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Wiz Imp

(8,469 posts)
26. The pro publica story has plenty of details. What more details do you expect?
Sat Nov 15, 2025, 04:02 PM
Nov 15

This is a great example of classic investigative reporting which is totally missing from the mainstream media today.

https://www.propublica.org/article/kristi-noem-dhs-ad-campaign-strategy-group

Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
On Oct. 2, the second day of the government shutdown, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arrived at Mount Rushmore to shoot a television ad. Sitting on horseback in chaps and a cowboy hat, Noem addressed the camera with a stern message for immigrants: “Break our laws, we’ll punish you.”

Noem has hailed the more than $200 million, taxpayer-funded ad campaign as a crucial tool to stem illegal immigration. Her agency invoked the “national emergency” at the border as it awarded contracts for the campaign, bypassing the normal competitive bidding process designed to prevent waste and corruption.

The Department of Homeland Security has kept at least one beneficiary of the nine-figure ad deal a secret, records and interviews show: a Republican consulting firm with long-standing personal and business ties to Noem and her senior aides at DHS. The company running the Mount Rushmore shoot, called the Strategy Group, does not appear on public documents about the contract. The main recipient listed on the contracts is a mysterious Delaware company, which was created days before the deal was finalized.

No firm has closer ties to Noem’s political operation than the Strategy Group. It played a central role in her 2022 South Dakota gubernatorial campaign. Corey Lewandowski, her top adviser at DHS, has worked extensively with the firm. And the company’s CEO is married to Noem’s chief spokesperson at DHS, Tricia McLaughlin.

Recommendations

5 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Like Putin has stolen almost everything from the Russian people. Irish_Dem Nov 15 #1
Maga. They don't realize they will be the ones living like the rural Russians in the future Walleye Nov 15 #5
Just give them a liter of rot-gut vodka every day. erronis Nov 15 #6
Most of these "People of the Soil" MAGAts Stacey Grove Nov 16 #47
Yep Trump was supposed to make them millionaires and the rest of us paupers. Irish_Dem Nov 15 #10
Many of them already are...but of course, they blame the Dems... Trueblue Texan Nov 15 #17
Faux Noi$e repeats that to them over and over. Justice matters. Nov 15 #27
I worry that we are watching the heist - everywhere...all at once. yellow dahlia Nov 15 #33
We are watching the biggest heist in US history. Irish_Dem Nov 15 #37
Tip of the iceberg, for sure. yellow dahlia Nov 15 #40
It's what traitors do. Kid Berwyn Nov 15 #2
And they're going to bomb Venezuela. Initech Nov 15 #34
They really are trying. Kid Berwyn Nov 15 #36
My mind sends me to Fort Knox. Sure would like some independent investigator to check it out. n/t Paper Roses Nov 15 #3
Right. Call in the UN. Or perhaps independent observers from the Russian Federation (aka USSR). erronis Nov 15 #7
My mind goes there, as well. n/t yellow dahlia Nov 15 #41
Right after he took office for the second time popsdenver Nov 16 #45
And with crypto, as the name implies... IthinkThereforeIAM Nov 16 #48
He doesn't understand. He thinks all the money is his. That's the key that his behavior he believes he's entitled to any Walleye Nov 15 #4
The "supreme" court is either in on the heist or they are all as dumb as Thomas. erronis Nov 15 #8
They are certainly dumb in some respects. When it comes to judging people. Walleye Nov 15 #9
Their buddies and "employers" are in on it. haele Nov 15 #12
And he also thinks he is entitled to all of the power. Initech Nov 15 #35
. . . John1956PA Nov 15 #11
One of the best villians ever! pfitz59 Nov 16 #53
Corruption is the thread that runs through everything they do crud Nov 15 #13
When people were talking about trump being "transactional" I didn't really understand what that meant. erronis Nov 15 #14
they use the word "transactional" in the place of crud Nov 15 #15
Good point. calimary Nov 15 #19
Details. We need details. MineralMan Nov 15 #16
I'm sure that the regime will give us the invoices, receipts, tax records - if we ask nicely. erronis Nov 15 #18
Of course they won't. But guessing about it won't get you any closer MineralMan Nov 15 #20
They put out no bid contracts to their friends Farmer-Rick Nov 15 #21
Yes, of course they did. MineralMan Nov 15 #23
The pro publica story has plenty of details. What more details do you expect? Wiz Imp Nov 15 #26
That is exactly why they want crypto to get big... IthinkThereforeIAM Nov 16 #49
And the Republicans even save on burial expenses because markodochartaigh Nov 15 #22
and don't forget E. Normus Nov 15 #24
It should be sub rosa, Deminpenn Nov 15 #25
Fort Knox Projection? 3825-87867 Nov 15 #28
It sure does. Dave Bowman Nov 15 #29
I said something just after he was reselected. Javaman Nov 15 #30
I have been thinking that. Ugh! n/t yellow dahlia Nov 15 #42
DURec leftstreet Nov 15 #31
His administration stole so much that he knows the Treasury can't reimburse the tarrifs RainCaster Nov 15 #32
Well, what is anyone going to do to stop them? OldBaldy1701E Nov 15 #38
Kick BlueWaveNeverEnd Nov 15 #39
Who knows how many gold bars he helped himself to during his " tour" of Fort Knox! kimbutgar Nov 15 #43
Ask the rebubs you know if MW67 Nov 15 #44
We may be following the path of Saudi Arabia, one of Trmp's favorite countries ... when Saud was deposed in favor of ... eppur_se_muova Nov 16 #46
Then, if and when Dems take control... OhioBack2Blue Nov 16 #50
It's a smash and grab. xuplate Nov 16 #51
Looks like a good place to ask Rowdyag Nov 16 #52
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