Alleged Pay-to-Play Scheme by Corey Lewandowski Raises Questions

Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) spearheaded a recent letter to the new Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, demanding answers regarding a report alleging that former DHS official Corey Lewandowski was involved in a pay-to-play scheme during his tenure in the Trump White House.

According to NBC and the Washington Post, Lewandowski asked the head of The GEO Group, a private prison company that works with DHS to run detention facilities, for compensation in exchange for protecting and growing the company's DHS contracts, only to cut them off when the company refused.

In addition, Salus Worldwide Solutions, a company whose CEO is tied to President Donald Trump, told a marketing company that wanted to work with DHS that hiring a consultant tied to Lewandowski was part of the deal.

Moreover, Lewandowski is alleged to have had a role in reviewing or influencing contracts worth $100,000 or more, despite former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem denying his involvement.

"If true, this conduct constitutes a blatant abuse of public trust and a violation of federal bribery and procurement integrity laws and regulations," Sen. Gallego wrote in the letter to DHS. "Federal law is unambiguous: it is illegal for any public official to corruptly demand or accept anything of value in exchange for being influenced in the performance of any official act."

Sen. Gallego is demanding all information regarding Lewandowski, his communications, and all contracts approved by Secretary Noem that were worth $100,000 or more, including documentation related to delegation.

"It is essential that the public maintains full confidence in the integrity of federal spending, ensuring that all contracts are awarded through a competitive, merit-based process that upholds the highest ethical standards, rather than personal influence," the Arizona Senator concluded.

The report comes amid a legal battle between the Trump White House and Benjamin Landa, the Administration's top pick for Ambassador to Hungary, over Medicare overpayments during the COVID-19 pandemic.