President Donald Trump is peppering his staffers in search of dirt on Kristi Noem’s alleged lover, three insiders tell NBC News.
Trump, 79, appears especially curious if Corey Lewandowski, his 2016 campaign manager, profited from any of the government contracts he doled out as Noem’s de facto chief of staff, including the controversial $220 million ad campaign she starred in.
“He’s mentioned the ads several times,” a senior White House official told NBC News, referring to Trump’s questions about Lewandowski’s involvement.
Another top aide interviewed by NBC quoted the president as saying last week, “Corey made out on that one.”
Lewandowski told the Daily Beast he cannot speak to what the president has said or not said, but insisted that he has not “made one penny, not a single cent from anybody involved with the ad campaign.”
“I hope that Congress subpoenas the records of the vendors who were given the ad campaign to validate that,” he added.
Trump previously told NBC that he was “not thrilled” with Noem saying that he personally signed off on her ad campaign, which was aired across the country and had the same budget as The Avengers in 2012.
Noem was axed days later—demoted to a position created by Trump that critics note holds no real power, special envoy to the newly formed “Shield of the Americas.” She will step down from DHS officially at the end of the month, but her work as a Cabinet member appears all but over.
Reports suggested Lewandowski also planned to depart DHS, but he tells NBC News he has not yet decided on his future. He is officially a special government employee receiving no pay, but insiders told the New York Post he has enjoyed a large role at the department, overseeing operations, contract approvals, and key staffing decisions.
Much of Noem’s commercial budget, $143 million, was awarded to a company that was created just 11 days prior—a fact that Noem was confronted with by lawmakers while she was under oath. The winner of the no-bid contract, Safe America Media, subcontracted its deal with the “Strategy Group,” whose chief executive, Ben Yoho, is married to Noem’s former assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin.
The Guardian revealed last month that another DHS contract was awarded to those with ties to Lewandowski. American Made Media Company (AMMC) LLC was awarded $250,000 to provide PR work for the department. The paper reported that the contract was posted on Sept. 26 and that bids were due the following day.
AMMC was formed earlier that year. Among those working for the Virginia-based firm are Sean Dollman, CFO of the 2020 and 2024 Trump campaigns; Nick Trainer, director of battleground strategy for the 2020 campaign; and Justin Clark, deputy campaign manager for Trump in 2020.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Lewandowski said he spoke to Trump last Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday—the three days preceding Noem’s demotion. He declined to elaborate on what he discussed with Trump in those talks. He told NBC that Trump made no mention of Noem’s ad campaign in those conversations.
Trump has praised Noem’s work at the southern border, but her public relations headaches were piling up. In addition to two American citizens being shot dead by federal immigration agents in Minnesota, attention on her alleged affair with Lewandowski was becoming a major news story.
Noem, 54, and Lewandowski, 52, have been criticized for jetting around the country in a Boeing 737 MAX airliner with a private cabin at the rear. Both married with multiple children, lawmakers pressed Noem to address her relationship with Lewandowski last week. Noem trashed questions from Democratic lawmakers about her romantic life but did not outright deny a relationship under oath.
Lewandowski was willing to go so far as to outright deny a relationship in a call with the Beast, saying ˙he has denied having an affair with Noem 10,000 times and that this phone call was No. 10,001.
