WASHINGTON — Well, somebody finally put down the remote and picked up a summons. Two federal lawsuits filed Wednesday challenge television ads funded by the government that promote President Donald Trump’s political message. The Democratic National Committee sued first; later, a coalition including Common Cause filed another case. Both seek to stop federal money from paying for the ads.
The lawsuits allege illegal misuse of public funds and prohibited government propaganda. Those are allegations, not court findings yet — but it is, at minimum, the sort of thing that should make every accountant in Washington stare into the middle distance like a guy at Kowloon realizing the table ordered another round.
According to AP’s reporting, the ads began airing in September, had already cost more than $12 million, and came through a $20 million Department of Homeland Security contract. AP reported that the money used for the campaign came from a $175 million package Congress provided to DHS for immigration enforcement. So: money appropriated for immigration enforcement reportedly helped bankroll presidential-image ads less than a month before the midterms. Real efficient use of the public till there, chief. Like using the clam-strip budget to buy a neon sign with the owner’s face on it.
The White House has defended the spots as public-service announcements. Trump said Monday his MAGA Inc. super PAC would cover them going forward, but a government-paid ad was still airing Tuesday, and he had not committed to repaying money already spent, according to AP. The legal question is now headed where these things belong: before judges, rather than being settled by whoever has the loudest CB radio in the executive branch.
Sources
- https://apnews.com/article/trump-taxpayer-funded-ads-propaganda-lawsuit-a1e286d37989f1cb5bbe13905f8fbbf1
- https://apnews.com/article/trump-ads-taxpayer-money-homeland-security-b869294503c8454db4109ae175ee9e5c
- https://oag.ca.gov/node/630803
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Featured image: Latrobe White House cropa2.jpg by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
