ALBAWABA - The Trump administration ran three ads with funds from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), according to The Wall Street Journal, while Democrats condemned the ads as illegal propaganda and “an impeachable offense.”
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources, that “Trump personally pushed for the ads and has been involved in their creation,” adding that the funds came from the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) which is an agency within the DHS.
Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives said the funds were allocated in Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year;
Noting that on Sep 19, the Office of Management and Budget approved a release of money including “$20 million in new funding under the line item ‘Commemorative Events,’ which we suspect may well be the funding tapped to run this government propaganda.”
Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray and Homeland Security Subcommittee Ranking Member Chris Murphy said on Tuesday that:
“Using government funding to create or air political ads like the ones that have been running over the last few days is illegal and a shockingly corrupt misuse of taxpayer dollars,” in a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
Here is the Trump ad paid for by your tax dollars running on Sunday NFL games. It originally ran during the 2024 campaign. https://t.co/DOCBw7Cm7F pic.twitter.com/GtEePWjcQW
Watchdog Public Citizen said Trump’s ads “appear to violate the federal law against using taxpayer funds to finance propaganda (5 USC §3107) and related provisions of the appropriations laws as well as the Hatch Act (5 USC §7324).”
The Trump administration claimed that the ads it ran were “public service announcements,” while Murray and Murphy called that defense “as absurd as it is offensive,” adding that “the White House has failed to answer our most basic questions about where these funds are coming from and who is responsible.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who could become speaker following the midterms, stated that “we are going to hold the crooks accountable,” and “we haven’t ruled anything out,” including impeachment.
Richard Painter, who served as the White House ethics lawyer under George W. Bush, told The New York Times on Sunday that the use of federal funds for the ads could be “an impeachable offense.”
“This is very dangerous,” Painter said. “We do not allow government-sponsored propaganda in the United States.”
Pshemaf Choiaqo is a digital marketer with a passion for media, style, and presentation.
He enjoys researching unorthodox and nonconventional subjects almost as much as he enjoys writing about them.
Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive updates and enhanced content
