DHS Secretary Kristi Noem ripped Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) for “peddling tabloid garbage” on Wednesday when the lawmaker asked if she had ever slept with Corey Lewandowski — while Noem’s husband sat right behind her.
The awkward moment happened as Noem testified before the House Judiciary Committee. The hearing was ostensibly focused on President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, but things took a sordid turn when Noem was pressed on her reported relationship with Lewandowski.
“At any time during your tenure as director of the Department of Homeland Security, have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?” Kamlager-Dove asked.
“Mr. Chairman, I am shocked we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today,” Noem said to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). “And ma’am that one thing that I would tell you is he is a special government employee who works for the white House, there are thousands of—”
The two women then started speaking over one another, with Noem repeating it was “garbage” and that she was offended by it. Kamlager-Dove said it was “okay to be offended by the question,” but that it was a necessary one to ask.
“It is about your judgment and decision making, it is about the 260,000 employees that work under you that want to make sure you are giving information and making decisions clearly,” Kamlager-Dove said. “It is about conflict of interest. It is about national security risk.”
“American lives are at risk,” she added.
Noem did not answer whether she had hooked up with Lewandowski.
She stared forward as Kamlager-Dove read a series of headlines related to Noem and Lewandowski, which she said she wanted entered into the record; Jordan objected to each one. Noem’s husband, Bryon, was sitting behind her during her testimony but was blocked from view as his wife was asked about her reported lover.
The prodding comes a month after the Wall Street Journal reported Noem and Lewandowski had a “close relationship”; the report said President Donald Trump and his advisors were “uncomfortable” with it.
Watch above via C-SPAN’s YouTube account.
The post Kristi Noem Asked — With Her Husband Sitting Right Behind Her — If She’s Had ‘Sexual Relations With Corey Lewandowski’ first appeared on Mediaite.