‘Paid for by government’ Trump ads aired after court deadline

Oct. 13 (UPI) — The Department of Justice has issued an apology for commercials paid for by the U.S. government promoting President Donald Trump after a judge ruled to block the ads.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon ordered on Sunday that the Trump administration could no longer run the ads, putting a two-week block on them while the courts consider a resolution. On Monday, the commercials continued to air.

Government watchdog Common Cause filed a lawsuit against the administration, alleging that it is violating federal laws that prohibit the use of government funds for political campaigns.

Rochon said in her ruling that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed in their lawsuit on the merits of their legal challenge.

The Department of Justice filed an apology with the court on Monday.

“The undersigned apologizes to the Court and the plaintiffs,” a Justice Department attorney wrote in the court filing. “Defendants understand that they are enjoined from using, disbursing, or transferring funds appropriated to the Department of Homeland Security to develop, create, disseminate, place, distribute, publish, or air the challenged advertisements; Defendants understand that they shall cancel or cause to be cancelled any slot, placement, reservation, or arrangement for the airing or dissemination of the challenged advertisements.”

The Democratic National Committee has also filed a lawsuit over the campaign-style ads.

The commercials in question began hitting the airwaves in September. There are a few versions of them, heavily featuring Trump in black and white with audio from his speeches. In the voiceovers, Trump describes a “final battle,” with the “sick political class that hates our country,” referencing political opponents.

The ads are part of Trump and the Republican Party’s late-stage efforts to push voters to the polls ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Last week, Trump said that his super PAC MAGA Inc., will begin paying for the advertisements. Trump has said on numerous occasions that he controls how the super PAC spends its money and claims it has raised nearly $1 billion.