with Noem on March 31.
What remains unclear is whether Trump will take further action regarding Lewandowski's role at DHS, or whether the contract investigation will yield evidence of wrongdoing. The White House has declined to comment on Lewandowski's assertions about not profiting from government contracts.