US judge halts President Trump’s ads funded by public money — The Hill

US federal judge Jennifer Rearden ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to halt an advertising campaign featuring him that was funded with public money. The decision, which took effect at 6:45 p.m. Eastern Time on October 11, will remain in force for two weeks.

Ban on new spending

In a four-page order, Rearden instructed the government not to allocate additional funds for the campaign and to cancel all unused advertising bookings, including those scheduled for the evening of October 11. The judge found that the dispute was not moot and that the plaintiffs — unions and other applicants — were likely to succeed in the case.

As The Hill reports, the administration had previously said that the campaign was set to end on October 11, so court intervention was allegedly unnecessary. The government also argued that the plaintiffs did not have standing to file the lawsuit and that the case had been improperly brought in New York.

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Lawsuits over the use of funds

The advertising campaign was launched several weeks before the US midterm elections. One of the videos showed footage of Trump and excerpts from his speeches in which he criticized communism and credited himself with the largest tax cut in history.

The campaign was paid for with funds allocated to US Customs and Border Protection. In court documents, the administration stated that the advertising cost nearly $20 million. The lawsuit was filed by the organization Common Cause, unions, and a candidate for the Alabama House of Representatives. Separate lawsuits were also filed by the Democratic National Committee and its Wisconsin branch.

The plaintiffs say the administration unlawfully directed funds that Congress had allocated for other purposes to advertising, and that the videos themselves constitute political propaganda paid for by taxpayers. The government’s court filing did not focus its arguments on the legality of the advertising itself.