Watchdog Groups Allege Trump Campaign Ads Continued After Judge's Block

Watchdog groups have asked a federal judge to intervene after alleging that taxpayer-funded campaign advertisements associated with President Donald Trump continued to air hundreds of times in the 24 hours following a judicial order to halt them. The coalition of groups, including Common Cause and Democracy Forward, stated in a new court filing on Monday evening that the ads ran nearly 400 times on programs that began airing after U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon's order took effect Sunday. Rochon had previously ruled that the ads were likely unlawful and ordered them off the airwaves immediately.

While the plaintiffs are not currently seeking contempt sanctions, they expressed concern that the ads may still be running and requested a status conference to determine the administration's compliance with the order. They acknowledged that the ongoing ad spots could potentially be explained by the government in a declaration the judge had ordered the administration to submit Monday evening.

The filing comes after Rochon rejected the Trump administration's argument that any ruling on the ad buys would be moot, as they did not plan to continue them beyond Sunday. The government had also stated it had spent approximately $19 million of the allocated $20 million for the ad campaigns.

In her temporary order, Rochon directed lawyers for the Trump administration to file a declaration Monday evening to update the court on its compliance. The watchdog groups stated they "believe the Court should be aware of developments suggesting that the conduct addressed by the Order may be continuing."

Concerns regarding the ads have been raised by ethics lawyers and some members of Congress, who cited potential violations of the Hatch Act, a law limiting the political involvement of executive branch employees. The White House has previously defended the ads, characterizing them as "educational" and "unconditionally patriotic" public service announcements. A White House spokesperson told the Daily Mail that the ads are comparable to public service announcements run by previous administrations and are "clearly not political" as they lack a call to action.