Former DHS aide Lewandowski investigated over claims he profited from government role

Good morning. Corey Lewandowski, a former political adviser to Donald Trump and top aide at the Department of Homeland Security, is under criminal investigation over allegations he profited off his role in the US government.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) has not yet issued subpoenas or other legal demands in the criminal investigation, and a lawyer for Lewandowski did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The justice department under Trump has investigated several prominent critics of the president, but investigations of people close to Trump have been rare.

Lewandowski served as a top aide to Kristi Noem during her tenure as homeland security secretary. Allegedly, he signed some DHS contracts despite having questionable legal authority as a special government employee, according to one DHS official. Certain grants and contracts, including those involving the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), were put on hold at Lewandowski’s direction, according to two other sources.

In related news, a federal judge in California has ordered the Trump administration to halt investigations in nine states into whether noncitizens are registered to vote. The judge found that the government’s effort relied on data that was full of errors and led to intimidation of groups performing voter assistance efforts. She stated that it should be halted until polls close on election day on November 3.

The ruling comes as the Trump administration has been hunting for noncitizen voters throughout the country, claiming it is a widespread problem, when in fact it is quite rare, as even its own investigations have shown.