Senators Peters and Hassan Call for DHS to Fully Collect and Retain All Noem & Lewandowski Records

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), a senior member of the Committee, are calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to confirm that the agency has complied with federal law and retained all government records from outgoing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and her advisor Corey Lewandowski.
“We are writing to request confirmation that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has preserved all official records created by Secretary Kristi Noem and Mr. Corey Lewandowski during their tenure at DHS,”wrote Senators Peters and Hassanin their letter to DHS’s General Counsel, James Percival II. “Given serious allegations of misconduct by these officials, we are seeking your assurance that DHS has collected their electronic devices and preserved all potential records.”
The Senators highlighted that DHS has had repeated problems with records retention, including among Department leadership during the first Trump Administration. The Senators also reminded DHS that “any messages pertaining to government business that are created or received on the personal devices of Mr. Lewandowski and Secretary Noem are federal records, and DHS must preserve them as though they were transmitted on a government device.”
Finally, the Senators highlighted that Secretary Noem and Mr. Lewandowski face a wide range of misconduct allegations and that the preservation of these records is critical for any investigations.
Clickhereor see below for the full text of the letter:
We are writing to request confirmation that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has preserved all official records created by Secretary Kristi Noem and Mr. Corey Lewandowski during their tenure at DHS. Given serious allegations of misconduct by these officials, we are seeking your assurance that DHS has collected their electronic devices and preserved all potential records.
DHS has had repeated problems with records retention, including among its most senior officials. At the end of the first Trump Administration, DHS lost text messages belonging to former Acting Secretary Chad Wolf and Acting Under Secretary Ken Cucinelli. More recently, DHS claimed that it no longer retains text messages belonging to Secretary Noem, Mr. Lewandowski, and others. This potential violation of public records laws led to litigation in which DHS acknowledged that it does, in fact, save text messages, but employees are responsible for taking screenshots, which must then be saved to DHS systems. Further complicating comprehensive records retention, sources have alleged that Mr. Lewandowski used his personal phone to conduct government business. As you know, any messages pertaining to government business that are created or received on the personal devices of Mr. Lewandowski and Secretary Noem are federal records, and DHS must preserve them as though they were transmitted on a government device.
Secretary Noem and Mr. Lewandowski face a wide range of misconduct allegations. For example, Secretary Noem allegedly funneled $143 million to an advertising company owned by her former campaign advisor and the husband of the then-DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. Mr. Lewandowski allegedly reviewed all DHS contracts worth more than $100,000 before final approval by Secretary Noem. Recent reporting has raised the concern that Mr. Lewandowski used his position to steer contracts to his personal connections — a concern that President Trump apparently shares. Some of these contracts are the subject of ongoing litigation or Congressional investigation. Ongoing challenges with records retention at DHS, however, raise the risk that this and other alleged misconduct may not be able to be fully investigated.
Given past compliance issues at DHS, we stress your obligation to ensure that all federal records belonging to Secretary Noem and Mr. Lewandowski, and particularly those that are subject to pending or anticipated litigation, Congressional inquiries, or FOIA requests are preserved and not destroyed or removed. By April 3, 2026, please confirm whether, prior to their departure, DHS preserved all potential records for Secretary Noem and Mr. Lewandowski, including any records that may exist on their personal devices. Please describe the processes for doing so, including any auditing or validation of such records, as well as any gaps or irregularities that DHS identified in records belonging to Secretary Noem or Mr. Lewandowski, either as part of off-boarding or responding to prior records requests.
Thank you for your prompt attention to these matters.
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