WASHINGTON — A federal watchdog has been investigating hundreds of millions of dollars in Department of Homeland Security contracts approved under former Secretary Kristi Noem and her top adviser Corey Lewandowski — and faced extensive obstruction in its oversight attempts, The Post has learned.
DHS employees have been asked to preserve all records amid the DHS Office of Inspector General’s (DHS OIG) ongoing probe into fiscal year 2025 grants and contracts — including no-bid pacts related to a $220 million ad campaign starring Noem, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
Investigators have also been “systematically obstructed” from other lines of inquiry — with Noem trying to fire Inspector General Joseph Cuffari twice before leaving her post only to be stopped by the White House, according to sources and records.
Congressional committee leaders were informed this month that one of those ongoing investigations facing obstacles was a federal criminal probe “with national security implications.”
Two sources noted that as part of the contracts investigation, Cuffari’s office has contacted several people working at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), where Madison Sheahan — a top Lewandowski ally — served as deputy director until this past January, when she resigned to run for Congress in Ohio.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) told The Post March 11 that his panel began “looking into a lot of contracts” shortly after Noem’s testimony before Congress regarding the ad blitz, adding that “Corey had his hands in a lot and probably should not have.”
Noem had insisted that all agreements worth more than $100,000 needed her personal sign-off, in some cases delaying disaster relief and even border wall funding while also giving the secretary’s office a greater degree of control over the contracting process.
Kara Voorhies, a former senior adviser to Noem who had a large degree of control over contracting decisions, is another official being probed by congressional Republicans, NOTUS first reported March 13.
Noem and Lewandowski have repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
The DHS OIG did not confirm or deny the existence or non-existence of the probe when contacted by The Post Wednesday. A rep for Sheahan’s campaign said she had not been contacted by the watchdog regarding any investigation.
Reps for DHS and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Daily Mail first reported on aspects of the contracting investigation.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) and other GOPers ripped Noem during Capitol Hill hearings earlier this month for putting “the president in a terribly awkward spot” over the TV advertisements that featured her prominently.
One of the taxpayer-funded ads showed the former South Dakota governor on horseback in front of Mount Rushmore promising an “American dream … as big as these endless skies” to immigrants entering the US legally — and deportation for those coming illegally.
According to a partial invoice obtained by Senate Democrats, the American public was charged $20,000 for horse rentals and $3,781 on hair and makeup, among other costs.
Ben Yoho, who runs The Strategy Group, which was subcontracted for the Mount Rushmore shoot, said in a statement that his firm “was engaged by Safe America Media to provide video and audio production” work that amounted to just $226,137.17 of the $220 million.
“In addition, TSG received a signing fee from Safe America Media that was fully documented and disclosed to Congress,” added Yoho, who is married to ex-DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin. “This information was swiftly communicated to address inaccuracies in public reporting and ensure the record accurately reflects the scope of our work.”
Safe America Media was incorporated days before taking $143 million as part of a DHS contract for the ads. Another firm, People Who Think, received a $77 million contract.
Noem told Kennedy that President Trump “tasked” her “with getting the message out” that illegal immigrants needed to self-deport — but he later denied having authorized the ad contracts, telling Reuters, “I never knew anything about it.”
Trump fired Noem after her back-to-back hearings in the Senate and House, during which lawmakers pressed the Cabinet official for answers about the ad campaign.
Lewandowski, who left DHS shortly after Noem, had kept top aides on a short leash and exerted control over the approval of several departmental contracts, purportedly asking in at least one case for additional payments to himself, NBC News reported.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, claimed in a Wednesday hearing that Lewandowski had “used his position and close relationship with Noem to steer contracts and sweetheart deals to his cronies in a pay-to-play scheme that has him under investigation.”
Lewandowski has described himself as an “unpaid volunteer” for Trump’s White House.
The “final straw” for Trump in letting Noem go, however, was her failure to deny having “sexual relations” with Lewandowski when testifying before House lawmakers, sources noted. The secretary has been married to her husband Bryon for 34 years and the couple have three children.
Noem has since been moved to the State Department to become Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas following the confirmation of former Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to lead DHS.
She has brought several allies over from DHS, including former acting general counsel Joseph Mazzara.
Lewandowski — who bragged he could “do whatever the f–k I want” because “DJT will pardon me” to a Post source last year — has since exited government service.
“Never said that. Never asked for a pardon and have no reason to receive one,” Lewandowski said earlier this month when asked about that boast.
Read the full article here