Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is demanding a retraction from The New York Times over a report that a “windfall” contract for a political donor which was approved by DHS on her last day as its leader.

According to the report, as Noem was preparing to leave DHS, the agency bought five airplanes from the donor’s firm, Daedalus Aviation Corporation, for an astronomical markup. The Times reported Daedalus chairman William Walters donated $10,000 to Noem’s political action committee American Resolve in 2024. They noted that according to the company, “Mr. Walters did not know the group was associated with Ms. Noem at the time,” but an archived look at its homepage shows it solely promoting Noem.

“The Department of Homeland Security agreed to pay the donor’s firm $108 million for a Boeing 737 airliner that had been converted into a massive private jet, complete with a stand-up bar, two bedrooms, marble showers and a table covered in manta ray skin,” the report said, adding that the firm had bought the plane just months earlier for less than $90 million.

In addition, DHS bought two Gulfstream luxury jets and two Boeing 737 passenger planes, all at a hefty markup.

The report said that Noem, who is now a special envoy at the State Department, “declined to answer specific questions about the sale or the prices that her agency had paid.”

But after the fact, Noem raged about the article on X — calling the reporting, “factually incorrect” and “libelous.”

“I write to formally request the retraction entirely or explicit correction of the article titled ‘Kristi Noem’s Agency Gave Her Donor a Lucrative Contract Just Before She Left,'” Noem wrote.

She continued:

The article’s characterization of the individual as a “donor” (confirmed not to be the case) is materially misleading and, as unsupported by the factual record, conveys a false implication of a direct financial relationship obviously intended to influence official action.

Accuracy is fundamental to responsible journalism. If the individual did not personally make political contributions to Secretary Noem, or if the term ‘donor’ instead refers indirectly to unrelated entities or legally distinct contributions, the article simply fails to meet the standards of precision expected of The New York Times.

Numerous times clarifications were made to the journalists responsible for this libelous story. Such wording unfairly prejudices readers and creates an inference of impropriety that is not supported by the underlying facts.

Notably, Noem’s response did not challenge any of the reporting on the contract itself.

Noem was fired from her DHS position in March over controversies involving immigration tactics, as well as “questions about her agency’s awarding of contracts,” the report said. More than $900 million of those contracts went to companies led by Walters.

Noem’s successor, Markwayne Mullin, “explored backing out” of the airplane deal and consulted with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, “who shared his concerns about the possible financial ramifications,” the report said. Despite any reservations, the purchase went ahead as planned.

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The post Kristi Noem Seethes After NY Times Exposé on a Plum Contract DHS Gave to a Political Donor on Her Last Day as Secretary first appeared on Mediaite.

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