As a titan of the private prison industry, GEO Group stood to benefit from Trump’s mass deportation agenda, which would require the federal government to spend tens of billions of dollars to transport, detain, monitor and deport undocumented immigrants. The company’s federal contracts in those areas already totaled more than $1 billion per year. But Zoley and his advisers were worried that the road to securing new government contracts now ran through Lewandowski. The two had history: Lewandowski and Zoley had butted heads during the transition between Trump’s November 2024 election and his January 2025 inauguration, before Lewandowski officially worked for the government, according to two industry sources and one senior DHS official familiar with the matter. During the transition, Lewandowski told Zoley that he wanted to be paid in exchange for protecting and growing GEO Group’s DHS contracts, according to a senior DHS official and three people familiar with their discussion. Zoley, concerned about the propriety of the ask, told Lewandowski he would have no part of it, the sources said, describing the confrontation as tense. Lewandowski took a role as an unpaid “special government employee” at DHS once the new administration was sworn in, where he advised and acted as a “de facto chief of staff” to Noem and, sources said, influenced contract awards. Zoley scrambled to find a way to assuage tensions from the meeting during the transition, two industry sources familiar with the matter said. He secured a follow-up with Lewandowski in late February or early March 2025. That second meeting did not go much better. Zoley offered to put Lewandowski on retainer — a recurring consulting fee — with GEO Group, according to two industry sources familiar with the matter. Lewandowski balked, saying he wanted to be compensated based on the company’s new or renewed contracts with DHS, the two sources said. “He wanted payments — what some people would call a success fee,” said a person with knowledge of the meeting.

But wait, there's more! Rta, it's so much worse than what I've quoted.

Grifting? In this economy?

Seriously? A trump appointee seems to be caught up in corruption? You don't say! (Pearl clutch)

I'm still convinced that the reason Lewandowski and Gnome were fired wasn't because of the $220M grift, but because they didn't share it with Trump.

How awful do you have to be to be ethically outperformed by an advertising company that wants to work for DHS?

Well how else is he going to buy tons of puppies for his lover to murder?! C'mon people, think!

Lewandowskiiii 🇵🇱

SURE Trump's Staff are CHARGING Companies personal Fees for the PRIVILEGE of MAYBE getting a Government contract BUT! BUT! BUT! Hunter BIDEN!

-NOT Sheeple Republicans!

I just might start a discount Guillotine shop.

Even if they face justice… The next republican admin will pardon them all, mark my words.