White House Heard Lewandowski Kickback Claims, Did Nothing |
While testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee last month, former Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem denied that her top aide, Corey Lewandowski, was involved in approving DHS contracts. When ProPublica found internal DHS records contradicting that, a DHS spokesperson reiterated Noem’s denial, adding that as a temporary “special government employee,” Lewandowski “does not receive a salary or any federal-government benefits. He volunteers his time to serve the American people.”
Lewandowski’s alleged involvement with DHS contracts has been the second-most controversial aspect of his work as the department’s de facto chief of staff (the first is his widely rumored extramarital affair with Noem). Few people bought Homeland Security’s claims that Lewandowski was doing pro bono government work simply because he’s a selfless patriot.
So it was not a huge surprise when NBC News reported on Thursday that several companies have accused Lewandowski of seeking payments in exchange for help in securing DHS contracts.
It seems these allegations were also unsurprising to President Trump and other White House officials, as they’ve known about them for months.
Lewandowski reportedly requested payment from GEO Group, a private-prison company looking to expand its contracts with DHS as the Trump administration implemented its mass-deportation agenda. According to NBC News, Lewandowski directly asked GEO Group’s founder, George Zoley, for money:
During the transition, Lewandowski told Zoley that he wanted to be paid in exchange for protecting and growing GEO Group’s DHS contracts, according to a senior DHS official and three people familiar with their discussion. Zoley, concerned about the propriety of the ask, told Lewandowski he would have no part of it, the sources said, describing the confrontation as tense.
During the transition, Lewandowski told Zoley that he wanted to be paid in exchange for protecting and growing GEO Group’s DHS contracts, according to a senior DHS official and three people familiar with their discussion. Zoley, concerned about the propriety of the ask, told Lewandowski he would have no part of it, the sources said, describing the confrontation as tense.
A few months after Trump was sworn in, Zoley met with Lewandowski again, this time offering to put him on retainer with GEO Group. But Lewandowski reportedly refused, saying he wanted money based on the company’s new or renewed DHS contracts.
“He wanted payments — what some people would call a success fee,” a person with knowledge of the meeting told NBC.
GEO Group refused again, and the length of two of its DHS contracts was reduced.
In another incident, a marketing firm said it gave up on pursuing two DHS contracts after receiving requests to indirectly pay Lewandowski. The ask allegedly came from Salus Worldwide Solutions, which won a DHS contract to help carry out deportations last year. As the details were being hashed out, the marketing firm was told that the deal hinged on hiring one of Lewandowski’s consulting firms as a “thank-you”:
“We are guaranteed this contract, but we need to make sure we are properly thanking the person who gave it to us,” the Salus representative said, naming Lewandowski as the one who had secured the contract and deserved gratitude, according to the person familiar with the discussions. The marketing firm owner was told that he could hire one of several consulting firms tied to Lewandowski, the person familiar with the discussions said.
“We are guaranteed this contract, but we need to make sure we are properly thanking the person who gave it to us,” the Salus representative said, naming Lewandowski as the one who had secured the contract and deserved gratitude, according to the person familiar with the discussions. The marketing firm owner was told that he could hire one of several consulting firms tied to Lewandowski, the person familiar with the discussions said.
The marketing firm’s owner was informed that his company didn’t get the deal because he refused to hire the consultant. A short time later, the Salus representative reached out about a $40 million to $50 million contract, but said the marketing firm would only get $20 million, and the rest would go to a consulting company linked to Lewandowski.
Lewandowski called the GEO Group allegations “absolutely false” and said that if someone was seeking money from a marketing company on his behalf, that was “completely unauthorized” and done “without his knowledge.” When asked previously if he profited personally from DHS contracts he approved, Lewandowski said “zero, not one penny.”
But four senior White House officials told NBC News that they’d received complaints from multiple companies claiming that Lewandowski stood to personally profit from DHS contracts. “We are aware of the allegations of pay to play,” a senior White House official said.
This issue was even brought to President Trump’s attention last fall:
One senior White House official raised the issue with Trump during an unrelated meeting in October, two current administration officials said, before the conversation was cut short by superseding business. And another senior White House official told NBC News they had received a “dozen” complaints from at least four companies about Lewandowski’s involvement in the contracting process during the second Trump administration.
One senior White House official raised the issue with Trump during an unrelated meeting in October, two current administration officials said, before the conversation was cut short by superseding business. And another senior White House official told NBC News they had received a “dozen” complaints from at least four companies about Lewandowski’s involvement in the contracting process during the second Trump administration.
So why didn’t anyone do anything? Apparently they were worried that Trump would just shrug it off:
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.
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.
And he still might! Trump replaced Noem after her embarrassing congressional testimony, saying her last day would be March 31. There were multiple reports that Lewandowski would exit DHS along with her, but he told NBC he still hasn’t made up his mind about that. Perhaps Lewandowski is just bluffing to save face. Regardless, it doesn’t seem like promptly addressing these allegations of blatant corruption has been a top priority for Trump.
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