DOJ probes Corey Lewandowski over improper awarding of DHS contracts under Kristi Noem

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice is probing ex-Trump aide Corey Lewandowski over whether he profited off his top position at the Department of Homeland Security, The Post has confirmed.Lewandowski, who was President Trump’s first campaign manager in 2016, got on the DOJ’s radar after a watchdog referred a complaint for alleged abuse of his position at the Department of Homeland Security during Trump’s second term.The DHS Office of Inspector General began looking into accusations earlier this year that Lewandowski had profited from the awarding of federal contracts as a top adviser to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.The inspector general’s office asked all DHS employees in March to start preserving records on the hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth in contracts — including no-bid pacts related to a $220 million ad campaign starring Noem, three sources familiar with the matter previously told the Post.That included other instances involving alleged solicitations of foreign officials and the Geo Group that operates private prisons.The IG was also looking into “pay to play visa schemes” that US Citizenship and Immigration Services, a subagency at DHS, had expressed internal “concerns” about, a fourth person familiar with the probe noted.The referral, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, has been denied by a representative for Lewandowski, who said his client “has not been contacted by the Justice Department regarding any investigation, and he denies any wrongdoing when he was proudly serving his country in a voluntary capacity.”Lewandowski called himself an “unpaid volunteer” for the Trump White House before he and Noem were ousted in March, following the Cabinet officials’ disastrous House and Senate testimony about the ad campaign.In her congressional testimony, Noem also struggled to answer whether she and Lewandowski were having an affair.Noem went on to serve as a special envoy and senior adviser ...