The White House has been rocked by a cover-up scandal at the top of government as Donald Trump’s hugely-influential enforcer’s secret past has been exposed.
The explosive leaked memo, obtained exclusively by the Daily Mail, sheds light on the shady dealings of Corey Lewandowski, a powerful advisor to Kristi Noem at the Department of Homeland Security and Trump’s former campaign manager.
The documents bring to light a history of questionable links to other nations, arrests and substance and alcohol abuse.
In one case he is accused of receiving $50,000 directly from the Chinese Communist Party as well as payments from Israel‘s Benjamin Netanyahu‘s Likud Party.
It also raised questions about his numerous run-ins with law enforcement, including allegedly having unwanted sexual contact with a woman in Las Vegas.
Despite the litany of cases marking his record, Lewandowski did not reference them in his background disclosure form for his role at the DHS.
It sent alarm bells ringing across the highest levels of government amid fears it could leave Lewandowski open to foreign interference.
The chief security officer at the DHS had compiled the memo earlier this year, but was forced out just weeks later.
Meanwhile superiors allegedly buried the findings and Lewandowski still has top-secret clearance through his job as de-facto chief of staff to Noem.
Donald Trump fired Lewandowski (far right) as his campaign manager during the 2016 presidential election
Corey Lewandowski’s return to power comes through Noem, whom he began advising in 2019 as South Dakota governor. The Daily Mail previously reported the two had a romantic affair, which both married officials denied
Chief security officer Richard McComb wrote the four-page memo on March 7 to his boss, Department under secretary for management Randolph ‘Tex’ Alles.
While Lewandowski’s full name does not appear, McComb describes the subject as a person fired from Trump‘s 2016 presidential campaign.
And on page three the subject’s firm is listed as Lewandowski Strategic Advisors. A current DHS official also confirmed it is Lewandowski.
The documents warned Homeland Security leaders Lewandowski was reported in 2018 for receiving a $50,000 payment directly from the CCP.
The memo does not state which ‘financial organization’ reported him.
McComb wrote: ‘In 2018 the subject was reported by financial organization flagging a $50,000 payment from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China for which the economic purpose could not be established.’
He wrote Lewandowski did not disclose the suspicious foreign payments from China on his background disclosure form for his new role.
The memo details other extensive foreign contacts, listing meetings with officials from 13 countries including India, Taiwan, Morocco, Israel and others in 2017.
McComb notes Lewandowski’s firm also received payments from Israel’s Likud Party in 2020 to advise Netanyahu’s re-election campaign.
A senior DHS official sympathetic to Lewandowski denied the payments outlined in the memo, telling the Daily Mail: ‘Lewandowski has never received foreign money.’
McComb’s concerns are marked with the designation ‘National Security Guideline B: Foreign Influence.’
DHS officials apply this classification when they suspect someone applying for top security clearance could potentially be controlled by a foreign government.
On March 7th, 2025, DHS chief security officer Richard McComb authored a memo telling his superiors that Corey Lewandowski was reported for receiving a $50,000 payment from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China
Lewandowski wanted to be granted the highest level of security clearance in the country but McComb memo details several glaring red flags, including his connections to foreign governments and struggles with substance abuse
Lewandowski told DHS investigators he was treated for substance abuse disorder in 2022
Elsewhere the memo reveals Lewandowski was treated in 2022 ‘for alcohol use disorder, substance abuse disorder, and partner relation conflicts.’
He reportedly told investigators he voluntarily sought counseling because of his alcohol use, per the memo.
Lewandowski was charged with battery in 2022 after a woman accused him of unwanted sexual contact at a Las Vegas charity dinner.
Trashelle Odom alleged he repeatedly touched her inappropriately while making sexually explicit comments. Witnesses said he appeared intoxicated during the September 2021 incident.
He later reached a plea deal with prosecutors that forced him to undergo eight hours of impulse control counseling and serve 50 hours of community service.
The charges were later dropped. Lewandowski did not disclose his 2022 deal with prosecutors on his background check form, according to the DHS memo.
McComb’s memo reveals Lewandowski faced at least one federal investigation for bribery in 2021 – and another for money laundering in 2020 – though both were ultimately closed without charges being filed.
Lewandowski’s full history of criminal allegations dates back to 1999 when was arrested for carrying a handgun and several rounds of ammunition into the Longworth House Office Building in Washington DC.
He claimed the items were accidentally mixed up with his dirty clothes in an overnight bag.
The charges were later dismissed, but the memo notes Lewandowski did not disclose this case on his background form.
Trashelle Odom (second left) alleged Lewandowski repeatedly touched her inappropriately while making sexually explicit comments. Witnesses said he appeared intoxicated during the September 2021 incident
Lewandowski is a close adviser and personal confidant to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem
The memo claims Lewandowski was ‘referenced’ at the time in an on-going criminal investigation
The memo also documents Lewandowski’s hostile behavior during the security investigation, including cursing at an investigator when they tried to interview his wife and yelling at them on multiple occasions.
McComb writes Lewandowski became ‘agitated’ and called the process ‘intrusive beyond his tolerance’ when investigators sought to speak with his spouse.
The memo concludes his conduct showed a troubling ‘lack of candor, dishonesty, or unwillingness to cooperate with security processing.’
A senior DHS official sympathetic to Lewandowski disputes this claim, telling the Daily Mail Lewandowski confronted a government contractor for calling ‘his wife at home 10 times in a row.’
‘He took his children to a Boston Celtics game that night. The Perraton contractor called his wife at home 10 times in a row in a very short space of time after having already left multiple messages for her.
‘Mr Lewandowski colorfully asked the contractor to stop harassing his wife, but certainly never cursed him,’ this defender claimed.
A second former DHS official reviewed McComb’s memo and validated its authenticity and the alarming concerns such a document would bring about.
A DHS insider told the Daily Mail: ‘When issues of this sort came up, at a minimum they led to significant discussion and concern about granting a clearance to the individual.
‘I have seen individuals denied clearances for findings that were less significant than these.’
Current DHS acting Chief Security Officer Iwona B. Horyn told the Daily Mail McComb’s memo ‘would not be a warning in any fashion.’
‘The memo would be characterized as a summary pending any questions,’ Horyn said.
During Trump’s first term, Lewandowski was shut out of the White House inner circle and worked as a lobbyist for various foreign political parties, as detailed in McComb’s memo
Horyn was given a copy of McComb’s original memo, according to page four of the memo.
Following McComb’s ouster after his red flags on Lewandowski, she took over his position at Homeland Security.
Other insiders paint McComb as a bitter employee seeking vengeance against DHS leadership due to an apparent investigation into his department for another matter.
They argue the memo was written to retaliate for a probe earlier in the week into their clearance processes, an official sympathetic to Lewandowski claimed.
This DHS official also described a second investigation into McComb focused on approving felons ‘for sensitive and important jobs’.
Additionally, this senior DHS official claimed McComb ‘had access to and was likely inappropriately using spyware on other employees’ computers without permission or authorization—including at the highest levels of the US government—and making unauthorized, unilateral decisions.’
But a former senior DHS official with firsthand knowledge told the Daily Mail McComb was not aware his office was under investigation at the time the memo was written.
This former senior insider also notes McComb wrote the memo after he was directed to do so by his boss Alles.
The source says Alles was also later pushed out of DHS in retaliation for the memo. Faced with a ‘proposed termination,’ McComb decided to retire after 10 years in DHS.
The memo claims Lewandowski was uncooperative with DHS investigators vetting him for his Top-Secret clearance. Lewandowski allegedly cursed at one investigator attempting to interview his spouse as part of his background check
Lewandowski currently has significant power at the DHS and the ability to greenlight contracts and grants over $100,000.
It’s been widely reported Lewandowski is the last stop before contracts are given to Noem, who he has been linked to romantically, though he denies it.
Lewandowski managed Trump’s 2016 campaign before being fired months before the convention.
McComb’s memo notes ‘The subject was fired from the 2016 Donald J. Trump Candidate for President,’ though Lewandowski maintains conduct was not the issue.
Trump actually fired him in June 2016 after pressure from Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
During Trump’s first term, Lewandowski was shut out of the White House inner circle and worked as a lobbyist for various foreign governments and political parties.
His return to power comes through Noem, whom he began advising in 2019 as South Dakota governor.
The Daily Mail previously reported the two had a romantic affair, which both married officials denied.
After Lewandowski’s 2021 battery charge, Noem cut ties but they were soon seen together at political events.
Following Trump’s 2024 victory, Noem brought Lewandowski into DHS as a special government employee, where he now wields significant influence and is permitted to continue to reap financial rewards with work outside the government.
Lewandowski did not respond to Daily Mail requests for comment and DHS declined to provide a statement from Lewandowski.