WASHINGTON — Embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s top aide and alleged lover Corey Lewandowski bragged that he could do “whatever” he wanted as a powerful federal official because he believed President Trump would pardon him, The Post has learned.
The political pit bull made the remark on multiple occasions tied to his work as a special government employee, sources revealed in the wake of the DHS duo’s downfall.
“I’m not worried. I do whatever the f–k I want. DJT will pardon me,” Lewandowski told one of The Post’s sources last year — making the flippant aside during a discussion about official actions.
Another source said Lewandowski, who is expected to leave the department this month alongside Noem, “was telling people he was going to get [a] pardon so he didn’t have to worry.”
Four other sources who have worked with Lewandowski said they didn’t hear the remark, but that it sounded like something he would say, citing their experience with him.
Lewandowski denied claiming he was free to act with impunity.
“Never said that. Never asked for a pardon and have no reason to receive one,” he told The Post.
Both sources who recounted Lewandowski’s pardon boast heard it as an all-encompassing declaration of immunity from a wide range of alleged professional and personal misconduct, exemplifying what critics view as a years-long power-trip.
Lewandowski tightly controlled operations under Noem, including approving contracts and abruptly firing staff. He’s sparked a persistent and as-yet-unproven swirl of accusations of impropriety, including reports that he and his political allies are enriching themselves with taxpayer-funded contracts.
Both he and Noem have denied having an improper relationship and allegations of any wrongdoing tied to their work at DHS.
It’s unclear what exactly Lewandowski might need a pardon for but NBC News reported Thursday that President Trump was asking if Lewandowski profited personally from a $220 million federal advertising campaign that featured Noem.
Administration officials across DC have acknowledged there are questions about how the duo ran Homeland Security. That ad campaign was the subject of a series of questions Noem faced last week on Capitol Hill. Her answers contributed to her downfall.
Although Trump has indeed pardoned many allies, there’s divided opinion about whether Lewandowski really has a get-out-of-jail-free card.
“Corey has always behaved like the rules don’t apply to him. People around Trumpworld have been waiting to see how that ends,” said a former Trump campaign adviser.
This person said that if Lewandowski was found to have abused his government position for personal gain, he doubts that Trump would grant clemency “absent a witch hunt.”
Apart from his government service, Lewandowski faced accusations but not charges in 2017 for allegedly slapping the buttocks of fellow Trump supporter Joy Villa. In 2016, he faced a battery charge that was later dropped for manhandling then-Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields.
These allegations, however, would not have necessarily been federal crimes pardonable by a president. Lewandowski called Fields’ account “delusional” at the time and called for due process in the Villa case.
Trump fired Noem on Thursday after two days of congressional hearings where she was accused by Democrats of lying about Lewandowski’s role in doling out lucrative contracts, grilled on Lewandowski’s links to firms that netted the funds, and queried about her personal relationship with him.
The “final straw,” sources told The Post, apparently was her sputtering non-denial of having “sexual relations” with Lewandowski.
Noem and Lewandowski had already been losing power since federal agents killed a second activist, Alex Pretti, in January as part of a mass-deportation surge. Trump sent their internal rival, border czar Tom Homan, to the Twin Cities to calm the situation.
But Lewandowski has been on the outs before, and his critics fear he will be back.
Lewandowski lost his job as Trump’s first campaign manager in 2016 and found himself on thin ice again in 2019 when his associate David Bossie was exposed for allegedly raking in $18.5 million for an unauthorized group called the Presidential Coalition, which reportedly fooled senior citizens into thinking they were helping Trump-aligned candidates.
A large chunk of the funds went to buy books he coauthored with Lewandowski, though the former campaign manager was not directly implicated.
In 2021, he was forced out of a pro-Trump super PAC after allegedly making unwanted advances toward donor Trashelle Odom — before following Noem into DHS more than three years later. Lawyers for Lewandowski previously told CBS the case had been dismissed.
Lewandowski’s status as an unpaid special government employee meant he didn’t have to file public financial reports. Such employees are capped at 130 days per year, but he managed to work throughout 2025 by slipping into DHS headquarters unlogged, sources said.
Still, he remains close to Trump, who is said to enjoy his friendship and to appreciate how Lewandowski handled his first presidential campaign.
“He’s a survivor,” said a different former Trump campaign official.
This source said Lewandowski’s belief that he’d get a pardon was credible.
“He’s probably right.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.