Criminal Referral and Requests for Investigation and Preservation of Evidence Concerning Taxpayer-funded Advertisements Promoting President Trump
September 30, 2026
The Honorable Todd Blanche
Attorney General of the United States
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
The Honorable Orice W. Brown
Acting Comptroller General of the United States
Attention: Office of the General Counsel
U.S. Government Accountability Office
441 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20548
Re: Criminal referral and requests for investigation and preservation of evidence concerning taxpayer-funded advertisements promoting President Trump, September 23–27, 2026 (31 U.S.C. §§ 1341(a), 1350)
Dear Attorney General Blanche and Acting Comptroller General Brown:
I write on behalf of The Steady State to request an investigation into the use of federal funds to produce and broadcast television advertisements promoting President Donald Trump between September 23 and 27, 2026. The advertisements, which prominently assert that they have been “Paid for by the U.S. Government,” are nakedly political and clearly intended both to influence the upcoming elections and to sycophantically exalt President Trump in a spectacle of presidential self-aggrandizement.
We request that the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigate potential criminal violations and that the Government Accountability Office examine whether the expenditures complied with applicable appropriations restrictions.
These advertisements, described below, raise concerns under the Appropriations Clause of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Const. art. I, § 9, cl. 7 (“No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law”), and the Antideficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. § 1341(a)(1)(A). The investigation should determine which appropriations funded these advertisements and whether those funds were legally available for that purpose.
Section 718 of division E of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, provides: “No part of any appropriation contained in this or any other Act shall be used directly or indirectly, including by private contractor, for publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States not heretofore authorized by Congress.” Pub. L. No. 119-75, div. E, § 718, 140 Stat. 173, 495 (2026).
These circumstances warrant investigation into whether federal funds were obligated or expended in violation of section 718 and the Antideficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. § 1341(a). We further request that the Department of Justice determine whether any responsible officer or employee knowingly and willfully violated § 1341(a), thereby incurring criminal liability under 31 U.S.C. § 1350.
On September 24, 2026, members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees wrote to White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, with a copy to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, citing section 718. Senator Margaret Wood Hassan wrote the same day requesting the funding source and legal authority for the advertisements.
The Advertisements
First, a 30-second advertisement began airing on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. According to the Associated Press, it features clips of the President discussing the defeat of communism and onscreen text touting tax cuts and manufacturing. Senator Hassan’s letter identifies Fox News and Newsmax as broadcasters and describes the accompanying song as JMSN’s “Love Me.”
On Friday, September 25, 2026 a second, one-minute advertisement began airing, showing Mount Rushmore at night and incorporating material from the President’s Fourth of July weekend speech marking the country’s 250th anniversary.
A third 30-second advertisement aired over the weekend of September 26–27, 2026. In it, the President says: “With you at my side, we will demolish the ‘deep state.’ We will expel the war mongers from our government. … We will rout the fake news media, and we will liberate America from these villains once and for all.” The Associated Press reports that it is “virtually identical to one that aired in 2024” as a campaign advertisement, and that AdImpact reported spending on its placement exceeding approximately $319,000 as of September 27. AdImpact’s public creative page lists the spot as “Final Battle,” with advertiser “US Government,” under its commercial category “Election Advertisements.” The campaign version, ending with the disclaimer “Paid for by Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Inc.,” was posted on the President’s Truth Social account as early as June 29, 2023. AP reports that the 2024 version “urged viewers to ‘Join President Trump’s Fight for America,’” while the government version ends with Trump “staring straight into the camera lens with a message that says: ‘Paid for by the U.S. Government.’”
Requests for Investigation and Preservation of Evidence
For each advertisement and the series as a whole, we request that GAO identify the funding sources and determine whether the obligations and expenditures complied with section 718 and other applicable appropriations restrictions. We request that the DOJ investigate potential criminal violations, including who approved each obligation or expenditure, what those officials knew about the applicable restrictions, and whether any responsible officer or employee acted knowingly and willfully. The investigation should also determine the President’s role, if any, in directing or approving the advertisements.
We further request that the DOJ take all appropriate steps to ensure the preservation of potentially relevant evidence, including preservation requests to responsible custodians and lawful process where warranted.
Relevant materials include contracts, task orders, media-buy instructions, modifications, cancellation terms, invoices, payment and funding records, source and edited media, approval histories, contemporaneous legal and ethics reviews, and communications concerning the advertisements, including communications with any campaign committee, party committee, or political vendor. Preservation should encompass attachments and metadata and relevant records on official or nonofficial systems used for government business, subject to applicable law.
Please confirm receipt of this referral.
Regards,
Steven A. Cash
Executive Director
The Steady State
contact@thesteadystate.org
(212) 685-9660
cc: Rep. Tom Cole and Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, House Committee on Appropriations; Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Patty Murray, Senate Committee on Appropriations; Office of Special Counsel