More than $200,000 of taxpayer money was used on production costs for an immigration advertisement prominently featuring then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, according to figures disclosed by Democratic senators on Monday.
Revealed expenses paid to subcontractor the Strategy Group, tasked with producting the $220 million ad, included a $20,000 spend on horse rental. In the ad, former South Dakota Governor Noem appears on horseback at Mount Rushmore.
The listed costs also included a $60,000 “signing bonus” for the Strategy Group, whose chief executive is married to former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. Noem’s aide, Corey Lewandowski, has also worked with the company.
The published list includes:
- $107,405 — Labor costs to The Strategy Group Company
- $60,000 — “Signing bonus” to The Strategy Group Company
- $52,599 — Videography, photography, and production vendors
- $20,000 — Horse rental
- $3,781 — Hair and makeup services
- $500 — Magic Makers, Inc., a magic store based in Sioux Falls, SD
- $41,852 — Other vendors
- Total cost in taxpayer dollars: $286,137
The list was published by Democratic Senators Peter Welch, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Richard Blumenthal, ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
Welch and Blumenthal wrote to the advertising firms Strategic Media Services Inc. and Smart Media Group LLC seeking information and records related to their agreements with Safe America Media. The company is reported to have hired both firms to place taxpayer-funded advertisements featuring Noem.
Noem faced questioning from both Democrats and Republicans before a Senate panel earlier this month regarding the contract and the process used to select the companies.
She was fired by President Donald Trump, and has been replaced by Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin, who was confirmed by the Senate on Monday.
This is a developing stor; updates to follow.
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