Daniel Wolfram
Allegations of corruption in and around Trump’s orbit keep being reported on. This time it is a former adviser’s turn.
A former aide to Donald Trump tried to make side deals with Qatar while working for Homeland Security
Corey Lewandowski allegedly approached officials from the small but rich Middle Eastern country of Qatar with quite the proposal: hire him off the books for everything related to his department. Apparently, he did the same thing to representatives of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
It left both countries’ officials stunned.
Profiting off a government job as a private citizen
Corey Lewandowski is undoubtedly intertwined with President Donald Trump. He was his campaign manager during his successful 2016 presidential campaign bid.
Although Lewandowski lost a “power struggle” to Paul Manafort and was ousted before Trump’s victory in November, he stayed in close contact with the president and has remained in his orbit ever since.
Now, a Wall Street Journal article is outlining how Lewandowski was using his position at the Department of Homeland Security to profit personally.
According to the WSJ, there was more than one instance in which Lewandowski would call up the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joe Edlow, to demand special treatment to expedite visa processing for foreign individuals associated with Lewandowski.
Conflicts of interest
Corey Lewandowski had the official title of “special government employee” (SGE), which in turn allowed him to conduct personal business as well. He was a special adviser to then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
Still, the WSJ reports that his influence was much more far-reaching than is usually the case with SGEs.
There are numerous reports of him trying to set up one-on-one meetings with influential people, one of them being Alex Karp, the CEO of Palantir.
It was also an open secret that Lewandowski was not just Kristi Noem’s adviser – they were also dating.
Denial of any wrongdoing
Both Noem and Lewandowski were effectively fired from their positions in March.
A spokesperson for Lewandowski denied any wrongdoing or that he had “sought contracts with foreign governments” and stated that he “adamantly denies ever demanding any payment or compensation from any potential, former, or current government contractor or seeking or soliciting or entering contracts with foreign governments while volunteering his time with DHS.”
Kristi Noem is now a special envoy to the Shield of the Americas, while Lewandowski is currently out of a job after being denied a position at the White House.
According to the WSJ, while the Trump administration has denied Lewandowski current employment, he expects Trump to pardon him in case of a criminal trial.
