FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 2, 2026
Washington, D.C. — The Steady State, an organization of more than 450 former national security officials, today asked the Attorney General and the Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General to examine an advertising deal between Freedom 250, the group running America’s 250th-anniversary events, and Trump Media & Technology Group, the company that owns Truth Social.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week, Trump Media disclosed that it earned about $175,000 running ads for Freedom 250, and that the full amount was still owed as of September 30. President Trump’s trust owns about 41 percent of Trump Media.
Freedom 250 is part of the National Park Foundation, and according to the Foundation, most of its money comes from taxpayers. Meredith O’Rourke, the President’s longtime fundraiser, sits on the boards of both Trump Media and the National Park Foundation.
Federal rules say that when an organization spends federal money, no one with a financial stake in a company may help decide to hire it.
The Steady State asked the Inspector General to find out whether taxpayer money paid for the ads, how Trump Media was chosen, and whether Ms. O’Rourke took part in the decision or stepped aside. The letter also asks that the relevant records be preserved. It asks the Attorney General to determine whether any federal criminal law applies.
Money set aside to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday should not end up with the President’s own company through a deal shaped by someone on both sides of it. Americans deserve to know whether that happened.
The full letter is available at
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TdeDeJ2mGNfWLDdeShn8zKSUdqQYv2vs/view?usp=share_link
About The Steady State
The Steady State is an organization of more than 450 former national security professionals committed to defending American democracy from rising authoritarian threats. Its members include former ambassadors and senior State Department officials, senior CIA, Defense officials, FBI and DHS leaders, USAID and NSC staff, and senior congressional staff from both Republican and Democratic administrations.
Media Contact: contact@thesteadystate.org | (212) 685-9660