DHS Spokeswoman Helped Hire Husband for Ads That Got Kristi Noem Fired

A former Department of Homeland Security spokesperson was reportedly directly involved in awarding federal funds that ended up with her husband’s company, in the latest installment of the $220 million scandal that got Kristi Noem fired.

Tricia McLaughlin, who served as the public face for DHS’s brutal immigration crackdown, had significant involvement in the procurement process, and was included on email chains about vendor selection, a current DHS official told The Daily Wire.  

McLaughlin told the outlet that she had been among a group of officials who heard presentations in February from just three companies who were invited to bid. It’s not clear which companies presented bids. 

This reporting directly contradicts Noem’s testimony to Congress earlier this month, when she claimed the contract “went out to a competitive bid and career officials at the department chose who would do those advertising commercials.” It appears that’s just one of many lies Noem told under oath. 

Two companies were awarded massive federal contracts, including a $143 million contract to Safe America Media LLC, a company that had incorporated a little over a week earlier. McLaughlin told The Daily Wire that Safe America Media was selected because the men who ran it, veteran GOP media operative Mike McElwain and his top ad maker, Patrick McCarthy, were “some of the best in the business, they’ve had a storied, illustrious career.”

Safe America Media LLC then subcontracted Strategy Group, a media company headed by Benjamin Yoho, McLaughlin’s husband. His company received a total of $226,137 for five film shoots, 45 video, and six radio ad spots.

Strategy Group’s ties to Noem’s inner circle don’t stop there. The outgoing secretary was reportedly put in touch with the agency by her alleged paramour and chief adviser, Corey Lewandowski. And the company is now working on the congressional campaign of former ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan, the 28-year-old woman Noem handpicked to oversee ICE’s billion-dollar budget.

Earlier this week, Democratic lawmakers launched an investigation into how exactly the multimillion-dollar ad campaign contracts were awarded, and how that money ended up with an official’s spouse.