The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been secretly awarding millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded ad contracts to a Republican consulting firm with ties to top Kristi Noem aide Corey Lewandowski. The company, called Strategy Group, was awarded a $220 million contract for an ad campaign aimed at deterring illegal immigration, but the agency invoked "national emergency" at the border as it bypassed the normal competitive bidding process.
The main recipient of the contracts is a mysterious Delaware company called Safe America Media (SAM), which lists its address as that of a veteran Republican operative. However, experts say SAM may not have the capability to handle a nine-figure federal contract on its own, and its subcontractors are not disclosed in federal contracting databases.
Critics argue that this arrangement raises significant concerns about conflicts of interest and ethics violations, with some describing it as "corrupt". Government contracting experts point out that the Strategy Group has close ties to Noem and Lewandowski, and that they have worked together on multiple projects. The firm's CEO is also married to Noem's chief spokesperson at DHS.
The ad campaign in question features a stern message from Noem urging immigrants to "come here the right way", and has aired during TV shows such as Fox News' "Fox & Friends". The agency claims that it follows standard contracting procedures, but critics say that this may be an attempt to deflect scrutiny.
This latest revelation comes as Noem's control over DHS ad spending has increased significantly. Her decision to personally approve payments of $100,000 or more has raised concerns about transparency and accountability.
As the investigation into these contracts continues, questions remain about how much money Safe America Media has received, who its subcontractors are, and why it was awarded this contract without a competitive bidding process. The lack of clarity surrounding these issues suggests that further action may be needed to ensure that taxpayer funds are being used responsibly and with integrity.
The main recipient of the contracts is a mysterious Delaware company called Safe America Media (SAM), which lists its address as that of a veteran Republican operative. However, experts say SAM may not have the capability to handle a nine-figure federal contract on its own, and its subcontractors are not disclosed in federal contracting databases.
Critics argue that this arrangement raises significant concerns about conflicts of interest and ethics violations, with some describing it as "corrupt". Government contracting experts point out that the Strategy Group has close ties to Noem and Lewandowski, and that they have worked together on multiple projects. The firm's CEO is also married to Noem's chief spokesperson at DHS.
The ad campaign in question features a stern message from Noem urging immigrants to "come here the right way", and has aired during TV shows such as Fox News' "Fox & Friends". The agency claims that it follows standard contracting procedures, but critics say that this may be an attempt to deflect scrutiny.
This latest revelation comes as Noem's control over DHS ad spending has increased significantly. Her decision to personally approve payments of $100,000 or more has raised concerns about transparency and accountability.
As the investigation into these contracts continues, questions remain about how much money Safe America Media has received, who its subcontractors are, and why it was awarded this contract without a competitive bidding process. The lack of clarity surrounding these issues suggests that further action may be needed to ensure that taxpayer funds are being used responsibly and with integrity.
this is getting outta hand! how can the DHS just give away millions without even bothering to have some kinda public debate? it's like they're playing with people's tax dollars 
i mean, what if Safe America Media doesn't know what they're doing and just passes the buck to some other company? that's just not right 
like how his wife is connected to Noem's chief spokesperson at DHS? it's all getting too cozy for comfort 
and what's with the "national emergency" excuse? sounds like a bunch of hooey to me 
it's time for someone to shine a light on what's going on and make sure our tax dollars aren't being wasted 
i mean i know they're all the rage but honestly it's just a slice of toasted bread with some overpriced avocado on top... anyway back to this contract thingy... what even is the point of having a national emergency at the border if we can't even get our contracts right? 
and omg have you seen those ads on Fox News? "come here the right way" lol like what's the plan again? 
like how can they just award a huge contract to this company without even bidding it out? isn't that, like, against the rules or something? 
and what's up with Corey Lewandowski being involved? I've seen him on Fox News before and he seems super biased 
It's all about who you know and having the right connections. I'm not buying it. The fact that Corey Lewandowski is involved with this whole thing just adds fuel to the fire 
. And what really gets my goat is that they're not being transparent about who their subcontractors are or how much money Safe America Media has received. It's like they want us to be in the dark about it 
. Something's gotta be done about this, and fast! 
That's like building 100 new highways every year! 
The problem is, it seems like the process was skipped altogether... I mean, "national emergency" bypassing the normal competitive bidding process. 
This just smells like a big ol' favor fest for Strategy Group, which ties into Corey Lewandowski and Kristi Noem's world... 
Did you see the latest numbers on government ad spending? 
That's a lot of taxpayer cash being thrown around without much transparency. 
I'm just saying, we need to keep an eye on this one and make sure our tax dollars are being used responsibly... 
... I mean, what's the point of awarding a huge contract without even going through normal bidding procedures? It's like they're trying to keep it under wraps 
. And those ties to Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski are just too suspicious 
. I don't know about the ad campaign, but if it's really meant to deter illegal immigration, why not have a more nuanced approach? 
safe America Media is such a shady company & what's up with Corey Lewandowski being so connected to Kristi Noem 
it just doesn't add up! The fact that they bypassed normal bidding processes & awarded millions of dollars without transparency is, like, super red flag 
for me. Can we please get some answers about who these subcontractors are & how much money Safe America Media has received? 
how can you just bypass normal bidding processes and award huge sums to some company tied to corey lewandowski 
and kristi noem??!?! this sounds like a total conflict of interest 
and it's making me super nervous 
! Awarding millions of dollars to a company with ties to Corey Lewandowski? This is just ridiculous... I mean, what's the point of even having a competitive bidding process if you're just gonna let your buddies get the job anyway? 
. I've had friends who work for DHS before and they were always saying that government contracts are super corrupt... but I never thought it was that bad 
And what's with this "national emergency" excuse? Just to avoid scrutiny? Unbelievable. I'll be keeping a close eye on this one, folks... 
. I mean, who needs transparency when you've got a big ad campaign to run? It's like they're trying to sweep this under the rug 
. Corey Lewandowski's ties to Noem are getting out of hand - what's next, her family running the show too? 
The fact that they bypassed competitive bidding is straight-up shady 
, we can't let these people get away with lining their pockets at our expense 
. And to make matters worse, it's all about deterring illegal immigration... meanwhile, we got real issues with the actual immigrant crisis 
.
. This whole thing is just a big ol' mess 
. This is what's wrong with politics... special interests over public good 
.