Democratic Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove blasted the Trump administration for putting national security at risk after former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s husband was exposed for crossdressing while speaking to women online.
The California lawmaker turned heads last month when she dared to ask Noem about her “sexual relations” with top aide Corey Lewandowski.
On Wednesday, she slammed the administration as corrupt and raised concerns over what could have happened had blackmailed secrets fallen into the wrong hands.
“If the Noems were private citizens, their personal lives would be just that—private and not our business," Kamlager-Dove told the Daily Beast in a statement.
“But because Kristi Noem held a high-level national security position, anything they’d prefer to keep secret could put not only her and her family, but also the U.S., at risk of exploitation.”
It comes after a shocking report, including photos, in the Daily Mail detailed how Bryon Noem, 56, would dress up in tight pants and fake breasts to speak with fetish models online.
National Security experts warned the information could have made Noem susceptible to blackmail while serving as a top Trump administration official who oversaw a massive law enforcement department.
“It’s clear, based on Kristi Noem’s tenure at DHS and all the allegations surrounding her, that she was both unqualified and unvetted—making her a national security risk," said Kamlager-Dove.
“Time and time again, this administration has proven to be corrupt, and it’s terrifying to consider what might have happened if an adversarial foreign government had obtained this information first,” she added.
The lawmaker’s fierce criticism of Noem comes nearly one month after the California Democrat questioned the then-DHS secretary to her face about having an affair with her top aide.
Rumors about Noem and Lewandowski’s alleged affair had been swirling ever since she took office. It was often referred to as the worst-kept secret in Washington, D.C., but no one had dared to address it head-on.
It was a jaw-dropping moment as Noem was appearing before the House Judiciary Committee when Kamlager-Dove questioned her about it directly, but the lawmaker argued it was a question of her judgment as a top government official.
“So Secretary Noem, at any time during your tenure as director of Department of Homeland Security, have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?” Kamlager-Dove asked.
Noem turned to the committee chairman to respond: “I am shocked that we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today.”
But Kamlager-Dove continued to press her, stating it was okay for the secretary to be “offended by the question,” but she argued that it was a real question that Noem should be able to answer clearly, noting that it concerned a government official sleeping with a subordinate.
“You should be wanting to answer that question because it is not about your sex life, it is about your judgment,” she told Noem.
Kamlager-Dove warned at the time, “It is about conflict of interest. It is about a national security risk.”
She warned Americans and officials needed to know that Noem was “making decisions clearly without any sort of cloudiness.”
