No "No" From Noem

Democrat members of the House Judiciary Committee raked incompetent, cosplaying, malicious, and married Homeland Security Secretary Kristi "ICE Barbie" Noem over the coals yesterday, asking specifically about her (alleged!) sexual relationship with corrupt, violent, and married enforcer Corey Lewandowski, who serves as her "special Government employee."  The dramatic moment came when Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) asked Noem the question hovering over the hearing room:

"'At any time during your tenure, as director of Department of Homeland Security, have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?' Kamlager-Dove asked Noem.

Noem did not explicitly deny or say 'no' to the question. Instead, she became defensive in her reaction."

ICE Barbie proceeded to attack Kamlager-Dove for bringing what she called "tabloid garbage" into the hearing, yet she neither replied "yes" or "no" to the question.  Perhaps she dodged knowing that there could be evidence of a sexual relationship with her and her "special Government employee" and she didn't want to risk perjuring herself.  We posted on their relationship back in 2021.  In any event, Kamlager-Dove continued:

"It is OK for you to be offended by the question... but it is also a real question, and you should be able to answer the question, clearly, and without any hesitation if someone is asking if you or any federal official is sleeping with their subordinate," Kamlager-Dove said. "That should be the easiest... You should be wanting to answer that question because it is not about your sex life, it is about your judgment." (our emphasis)

The "tabloid garbage" was reported on extensively by the Wall Street Journal in a well-sourced article that also revealed the incident in which a senior Coast Guard pilot was illegally fired by Lewandowski after takeoff for forgetting a blanket (subsequently revealed to be a bag that apparently contained embarrassing items), only to be re-hired after no other pilot was available.  Rep. Jared Moscowitz (D-FL) later "gifted" a Coast Guard blanket to Noem as a reminder of the incident. 

(photo: Coming down from those stairs behind you, or going up?)

 

WSJ's Bombshell Noem-Lewandowski Exposé

 

We were able to get behind the paywall for the Wall Street Journal's lengthy expose of the inner chaos of the Department of Homeland Security and the special relationship between married DHS Secretary "ICE Barbie" Noem and her married "senior advisor" Corey Lewandowski.  Some excerpts:

"Within DHS, Noem and Lewandowski frequently berate senior level staff, give polygraph tests to employees they don’t trust and have fired employees—in one incident, Lewandowski fired a U.S. Coast Guard pilot after Noem’s blanket was left behind on a plane, according to people familiar with the incident. 

Simmering criticism over the past year for Noem’s policies and publicity moves exploded in Minneapolis, jeopardizing her grip over DHS and putting her standing with Trump on thin ice. [snip]

Noem and Lewandowski’s close relationship had already made Trump and his top advisers uncomfortable. Lewandowski had initially wanted to formally serve as Noem’s chief of staff, but Trump rejected the idea due to reports of a romantic relationship between the two—which he has continued to bring up, officials say.

After photos in the Daily Mail showed Lewandowski going back and forth between his apartment and Noem’s across the street last year, the secretary moved into a government-owned waterfront house on a military base in Washington that is provided to the leader of the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard falls under Noem’s purview at DHS during peacetime. Lewandowski also spends time at the house. [snip]

Lewandowski and Noem, who are both married, have publicly denied the reports of the affair, but people said they do little to hide their relationship inside the department. The DHS spokeswoman said the department “doesn’t waste time with salacious, baseless gossip.”

The pair have lately been using a luxury 737 MAX jet, with a private cabin in back, for their travel around the country, according to people familiar with the matter. [snip]

Lewandowski took Noem to functions with Republican kingmakers, introducing her as a rising star in the party. He suggested her to others as Trump’s vice president in 2024. After failing at that, Lewandowski pushed for her to get the DHS post, a role viewed as central to Trump’s agenda and one he believed could be a launchpad for a potential 2028 presidential bid. 

Officials at DHS said they believe the pair see DHS as a steppingstone to an even bigger perch." (our emphasis)

There's much more gag-worthy details in the WSJ's well-sourced and written article, e.g.,  the blanket incident reference above, Lewandowski's demand to be issued an official badge and gun, and their micromanagement of the DHS and inconsistent internal policies (on FEMA, for example). It's notable that the article often mentions the two as "the pair" and links their names throughout.  As observers have noted, their relationship is "one of the worst kept secrets in Washington."  If they are already on "thin ice" (no pun) with the Malignant Fascist, this insightful look into their clueless management of DHS and their personal shenanigans may break it for the MF.

(photo: joined at the hip)

 

"Palace Intrigue" Threatens Trump's Campaign

 

A potential power struggle within the Malignant Loser's flailing campaign is causing nervousness among the cult leader's staff, the Guardian reports:

"Donald Trump’s campaign remains jittery about the prospect of a power struggle inside the inner circle that could become a major distraction just months until the 2024 election, even if​ the jockeying for influence by top officials has ended with a truce, according to people familiar with the matter.

The momentary power play among the senior advisers is widely seen to be over, for now, after the 2016 campaign chief, Corey Lewandowski, distanced himself from suggestions he was returning to the fold to run the campaign and the current leadership remained in their roles. (Lewandowski was brought on the current campaign as an adviser.)" (our emphasis)

Lewandowski is a piece of work, even in among his despicable colleagues in the campaign. He was fired from a Malignant Loser- aligned PAC for making sexual advances to a donor's wife, and was charged with battery after an incident in 2016 when he grabbed a female reporter. His hiring is seen as an act of desperation by the Malignant Loser as he copes unsuccessfully with a surging V.P. Harris. More:

"The jitters have calmed down for now because no one expects Lewandowski or anyone else to become the head of the Trump campaign, after the other senior advisers in effect revolted at the idea of Lewandowski taking over and privately complained to Trump, the people said.

The morning that Trump formally decided to add Lewandowski to the campaign leadership, Trump told his team to 'find something for Corey to do', according to two people in the room.

​And when word reached the other senior advisers that there had been chatter about Lewandowski​ supposedly coming in to run the campaign, Trump re-expressed faith in Wiles and LaCivita in private and in public at a press conference at his Bedminster club in New Jersey." (our emphasis)

Remember that the Malignant Loser has always thrived in chaos around him, watching others vie for his approval and rewards, and this is no exception. The fact that he had no idea what to do with Lewandowski speaks to the Malignant Loser's utter lack of management and organization skills, as well as his desperation.

 

Republican Sexytime: The Guv and Corey

 

It's apparent that the former guy's well-documented history as a sexual predator and assaulter attracts those with a similar bent. One recurring example: the slimy Corey Lewandowski, the disgraced, original campaign manager to Dear Leader, before he was let go for manhandling a female reporter. Lewandowski has been using his connection with the mentally ill former guy to shill work as a "consultant" to alt-right nutjobs seeking election. One could say, based on recent reporting, that he appears to be a "hands-on" consultant, having groped a major GOP donor's wife, according to multiple witnesses. For his part, the groping goon has apparently been exiled from Dear Leader's inner circle, replaced as the head of Trump's Make America Great Again Acton super PAC. It's ironic that groping a woman is a fireable offense in former President P*ssygrabber's circles.

That said, a new report is alleging that Lewandowski is having an affair with the loony, ethics challanged Trumpist fanatic governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, who has been his client for several months:

"A conservative website, American Greatness, published a piece Tuesday claiming that, according to 'multiple' sources, Noem has been having an affair with Lewandowski 'for months.' The website did not identify any of the sources. [snip]

Noem and Lewandowski have traveled extensively together across the country for political events, and he has promoted her to members of the media. At one event in January, they were spotted partying together late in a hotel bar."

Noem has been one of Dear Leader's most ardent supporters, but has accumulated a disastrous record during the pandemic as cases in her state infection rate surged while she fought against public health guidelines and pushed for the notorious Sturgis motorcycle rally super spreader. In her response to the allegations of an affair, Noem reached for the Bible thumping card, saying of her marriage, "I’m proud of the God-fearing family we’ve raised together."  It remains to be seen, should the alleged sexytime with Corey be true (we certainly hope so),  if it will result in her ejection from Trump's circle of hypocrites.

BONUS:  Meanwhile, must distract --

 

brave pic.twitter.com/Fvzxnnbfqc

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 30, 2021

 

(photos: Lewandowski demonstrating his "consulting" technique as Noem beams. Alex Wong/Brandon Bell / Getty Images)

This Is Who They Are

Ugly.  Cruel.  Inhuman.

.@Zac_Petkanas says on Fox News a 10-year-old girl with Down Syndrome was separated from her mother at the border.

Corey Lewandowski responds: "Womp womp." pic.twitter.com/cZMXWmwbjw

— Jon Passantino (@passantino) June 19, 2018

This is the same psychopathic shitstain who assaulted a female reporter during the campaign and was accused by a Trump supporter of sexual assault in 2017.  If any of this surprises you ...

Tweet Of The Day - Lewandowski's New Gig

CNN just hired a guy who threatened a CNN reporter. Sure to be popular in the green room. https://t.co/nRcOWQWy3m

— Matthew Belloni (@THRMattBelloni) June 23, 2016

It's all about ratings.  Not a scruple among the lot of them.  Perfect match.  Oh, and the next time a reporter gets manhandled at a Rump event, don't look to us for sympathy.

BONUS: We suppose that the clowns at CNN did due diligence and know that Lewandowski is bound by a confidentiality agreement with Rump not to discuss him or his campaign. D'oh!

Tweets Of The Day - "You're Fired" Cont.

Re the Corey Lewandowski fiasco:

News not surprising when you consider that Trump's biggest achievement in life is playing a businessman who fires people.

— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) June 20, 2016

Trump is pivoting from general disorder to pure anarchy.

— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) June 20, 2016

And for the final salvo:

Corey Lewandowski is like the pilot who got fired just before the Hindenburg lifts off for Jersey.

— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) June 20, 2016

"You're Fired!" -- Trump Campaign's Lewandowski Out, "Conscience Clause" In? (UPDATED)

Say buh-bye to the journalist jostling campaign manager for neo- fascist incompetent Donald "Rump" Trump, Corey Lewandowski:

Donald J. Trump is parting ways with his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, a move that comes as the presumptive Republican nominee faces challenges as it moves toward the general election. 

“The Donald J. Trump Campaign for President, which has set a historic record in the Republican primary having received almost 14 million votes [Ed.: had to get in a little self- promotion, eh?], has today announced that Corey Lewandowski will no longer be working with the campaign,” the campaign spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, said in a statement. “The campaign is grateful to Corey for his hard work and dedication and we wish him the best in the future.”

Rump's sputtering, chaotic "campaign" apparatus has been embroiled in a power struggle between Lewandowski and Rump's eminence greasy Paul Manafort for months, with Lewandowski disappearing further into the weeds in recent weeks.  Another rival to Manafort, national political director Paul Wiley, was canned less than a month ago.

The "Conscience Clause" Last Resort

Completing the picture of a Republican sh*tstorm blowing up around Rump's "campaign" are the rifts between the "campaign" and the Republican National Committee and, the perhaps quixotic "Anybody- But- Trump" movement's desperation plan to enact a "conscience clause" in the convention rules that would allow delegates to abandon Rump:

There will be 2,472 Republican delegates going to Cleveland for the national convention, with 1,237 needed for a candidate to secure the nomination — but those intent on blocking Donald Trump are focused on a much more manageable number: 57 

That figure is 50 percent plus one of the 112-member Convention Rules Committee, the group with the power to end Trump’s grip on the GOP nomination. A victory there, said the leader of the “Free the Delegates” group on a Sunday night conference call, and it would be all downhill. 

“Once it passes Rules … it’s just kind of an easy sell,” said Kendal Unruh, a delegate from Colorado, who predicted that with the committee’s approval, winning over a majority of the full convention would be easy. “They’re not going to be putting up strong resistance to this.” [snip]

Unruh specifically will be asking the Convention Rules Committee, of which she is a member, to pass a “conscience” clause to let delegates out of their obligation to vote for the winner of their state or congressional district. She said that because many Republicans are by their nature “rule-followers,” they would be grateful for “a permission slip” to let them off the hook. She said she was heartened by House Speaker Paul Ryan’s remarks to NBC on Sunday that he wouldn’t be telling delegates what to do. (our emphasis)

The fact that spineless convention chair Rep. Paul "Lyin'" Ryan has signaled he won't oppose whatever rules the committee approves doesn't mean he's capable of standing up to Rump;  that he isn't has already been demonstrated.  It also relies on enough of these hardcore Republicans having a "conscience" when it comes to Rump;  that they don't has also already been demonstrated.

It should make for an entertaining four days in July, though.

BONUS:  Steve M. at No More Mister Nice Blog has a good perspective.

UPDATE:  Apparently the firing did not go smoothly:

Earlier Monday morning, Donald Trump and his adult children gathered for a regular strategy meeting at Trump Tower. Also present was Corey Lewandowski, the campaign's embattled manager. According to one senior Trump staffer briefed on the meeting, "things went south for Lewandowski, and he was fired." Shortly after, he was escorted out by security. Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign manager, is now fully in charge. (our emphasis)

UPDATE II:  Another incompetent goes for mocking Lewandowski (glad we don't have that problem).