Trump DOJ Apologizes After Taxpayer-Funded Propaganda Ads Defy Judge's Order to Stop
The Department of Justice admitted that the Trump administration kept running the ads after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, blaming the error on a missed email.
The US Department of Justice apologized Monday after the Trump administration continued airing taxpayer-funded political advertisements despite a court order requiring them to stop, blaming an internal email delay for the violation.
US District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon—an appointee of former President Joe Biden—issued a temporary restraining order Sunday in Common Cause et al. v. Department of Homeland Security et al., blocking the administration from airing the commercials and requiring officials to cancel previously scheduled runs.
However, The Washington Post and Democracy Docket reported Monday that two of the ads ran nearly 400 times after the order took effect. Plaintiffs in the case—the advocacy group Common Cause, Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, Empire State 32BJ SEIU PAC, and Democratic Alabama state Legislature candidate Robert Hunter—filed a notice with the court informing it of the violations.
Citing the filing, Democracy Docket noted:
According to AdImpact data... the government’s ads aired in nearly 400 television spots on programs that began at 7 pm Eastern—after Rochon’s order was already in force. One of the ads aired in 193 spots during CBS’ "60 Minutes," while another aired in 198 spots during ABC’s "America’s Funniest Home Videos."
The ads continued airing Monday. As of 2:45 pm plaintiffs said an ad titled “Maduro” had aired another 20 times, one titled “Final Battle” 11 times, and another titled “The Country He Loves” once.
Rather than seeking contempt sanctions at this time, the plaintiffs are asking Rochon for a status conference to determine whether the Trump administration has complied with her order.
The Department of Justice admitted the error in a separate filing Monday, claiming that its lawyers "did not become aware of" the Rochon's emailed order "until this morning." The DOJ apologized to plaintiffs and the court, assuring Rochon that "the government is in compliance" with the temporary restraining order.
The White House said separately that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had not received notice in time to cancel the advertising purchases. The administration subsequently instructed its outside vendor to stop airing the commercials, froze future payments, and placed the $20 million funding allocation on hold.
The dispute stems from a $20 million advertising campaign financed via Office of Management and Budget (OMB) funds that were redirected to a Customs and Border Protection account designated for “commemorative events.”
The commercials featured President Donald Trump touting his political agenda, including one repurposed from his 2024 presidential campaign and another featuring Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hyping the US war against Iran.
Critics have called the ads illegal under laws including the Administrative Procedure Act and the Hatch Act, and even grounds for impeaching Trump, who has already been impeached an unprecedented two times—but never convicted by the Senate—yet again.
The Democratic National Committee last week sued Trump, the White House, OMB, and DHS over the ads, alleging that the president "personally directed this illegal activity."
