Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Rep. Rick Larsen, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, demanded an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General into Corey Lewandowski’s employment after months of wielding incredible influence as a Special Government Employee (SGE). Additionally, the Ranking Members wrote directly to DHS and demanded all communications and internal records regarding Corey Lewandowski’s involvement in DHS personnel and contracting decisions.
In the letter to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Secretary, the Ranking Members wrote, “We write with grave concern regarding reports alleging serious misconduct at the highest levels of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). At the center of these allegations sits Mr. Corey Lewandowski, who continues to use his access to DHS leadership to wield outsized and undue influence over the Department. We demand DHS preserve all communications and internal records concerning Mr. Lewandowski’s role within the Department, as well as the Department’s practices, policies, and procedures related to contracting, personnel, and the handling of classified materials. Any deviation from standard record-keeping will be treated as an attempt to hide or destroy evidence. In addition, we call on DHS to rescind its policy requiring all contracts and grants above $100,000 to be approved personally by the Secretary, a policy that resulted in widespread delays in funding and mismanagement.”
In the letter to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, the Ranking Members wrote, “Mr. Lewandowski’s alleged unauthorized involvement in DHS contracting decisions is a great cause for concern. Due to Mr. Lewandowski’s status as an SGE and DHS’s refusal to release his financial disclosure information, he has had ample opportunity to continue pursuing his business interests in the private sector while simultaneously playing a key role in awarding DHS contracts. Mr. Lewandowski’s outsized role and questionable actions have not gone unnoticed even within the Trump Administration, including when the White House Counsel’s Office opened an inquiry into Lewandowski’s potential abuse of the special government role.”
These letters are an escalation of Oversight Democrats’ investigation into Corey Lewandowski’s role at the Department of Homeland Security and come after Secretary Kristi Noem was removed from her position as Secretary at DHS. In August, Ranking Member Garcia wrote to then Secretary Kristi Noem regarding Corey Lewandowski’s employment as a Special Government Employee, demanding a complete accounting of his service days (including records and logs), assessment on whether he has exceeded his 130 day limit as an SGE, all documents and communications regarding his role in personnel decisions (firing/hiring) and grant approvals in FEMA operations, and all documents and direct communications between Lewandowski and any lobbying firm, lobbyist, or government contracting consultant.
In September, Ranking Member Garcia wrote to the Office of Government Ethics and to then Secretary Kristi Noem demanding the public release of Corey Lewandowski’s financial disclosures, which they have illegally failed to produce. Lewandowski meets the qualifications to be a public filer, meaning that legally, his financial disclosures must be made public.
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