Lewandowski DHS Allegations: What Congress Can Do Now
Follow the Contracts: What Congress Can Do About the Lewandowski DHS Allegations
By Corey J. Biazzo, Esq., Biazzo Law Government Oversight Program · November 7, 2026
In short: Corey Lewandowski, an unpaid "special government employee" who acted as Kristi Noem's de facto chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, has been accused of seeking payments from companies chasing DHS contracts. He denies it, and he has not been charged. The DHS Inspector General referred its investigation to the Justice Department, and press reports say prosecutors are investigating.
But whether a Justice Department led by the President's former defense lawyer will bring charges against a longtime Trump ally is an open question, and the President can pardon any federal offense. The 120th Congress does not have to wait. It can subpoena the contract files, put witnesses under oath, release the Inspector General's findings, fix the loopholes in the special-government-employee rules, and keep the statute of limitations from running out on a future prosecutor.
Key fact | Detail |
Who | Corey Lewandowski, unpaid special government employee (SGE) at DHS, February 2025 – March 2026 |
Role | De facto chief of staff to Secretary Kristi Noem; left when Noem was removed in March 2026 |
Charged with a crime? | No. He denies all wrongdoing |
Federal investigation | DHS Inspector General referral to the Justice Department; DOJ investigation reported in October 2026 |
Contracts in question | $220 million DHS ad campaign ($143 million no-bid to Safe America Media, $77 million to People Who Think); GEO Group detention contracts; a nearly $1 billion Salus Worldwide self-deportation contract; Palantir |
SGE work limit | 130 days in any 365-day period |
Federal statute of limitations | Generally 5 years (18 U.S.C. § 3282), so 2025 conduct can be charged into 2030 |
Who decides whether to charge | The Justice Department. Congress investigates and legislates; it cannot indict |
What Is Documented, and What Is Only Alleged?
The documented record is about contracts, process, and investigations. The most serious claims, that Lewandowski sought money from contractors, rest on unnamed sources, and he denies them. Keeping those apart is the first rule of fair oversight.
What the public record shows
The $220 million ad campaign. On February 13, 2025, DHS signed a no-bid contract worth $143 million with Safe America Media, a company incorporated about a week earlier and registered to the home address of a Republican political operative. The same day, People Who Think received a separate $77 million no-bid contract. DHS invoked a national emergency to skip competitive bidding.
The subcontractor. The Strategy Group, led by the husband of Noem's then-spokesperson, confirmed it was a subcontractor and says it was paid about $226,000 for production work. Its CEO says Lewandowski received no money from the firm. Nothing public shows Lewandowski personally profited from the ad contracts.
The 130-day question. SGEs may work no more than 130 days in any 365-day period. DHS said in 2025 that Lewandowski had worked 69 days. Four administration officials told Axios they believed he had already exceeded the limit, and the White House began monitoring his time. He served from February 2025 until March 2026.
The investigations. The DHS Inspector General investigated the ad contracts, widened the probe to the GEO Group claims, and referred it to the Justice Department. CNN reported on October 22, 2026, that federal prosecutors are investigating. His lawyer says DOJ has not contacted him and that he denies any wrongdoing.
The President's response. Asked about the referral, President Trump said that if his people are "not going to be honest, they have to be prosecuted."
What has been alleged but not proven
Matter | The allegation | The response |
GEO Group | NBC, citing a senior DHS official and industry sources, reported that Lewandowski sought a "success fee" tied to GEO's DHS contracts, and that after GEO declined, he told an official to stop giving GEO new contracts | His spokesperson called it "absolutely false." GEO later won a new $121 million contract, which cuts against the retaliation account |
Salus Worldwide | A source said a Salus representative told a marketing firm it had to hire a Lewandowski-linked consultant to get a subcontract on Salus's nearly $1 billion DHS contract | Lewandowski and Salus's lawyer deny it |
Palantir, Qatar, UAE | The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported a Palantir contract was cut after the company refused him a private meeting, and that he offered Qatar and the UAE paid help with DHS matters | He called the story "fiction" |
Authority | Reuters, citing DHS officials, reported he approved contracts he had no power to approve and paused some FEMA grants | His spokesperson says Noem never delegated contracting authority to him |
Earlier matters are part of his public history but are not evidence of DHS misconduct: a 2016 battery charge that prosecutors dropped, a 2022 misdemeanor battery case resolved with no admission of wrongdoing, and his 2017 departure from a lobbying firm he co-founded.
Why Should Every Taxpayer Care?
Because pay-to-play contracting costs you money whether or not anyone is ever convicted. When access depends on who you pay, honest companies stop bidding, prices go up, and the government buys from the best-connected firm instead of the best one. DHS spends tens of billions of dollars a year on contracts, much of it for detention, deportation flights, and technology.
The special-government-employee loophole matters too. The SGE status exists so experts can help the government part-time without giving up their private careers. It was never meant to let someone run a Cabinet department's operations for more than a year while keeping private business interests and avoiding the full disclosure rules that apply to regular officials.
Apply the test we use across our work: put the name of the political operative you trust least in this story. If you would want answers then, you should want them now.
Why Might the Justice Department Not Act?
The honest answer is that no one outside the Justice Department knows yet. Some facts point toward action: the Inspector General made a referral, prosecutors reportedly opened an investigation, and the President said dishonest officials "have to be prosecuted."
Other facts give reason for concern:
Leadership. The Attorney General, Todd Blanche, was the President's personal criminal defense lawyer. CNN reported that this administration has been hesitant to criminally investigate its own members. (Disclosure: Biazzo Law publicly opposed Mr. Blanche's nomination.)
The pardon power. The President can pardon any federal offense, before or after charges.
Silence by design. Justice Department policy keeps open investigations confidential. A case can be closed quietly, and the public may never learn why.
Narrowed corruption laws. In McDonnell v. United States (2016), Percoco v. United States (2023), Ciminelli v. United States (2023), and Snyder v. United States (2024), the Supreme Court narrowed key federal corruption statutes. Those rulings make some cases harder to bring under any administration, which is a reason for Congress to look at the laws themselves.
None of that means Lewandowski is guilty. He is presumed innocent, and the allegations may prove false. It means the public should not have to rely on a single decision-maker to find out.
What Can the 120th Congress Do?
Congress cannot charge anyone with a crime. It can do something just as important: build a sworn public record, fix the rules that made this possible, and make sure a future prosecutor still has a case to bring. Interest has already crossed party lines. Senators Schiff, Welch, Blumenthal, and Hassan, Ranking Member Robert Garcia, and Republican Rep. Nancy Mace have all sought records or a formal investigation, and House Republicans have looked into the ad contracts.
1. Preserve and collect the record
Send preservation letters on day one to DHS, the DHS Inspector General, GEO Group, Salus Worldwide, Safe America Media, People Who Think, The Strategy Group, and Palantir, covering texts, encrypted apps, and personal devices.
Subpoena the contract files. The emergency justifications for the no-bid ad contracts, the GEO contract modifications, the Salus award, and all subcontract and consultant payments.
Get Lewandowski's time records and ethics filings. His SGE day logs, building access records, financial disclosures, and any ethics waivers or recusals.
Ask the Inspector General for its findings. Congress can request the IG's report and a briefing on what was referred, while respecting the needs of any open criminal case.
2. Hear from witnesses under oath
Committees can invite or subpoena contractor executives, DHS procurement officials, and Lewandowski himself. Two cautions matter. Any witness may invoke the Fifth Amendment. And if Congress grants immunity to compel testimony (18 U.S.C. § 6005), that testimony can make a later prosecution far harder, as the Iran-Contra cases showed. Committees should sequence their work so they do not undercut a future case.
3. Bring in the nonpartisan watchdogs
Ask the Government Accountability Office to review DHS's use of emergency no-bid contracts since 2025.
Ask the Office of Government Ethics to audit how DHS tracked SGE days and disclosures.
Press DHS's suspension and debarment official to review any contractor found to have made improper payments.
4. Fix the laws
Our model Presidential and Public Officials Ethics Act and Justice Department Integrity and Independence Act in the Model Bills for the 120th Congress address many of these gaps. Specific fixes include:
Close the SGE loophole. Require public time logs, bar SGEs from supervising staff or approving contracts, and require full public financial disclosure for any SGE with operational authority.
Strengthen the ban on contingent "success fees" tied to federal contracts. Federal procurement rules already bar most contingent fees (FAR subpart 3.4); Congress can extend the bar expressly to anyone who served in the awarding agency, add penalties, and require disclosure of every consultant paid under a federal contract or subcontract.
Tighten no-bid emergency contracts. Require public posting of the justification, the competitors considered, and the owners of the winning firm.
Restore the reach of corruption laws. Congress can clarify federal bribery and honest-services statutes after the Supreme Court's narrowing decisions, prospectively and with clear notice.
Protect Inspectors General from removal without cause and require notice to Congress of any interference.
5. Keep the clock from running out
Most federal corruption crimes carry a five-year statute of limitations. Congress can lengthen the limitations period for federal corruption offenses. Under Stogner v. California (2003), an extension can apply to crimes whose deadline has not yet passed, but it cannot revive one that has already expired. A longer window gives a future Justice Department, under either party, the time to review the evidence on its merits.
6. Use the remedies that do not depend on prosecutors
The False Claims Act lets private whistleblowers sue on the government's behalf over fraudulent claims for federal money. The Justice Department can still seek dismissal of those suits, so Congress should watch how it uses that power. Committees can also make criminal referrals, which are public and preserve the record even if no one acts on them today.
For the legislative strategy, see Veto-Proof Reform: Laws to Protect the Separation of Powers. For how to sequence the work, see our investigative plan.
What Has Our Program Done?
On April 6, 2026, the Biazzo Law Government Oversight Program filed a Freedom of Information Act request with DHS for records on any proposals that contractors make payments to, or for the benefit of, Corey Lewandowski. It covers contracts, consultant arrangements, ethics reviews, Inspector General referrals, and messages on personal devices. Like many of our requests, it shows the limits of what a citizen can get. Read why in FOIA Lawsuits Show Why the 120th Congress Must Investigate. A congressional subpoena can reach what FOIA cannot.
Let's Talk
We offer free, nonpartisan briefings to Members and staff of both parties on preservation letters, document requests, witness sequencing, and ethics and procurement reform.
Request a briefing → · corey@biazzolaw.com · (703) 297-5777
Companion Resources
Biazzo Law Government Oversight Program: every 120th Congress resource in one place
Open Letter to the 120th Congress: Restore Checks & Balances
Frequently Asked Questions
Has Corey Lewandowski been charged with a crime? No. As of November 7, 2026, he has not been charged with anything connected to his DHS service, and he denies all wrongdoing. The DHS Inspector General referred its investigation to the Justice Department, which is reportedly investigating.
What is a special government employee? A temporary federal employee, paid or unpaid, who may work no more than 130 days in any 365-day period. SGEs are subject to many federal ethics laws, including the criminal conflict-of-interest statute, 18 U.S.C. § 208.
What was the $220 million DHS ad campaign? A 2025 campaign featuring then-Secretary Kristi Noem. DHS awarded a $143 million no-bid contract to Safe America Media, formed about a week earlier, and a $77 million contract to People Who Think.
Can Congress prosecute Lewandowski? No. Only the executive branch can bring federal charges. Congress can investigate, hold hearings, make public criminal referrals, and change the laws.
Can a President pardon someone before charges are filed? Yes. The pardon power covers federal offenses and can be used before charges, as President Ford did for Richard Nixon in 1974. It does not cover state crimes.
What happens if the Justice Department does not act? The general federal statute of limitations is five years, so a future Justice Department could review 2025 conduct into 2030. Congress can extend that period for crimes whose deadline has not yet passed.
This post is public education from the Biazzo Law Government Oversight Program, a nonpartisan public-service initiative of Biazzo Law, PLLC. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Allegations described here come from published reports, many citing unnamed sources, and are denied. Mr. Lewandowski has not been charged and is presumed innocent. Biazzo Law publicly opposed the nomination of Attorney General Todd Blanche.
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