Former Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's husband, Bryon, was outed as a crossdresser who engaged in a bimbofication fetish in a report by the Daily Mail this week.
Now a reporter for Axios is saying that he had received a "weird lead" about the story, which involved an immigrant sex worker who was seeking vengeance because of DHS' immigration enforcement activities lead by his wife.
Earlier this week, the Daily Mail published photos and messages from three women in the 'bimbofication' scene. The women provided pictures and messages from Noem's husband, insurance mogul Bryon Noem, apparently engaging in the activity. The fetish involves transforming oneself into a big-breasted, hyperfeminized sex object.
"It's called bimbofication. People who modify their body to look like a doll. The Barbie look," one woman told the Daily Mail. "His kink is for huge, huge ridiculous boobs."
When called by the Daily Mail, Bryon Noem was asked about the interactions with the women online and also asked about supposed comments he made regarding his wife and whether he had risked national security.
"Yeah, I made no comments like that, that would lead to that," Noem told the Daily Mail. "I deny the second part of that."
Axios reporter Marc Caputo has now disclosed that he received a "weird lead" on a potential story about Bryon Noem.
"They said an immigrant sex worker, possibly in the country illegally, wanted to go public about Noem's husband using her services online —it was vengeance for DHS's immigration enforcement," Caputo wrote on X. "I couldn't land the interview."
Caputo wrote that since the story was out, he felt like he could share the information.
"[S]haring because folks sometimes wonder how reporting works. Here, I would've needed to talk to the accuser & verified the info the way the Mail did," Caputo wrote. "When we use anonymous sources: they're credible Sometimes, it means someone else gets the story."
Noem was fired as head of DHS in early March. He dismissal came after controversy involving immigration enforcement efforts that culminated in the high-profile shooting deaths of U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minnesota.
