Corey Lewandowski, the powerful aide to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, privately claimed in Washington last year that he could act with near total freedom at the Department of Homeland Security because Donald Trump would pardon him, according to a New York Post report published on 11 March. The allegation goes to the heart of why Lewandowski, already a divisive figure inside Trumpworld, was said to have operated at DHS with a confidence that bordered on contempt for the usual limits of public office.
Noem and Lewandowski were already under heavy scrutiny over their handling of the department and amid separate claims about their personal relationship, which both have denied. Much of what has been alleged about Lewandowski's conduct remains unproven, and several of the most serious claims are still contested rather than established fact.
