Corey Lewandowski, who has long served as an adviser and ally to President Trump and who worked closely with now-fired Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem may have, according to NBC News, been requesting a “success fee” as part of his work securing contracts for the department’s immigration and deportation work.
This news comes as Noem was fired in the wake of new reporting and a Senate grilling about her decision to spend hundreds of millions of dollars awarding contracts and producing advertisements for DHS that largely featured her, sometimes riding on a horse. Noem also faced criticism from Democrats and some Republicans for her management of Trump’s mass deportation and immigration enforcement agenda, which featured brutal, violent and lethal occupations of U.S. cities by ICE agents throughout the first year-plus of Trump’s second term. ICE agents were responsible for killing and injuring several U.S. citizens and non-citizens as part of these operations.
According to a new report from NBC News, Lewandowski, who was serving Noem as a top adviser, requested to be paid in exchange for helping to facilitate and expand contracts between DHS and GEO Group, a private prison company. The company already held about $1 billion in federal contracts and, during the transition, Lewandowski reportedly told George Zoley, the founder of GEO Group, that he “wanted to be paid in exchange for protecting and growing GEO Group’s DHS contracts, according to a senior DHS official and three people familiar with their discussion,” NBC News reported. (A spokesperson for Lewandowski denied NBC’s account of the Trump official’s conversations with the private prison group.)
Zoley reportedly refused and spent the next several months trying to fix the relationship. The two reportedly met again in the spring of 2025 and it did not go well for Zoley, according to NBC News:
Zoley offered to put Lewandowski on retainer — a recurring consulting fee — with GEO Group, according to two industry sources familiar with the matter.
Lewandowski balked, saying he wanted to be compensated based on the company’s new or renewed contracts with DHS, the two sources said.
“He wanted payments — what some people would call a success fee,” said a person with knowledge of the meeting.
Zoley declined, the two sources said. In the months that followed, the length of two of GEO Group’s federal contracts shrank, and currently several of its facilities that could house migrants sit idle, even as Congress and Trump have poured money into DHS to execute the mass deportation campaign. GEO Group officials believe that is tied to their not agreeing to Lewandowski’s solicitations, said a source familiar with the GEO Group officials’ thinking.
You can read more of the details here.
Retribution Crusade Hits Comey
Former FBI Director James Comey was subpoenaed as part of some sort of sweeping “grand conspiracy” investigation that one of Trump’s federal prosecutor allies in Florida is running, focused on the FBI’s past investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election to aide Trump and the other prosecutions of Trump that took place before he was reelected. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason A. Reding Quiñones is a Trump appointee who is leading the investigation.
Axios was first to report on the Comey subpoena, citing two sources with “knowledge of the situation.” The subpoena was issued to Comey last week and is related to the Intelligence Community Assessment he wrote in 2017 about Russia’s interference in our election.
What’s more, per Axios:
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump nominee who threw out the 2023 federal prosecution against him in his classified documents case, is overseeing the grand jury based out of Fort Pierce in the Southern District of Florida.
FBI Has Been Investigating Joe Kent
Before he resigned from his post at the National Counterterrorism Center, the FBI was reportedly investigating Joe Kent over allegations that he shared classified information, Semafor reported. Right after he resigned, many Trump allies jumped to paint him as a leaker.
Kent is hardly the martyr for the moment, but he is representative of the growing faction of the MAGA movement that has been onboard with all of Trump II’s goals and objectives up until this point. Kent is a far-right extremist, who has ties to white supremacists, far-right militia movements and anti-government and anti-vax ideology. He resigned over Trump’s war in Iran, which he claimed “posed no imminent threat” to the U.S. in his resignation letter.
Senate Republicans Endorse Mullin Replacement
Even though the Republican chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), expressed extreme reservations around Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s (R-OK) nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security, his nomination moved out of committee in a vote on Thursday. Paul cited both personal grievances, such as the time Mullin allegedly told Paul he understood why Paul’s neighbor assaulted him, and professional shortcomings, like the fact that Mullin made some strange and seemingly impossible to verify claims about taking classified trips as a member of the House.
Senate Republican leadership is expected to bring Mullin’s nomination to the floor for a vote next week. And they’re already mulling who they want to tap to replace him in the Senate, according to Politico. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) have endorsed Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) for the seat if Mullin is confirmed and has to vacate.
“He will be a great asset in the Senate and has my full support and endorsement,” Thune said.
In Case You Missed It
New from David Kurtz: EXCLUSIVE: Trump Admin Wrongfully Deported More Than 100 Asylum Seekers
From Josh Kovensky and Emine Yücel: The Pentagon is Setting Congress Up For a Vote That Could Provide Backdoor War Authorization
New edition of The Franchise from TPM’s Khaya Himmelman: Maricopa County’s GOP Recorder Won’t Block DOJ Overreach
Morning Memo: It’s My War and I’ll Cry If I Want To
Yesterday’s Most Read Story
Markwayne’s World: The ‘Cinematic’ And ‘Fantastical’ Life Of Trump’s DHS Pick
What We Are Reading
‘Armageddon scenario’ for gas markets as Qatar hit by missiles
Trump digs in on Powell, suggesting DOJ probe should continue
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump nominee who threw out the 2023 federal prosecution against him in his classified documents case, is overseeing the grand jury based out of Fort Pierce in the Southern District of Florida.
So, jury duty in thes cases will only be open to MAGA operatives?
Since when does any standing senator get to say who will be put in place in an empty slot? The governor of that state has the only say. And besides the chair is not empty. They are jumping the gun on this one.
So…. If they name an OK congressman as MarkyMark’s replacement isn’t that going to take a vote faway from the razor edge majority in the house ? I wonder what the OK procedure is to replace a Congressman.
No, no, no. She’s still auditioning for a better job at the top.
Based on her ruling in Donnie’s original bastard law suit against the search of MaL (that all evidence gathered under the warrant be returned,) it seems to me that restricting the jury to dyed in the wool MAGA would be a way of auditioning for a higher appointment with this regime.
Facts Only
* Corey Lewandowski requested a “success fee” from GEO Group.
* Lewandowski was advising DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
* GEO Group held approximately $1 billion in federal contracts.
* The FBI is investigating former FBI Director James Comey.
* U.S. Attorney Jason Quiñones is leading the Comey investigation.
* Judge Aileen Cannon is overseeing the grand jury in the classified documents case.
* Markwayne Mullin is nominated for DHS Secretary.
* Sen. Rand Paul expressed reservations about Mullin's nomination.
* Senate Republicans are considering a replacement for Mullin.
* The investigation into Comey is related to the 2016 election interference.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The narrative presented here is a layered campaign of suspicion, leveraging existing controversy to undermine trust in the Trump administration and its allies. The core fact – Lewandowski’s alleged fee request – is presented as a foundational revelation, immediately connected to the already problematic actions of Noem and her use of DHS funds. This immediately establishes a pattern of corruption and self-dealing. The inclusion of the Comey subpoena, overseen by Judge Cannon, isn't merely tacked on; it’s strategically placed to reinforce the idea of a deeply entrenched and politically motivated investigation. This clearly aligns with an ARC-0043 (Motte-and-Bailey) tactic – presenting a seemingly damaging detail while simultaneously diverting attention to a larger, more established narrative of wrongdoing.
The simultaneous highlighting of Mullin’s nomination and the Republican opposition further amplifies this narrative. The character assassination – citing personal grievances and “strange and seemingly impossible to verify claims” – isn’t presented as simple political disagreement, but as evidence of systemic dysfunction within the Trump administration. This mirrors ARC-0024 (Ambiguity) – the presentation of potentially dubious claims without rigorous vetting, allowing for maximum plausible deniability. The framing of Kent as a “MAGA operative” functions as a classic ARC-0018 (Red Herring) – distracting from the core issue of potential corruption by attacking the character of an already controversial figure.
The deeper pattern emerging isn't just about individual wrongdoing, but about the potential for sustained, systematic manipulation and the deliberate creation of confusion. The fact that the article itself acknowledges the inherent uncertainty regarding Lewandowski’s actions – citing a denial from his spokesperson – underscores this point. The entire piece reads like a strategic deployment of information designed to sow doubt and fuel distrust. The use of a “grand conspiracy” framing – mentioning a “sweeping investigation” – isn’t simply descriptive; it’s a calculated attempt to heighten anxiety and create a sense of existential threat, tapping into a deep-seated distrust of institutions. The implications here are significant: not just for the individuals involved, but for the broader erosion of faith in the American political system. Furthermore, the strategic inclusion of the Judge Cannon reference – a Trump appointee – strongly suggests ARC-0007 (Confirmation Bias) is at play, reinforcing pre-existing assumptions about the politicization of the judicial system.
Sentinel — Uncertain
This article exhibits several indicators consistent with AI-assisted text generation, primarily through its overly cautious framing, repetitive sentence structure, and reliance on vague attribution. The presence of rhetorical questioning and speculative conclusions points towards a deliberate attempt to construct an argument rather than present a balanced analysis.