Corey Lewandowski Told Aides He Could ‘Do Whatever the F*ck I Want’ Because Trump Would Pardon Him: Report

Longtime advisor to President Donald Trump, Corey Lewandowski, reportedly told aides that he could do whatever he wanted at the Department of Homeland Security under former Secretary Kristi Noem because the president would pardon him.

According to reporting from the New York Post, Lewandowski told aides that he could “do whatever the fuck I want,” because “[Trump] will pardon me.” He allegedly made the comment while serving as a powerful adviser to Noem.

Another source told the Post that Lewandowski was “telling people he was going to get [a] pardon so he didn’t have to worry.” The Post spoke with four other people at DHS who said they never heard Lewandowski make the remark, but “it sounded like something he would say, citing their experience with him.” In response, Lewandowski denied making the comment, telling the Post that he “never said that,” and that he “never asked for a pardon” nor did he have any “reason to receive one.”

The alleged comment landed at a moment when Lewandowski was already under a harsh spotlight. Reuters reported in late February that Lewandowski, one of Noem’s top aides, had entered the cockpit of a government jet during takeoff and was also linked by sources to the firing of a pilot over a missing blanket incident. Reuters also described him as wielding outsized power as a “special government employee,” a status that allowed him to work in government in a temporary capacity.

That scrutiny intensified around a $220 million DHS advertising campaign that promoted the administration’s immigration message and featured Noem prominently. Noem defended the spending amid questions from lawmakers about the contracting process and the involvement of Republican-connected firms. ProPublica had previously reported that a company tied to Noem’s orbit received money from the campaign through a subcontracting arrangement.

Reuters reported March 5 that Trump said he had not signed off on the campaign, despite Noem’s testimony to lawmakers that he had approved the spending. “I never knew anything about it,” Trump told Reuters. The disconnect between the two became one of the major political flashpoints surrounding the ads, as the president was essentially accusing Noem of perjury. Trump told NBC that he “wasn’t thrilled” with Noem’s expensive campaign but denied a “last straw” that led to her removal from the position.

Trump has reportedly been asking aides in recent days about Lewandowski’s role in the campaign and whether he may have profited from it. An anonymous “senior White House official” told NBC that “[Trump] has mentioned the ads several times.” On March 5, it was announced that Trump fired Noem and she was replaced by Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin.