Justice Department Opens Criminal Investigation Into Former DHS Adviser Corey Lewandowski

WASHINGTON: The U.S. Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Corey Lewandowski, a longtime adviser to President Donald Trump, over allegations that he personally profited from his senior role at the Department of Homeland Security, according to multiple U.S. media reports citing people familiar with the matter.

The investigation follows a criminal referral from the DHS Office of Inspector General, led by Joseph Cuffari. The office has been examining the department’s contracting practices during the tenure of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, including Lewandowski’s dealings with companies seeking business with the department. The specific conduct under investigation has not been made public.

Lewandowski managed Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. He joined DHS early in Trump’s second term as an unpaid “special government employee” and became Noem’s chief adviser, serving as her de facto chief of staff. Department officials came to regard him as the main gatekeeper to the secretary. He left the department in March, when Trump removed Noem following heavy congressional criticism of her leadership and of departmental spending. Markwayne Mullin succeeded Noem as secretary.

During her tenure, Noem required that every contract and grant above $100,000 receive her personal approval. She said the policy was meant to reduce waste, but several Homeland Security officials considered it unusual. In early March, the inspector general told Congress that DHS leadership had been obstructing parts of his work. Around the same time, senior House Democrats, including Representatives Robert Garcia, Rick Larsen and Bennie Thompson, formally asked the inspector general to investigate Lewandowski’s influence over departmental contracting and personnel decisions.

Lewandowski’s attorney, Adam Trigg, said his client has not been contacted by the Justice Department about any investigation. Trigg said Lewandowski denies any wrongdoing and served the country in a voluntary capacity. The Justice Department declined to comment, and the inspector general’s office said it does not confirm or discuss specific investigative matters. Neither the existence of an investigation nor the allegations establish that a crime was committed.

The case is one of the few known instances in Trump’s second term in which a close ally or appointee of the president has become the subject of a federal criminal inquiry. It comes as the Justice Department faces intense scrutiny over investigations of the president’s political opponents, which critics have described as politically motivated.