Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been questioned over a Daily Beast story surrounding her alleged lover and his domestic antics.
Noem, 54, and her top adviser and rumored paramour Corey Lewandowski, 52, are both married to other people and have denied being involved romantically.
As revealed in our agenda-setting newsletter, The Swamp, Lewandowski was spotted in Noem’s Washington apartment building hopping last year into an elevator, and carrying boxes down to the trash room.
The pair’s relationship has been described as one of Washington’s “worst-kept secrets.”
On Wednesday, Noem testified before the House Judiciary Committee on the oversight of the Department of Homeland Security.
Democratic Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove used her time to question Noem over her links to Lewandowski, arguing that in her critical role at the Department of Homeland Security, her judgment could be the “difference between life and death,” adding that she needs to be “unassailable.”
Kamlager-Dove pointed out that despite his senior role at the DHS, Lewandowski has no experience in national security or military and is “a lobbyist, a failed campaign manager.”
Lewandowski worked as a lobbyist and was President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager in 2016 before being fired.
She said that despite this, Lewandowski is undertaking roles that include signing large DHS contracts and grants. “Which is your job,” she told Noem.
The Democrat also read out a series of media headlines surrounding the alleged relationship to enter them into the record, including “Kristi Noem fires pilot over a blanket but is forced to reinstate him to fly home, Wall Street Journal,” and “Lewandowski taking out trash at Noem’s D.C. home, Daily Beast.”
Kamlager-Dove then highlighted another Daily Beast story, “ICE Barbie’s mile-high privacy chamber with alleged lover exposed.”
She spent two minutes reading out her comprehensive list of articles about Noem and Lewandowski, with the Homeland Security Secretary listening silently.
Another headline was from the Wall Street Journal, which claimed President Trump was “uncomfortable” over the close relationship between the homeland security secretary and her subordinate.
“Trump knows this guy is shady,” Kamlager-Dove said, referencing historic allegations of battery charges, assault and bringing a loaded gun into a federal building against Lewandowski, which he said he had forgotten was in his bag.
The charges of battery were dropped and the assault charges were dismissed, although Lewandowski paid a $1000 fine and joined an impulse control class.
Lewandowski worked as a lobbyist and in politics, and was President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager in 2016 before being fired.
Calling him “unqualified” for his current position as Noem’s “top official,” Kamlager-Dove directly asked the Republican, “Have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?”
Noem strategically dodged the question, stating she was “shocked we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today.”
She said, “One thing I would tell you is that he is a special government employee who works for the White House. There are thousands of them in the federal government.”
The two talked over each other, with Noem barely taking a breath before Kamlager-Dove pointed out, “If you or any federal official is sleeping with their subordinate that should be the easiest... you should be wanting to answer that question.”
The crosstalk continued, with Noem saying the question was “garbage” and “offensive,” before Kamlager-Dove clarified, “It is about your judgment and your decision-making. It is about the 260,000 employees that work under you, that want to make sure that you are giving information and making decisions clearly. It is about conflict of interest.”
Questioning whether she was “compromised” in her decision making, Kamlager-Dove told Noem that Americans “want to know that the person at the top, you, are making decisions clearly, without any sort of cloudiness.”
In a statement to the Daily Beast, a DHS spokesperson stated, “As Secretary Noem said, these accusations are garbage. Democrats peddled tabloid garbage to distract from their failed open border and sanctuary policies that made America less safe.”
