Ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was “blindsided” by a report alleging that her husband has been posting photos of himself cross-dressing online.
National security experts said that Bryon Noem’s alleged activities could have put his wife at risk while she served in President Donald Trump’s cabinet, according to a bombshell Daily Mail report published Tuesday.
Kristi Noem, who was fired earlier this month by Trump, is said to be “devastated” by the report, which detailed how the alleged actions of her husband of more than 30 years left her “vulnerable to blackmail,” according to the Mail.
The newspaper obtained compromising photographs of Kristi Noem’s insurance mogul husband, allegedly shared online with strangers while she served as Homeland Security chief, where she carried out Trump’s sweeping anti-immigration operation.
“The family was blindsided by this, and they ask for privacy and prayers at the time,” Kristi Noem’s representatives reacted in a statement to The New York Post.
National security experts told the outlet that the photographs could have been intercepted by “hostile intelligence services.”
The Daily Mail on Tuesday published images suggesting that Byron Noem engaged in a “bimbofication” fetish and reported that he sent tens of thousands of dollars, along with photos of him seeking a “Barbie doll”-like appearance, to various female models online.
In one image, the 56-year-old is wearing pink hotpants and a skin-toned spandex top stuffed with balloons to resemble comically large breasts.
During Kristi Noem’s tenure at the department, Bryon Noem was “repeatedly asked for money,” and sent his online acquaintances at least $25,000, according to the Daily Mail.
“It's astounding that somebody whose spouse is at that level has that kind of bad judgment,” U.S. counterintelligence expert Jack Barsky told the newspaper.
“If a media organization can find this out, you can assume with a high degree of confidence that a hostile intelligence service knows this as well,” added former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos.
“Damaging information like this can be a tantalizing lead for a hostile intelligence service,” Polymeropoulos added. “They approach the person and say, if you work with us we won't expose this, and if you don't, we will. That's espionage 101.”
Bryon Noem denied that his alleged activities put his wife at risk of blackmail when reached by phone by the Daily Mail.
The Independent has contacted the White House, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
The couple married in 1992 and have three children together.
Bryon Noem sat behind his wife as she was grilled by lawmakers in early March, where she gave a performance that ultimately ended her time in Trump’s cabinet.
During the congressional hearings, Kristi Noem was probed about accusations of conducting a taxpayer-funded affair with her former aide Corey Lewandowski, who has since left the Department of Homeland Security.
Both Kristi Noem and Lewandowski have vehemently denied suggestions that they had an affair, with the former previously describing the rumors as “tabloid garbage” at a House hearing. She also described the accusations as a “disgusting lie.”
The Daily Mail also reported that one of the women Byron Noem interacted with online asked the former DHS chief’s husband about the alleged affair.
“I asked him about it and his response was, ‘I know. There's nothing I can do about it,"' she told the Mail.
After being fired by Trump, Kristi Noem was named special envoy to The Shield of the Americas, a new and little-known security initiative.
Photographs of Kristi Noem and Lewandowski sitting side by side were released by the U.S. Embassy in Guyana last week, prompting further scrutiny over allegations that the pair are having an extramarital affair.
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