NEW: Ex-Trump Official Referred To DOJ For Prosecution

Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been referred to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation over alleged perjury tied to her testimony that President Donald Trump approved a $220 million ad campaign featuring her riding a horse.

Top congressional Democrats made the referral, accusing Noem of “knowingly making false statements under oath” to Congress after she told the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month that Trump knew about and signed off on the massive commercial buy. Days later, Trump told reporters he had not approved the ads.

A source familiar with the matter told the Daily Mail the referral appears “pretty weak,” but said the questions on the $220 million advertising contracts would be the stickiest.

The referral was laid out by Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, where they wrote, “we have low expectations that you will pursue this matter given your partisan weaponization of the Department of Justice.”

“We note that the statute of limitations for knowingly and willfully making false statements to Congress is five years,” Raskin and Durbin wrote to Bondi.

Noem’s testimony became an instant flashpoint on Capitol Hill, especially after she was publicly pressed on whether the campaign was more about promoting herself than advancing the administration’s agenda.

During her hearing, hardline GOP Sen. John Kennedy questioned the optics of a cabinet secretary headlining a nine-figure taxpayer-funded blitz.

“The president approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently?” Kennedy asked her.

Noem insisted Trump personally approved the campaign, prompting Kennedy to warn, “to me, it puts the president in a terribly awkward spot.”

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“I’m not saying you’re not telling the truth,” Kennedy continued. “It’s just hard for me to believe, knowing the president as I do, that you said, “Mr. President, here’s some ads I’ve cut, and I’m going to spend $220 million running them” that he would have agreed to that.”

Within 24 hours of Noem’s testimony, she became the first cabinet secretary fired during Trump’s second term. Noem and her rumored lover, Corey Lewandowski, are set to officially depart Homeland Security on March 31.

The referral also spotlights the $220 million contract itself, which was allegedly awarded by DHS to a consulting firm linked to the husband of Noem’s former spokeswoman, Tricia McLaughlin, raising allegations of a potential conflict of interest.

Noem will be replaced by Markwayne Mullin, a conservative senator from Oklahoma.

Her firing comes as the vast majority of DHS remains shut down due to Democrats refusing to approve funding.

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