WSJ: Lewandowski Ran DHS as 'Shadow Secretary'

Prison contractor GEO Group declines to hire Lewandowski for a lobbying job, according to the Journal's account.

Lewandowski serves as an unpaid senior adviser to then-Secretary Kristi Noem while functioning, in the Journal's words, as the department's effective shadow secretary. The Journal reported he and Noem were known for installing allies throughout the agency, and that the two traveled the Middle East together on a 737 MAX to meet Gulf leaders on trips DHS never publicized — at a time when Stephen Miller was pressing ICE to ramp up deportations.

Trump ousts Noem. Both she and Lewandowski leave DHS.

The Journal reports that the department's internal watchdog has found evidence Lewandowski may have been involved in improperly awarding government contracts.

The Journal publishes its investigation. Raw Story reports the department watchdog is now weighing a criminal referral and that its investigation is ongoing.

An agreed $2.7 billion blanket purchase agreement with data company Palantir sat unsigned while Lewandowski demanded a one-on-one meeting with CEO Alex Karp, according to the report. Palantir balked, and the deal was cut to $1 billion.

GEO Group — the prison company that passed on hiring him in 2017 — saw its share of the detention market fall from 37% to 25% even as its facilities sat empty, the report said. House Democrats accuse him of "shaking down contractors" for kickbacks.

The Contracts