Court Finds Senior Aide to Kristi Noem Destroyed Evidence in Federal Case

<figure><img alt="Corey Lewandowski, Kristi Noem, Karen Evans" src="https://thedailybeast-thedailybeast-prod.web.arc-cdn.net/resizer/v2/RR6RIM42SJC3NE53CGZ6QT3YF4.png?auth=7e59508eb11a933b70c7c1a33b2523a838847c85bf0055863d8b44e793b249ef&amp;smart=true&amp;width=4800&amp;height=2700" /><figcaption>Photo Illustration by Eric Faison/The Daily Beast/Getty</figcaption></figure><p>A senior official to Kristi Noem has been found to have deliberately destroyed messages during a federal court case regarding significant job cuts to the disaster response agency, according to a ruling by Judge Susan Ilston.</p><p>Karen Evans, a former acting Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) chief, was determined to have deleted potentially important correspondence from the messaging app Signal, just one day after staff were reminded to preserve such messages, as reported by PunchUp.</p><p>In a ruling dated September 11, Judge Ilston stated that Evans acted with “intent to deprive” plaintiffs of relevant correspondence in their case against the downsizing measures at FEMA.</p><p>This finding follows a previous report by PunchUp that another aide to Noem had deleted nearly 30 secret chats involving the former DHS Secretary and her chief aide, Corey Lewandowski, who has faced allegations of corruption during his tenure at the agency.</p><p>The court had previously established that senior officials conducted government business involving Noem and Lewandowski through Signal on personal phones, with disappearing-message settings causing communications to be lost.</p><p>Judge Ilston found that Evans had further compromised the situation by shortening the auto-delete timer on a Signal group called “FEMA 2.0” from four weeks to just one week, shortly after Donald Trump fired Noem.</p><p>Ilston characterized Evans's actions as going “beyond gross negligence,” noting that the judge had already ordered the production of relevant communications from FEMA leadership at the time of Evans's actions.</p><p>The deleted messages pertained to a contentious reduction in FEMA staffing numbers, which was challenged by a coalition of federal employee unions, public-interest organizations, and local governments.</p><p>The ruling stated: “Taking into account all of the circumstantial evidence, including officials’ continued use of the Signal auto-delete setting even after this Court ordered the production of relevant FEMA communications, the Court concludes that at least Evans deleted Signal chats with the intent to deprive plaintiffs of the use of the chats in this litigation.”</p><p>The destruction of the messages has had significant implications for the ongoing court case. Judge Ilston has prohibited the Trump administration from relying on hindsight testimony that denied its plan to reduce FEMA staffing and ruled that the missing Signal messages would be presumed unfavorable to the government.</p><p>Noem had relied on Evans as a key decision-maker at FEMA before she ultimately led the agency. Evans acknowledged using her personal cellphone for government communications and for discussions on Signal with senior DHS officials, including Noem and Lewandowski.</p><p>The judge did not find evidence that Noem or Lewandowski were involved in the destruction of messages or were aware of Evans's actions.</p><p>This latest development follows earlier revelations that another senior aide, Joseph Guy, had lost a significant number of FEMA-related Signal communications. Guy's lawyers claimed the loss was unintentional and related to reinstalling the app, denying any discussions about deleting messages with Noem or Lewandowski.</p><p>Judge Ilston assessed Guy’s actions, calling the timing of his deletion “highly suspect,” but concluded there was insufficient evidence to determine he intended to deprive the plaintiffs of the messages.</p><p>As scrutiny of Lewandowski's conduct at DHS has intensified, the Wall Street Journal reported that investigators are examining allegations that he used his influence at DHS for personal financial gain and interfered in federal contracting related to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and the GEO Group.</p><p>Lewandowski, who left DHS with Noem after her firing, denies any wrongdoing and claims the allegations are politically motivated.</p><p>Neither Noem nor Lewandowski responded to requests for comment.</p><p>The Journal and Washington Post also reported that DHS inspector general investigators had searched the office of Kara Voorhies, a FEMA contractor closely associated with Lewandowski, as part of a broader review of spending under Noem.</p><p>There is currently no evidence that the Signal messages in question were related to Lewandowski's alleged attempts to profit from his position at DHS.</p><p>DHS and Evans were approached for comment but did not respond. A spokesperson for Guy also did not immediately reply.</p>