Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, said on Thursday evening that he would press for a perjury investigation into Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary whom President Trump fired hours earlier.
Mr. Blumenthal said that he would call for the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to investigate whether Ms. Noem had lied under oath during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, when she said that Corey Lewandowski, one of her top advisers, did not approve contracts for the Department of Homeland Security.
Mr. Blumenthal said that Democrats had evidence to suggest that Mr. Lewandowski had done so, and that Ms. Noem’s removal did not protect her from an investigation.
“Her firing doesn’t absolve her or relieve her of potential liability for perjury, and we are going to pursue an investigation of the evidence that she lied, because it relates to corruption in the administration,” said Mr. Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the panel.
With Republicans in control of the Senate, Democrats cannot launch a full investigation without their support. Senator Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin and the subcommittee’s chairman, would need to agree to issue any subpoenas.
But Mr. Blumenthal can still hold public forums on the topic, send letters requesting information and solicit whistle-blowers.
Ms. Noem was fired two days after she faced tough bipartisan grilling at congressional hearings on various topics, including her relationship with Mr. Lewandowski and his role at the Homeland Security Department.
Mr. Lewandowski, long an ally of Mr. Trump, was serving as a “special government employee” but had become Ms. Noem’s senior adviser and a significant figure inside the department.
During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Mr. Blumenthal directly asked Ms. Noem about Mr. Lewandowski’s position. “Does Corey Lewandowski have a role in approving contracts, and if so, what is that role?” he asked.
“His role is as a special government employee, and special government employees work for the White House and the administration,” Ms. Noem said.
”So, he does have a role,” Mr. Blumenthal replied. “No,” Ms. Noem said.
The next day, Mr. Blumenthal sent a letter to Ms. Noem suggesting she had misrepresented Mr. Lewandowski’s role.
“Evidence suggests that your testimony was false,” Mr. Blumenthal wrote, adding that department records showed that Mr. Lewandowski had “personally approved contracts” and that employees believed his signature was a “green light” for spending.
“The law requires and Congress expects witnesses to provide complete and truthful testimony,” Mr. Blumenthal wrote. “There are criminal penalties for knowingly and willfully making materially false statements or representations to Congress.”
Ms. Noem is also facing criticism for suggesting during a congressional hearing that Mr. Trump had signed off on a border security advertising campaign that prominently featured the secretary.
Mr. Trump told Reuters on Thursday that he “never knew anything about it.”
Carl Hulse is the chief Washington correspondent for The Times, primarily writing about Congress and national political races and issues. He has nearly four decades of experience reporting in the nation’s capital.
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