Wisconsin Democrats’ lawsuit joins broader attack on taxpayer-funded Trump ads

A Wisconsin Democratic Party lawsuit is part of a broader response to the Trump administration’s use of taxpayer funds to pay for partisan ads, a lawyer whose organization is handling the case told reporters Monday.

“It is important to pursue multiple angles of attack and ensure that there is a clear court order” to block the administration’s action, said Norm Eisen, a co-founder and board member of Democracy Defenders Action, during an online news conference Monday afternoon.

Democracy Defenders Action and the law firm Hecker Fink are representing the Democratic Party of Wisconsin in a lawsuit filed Friday. The ads, aired on broadcast, cable and streaming platforms, were labeled as paid for by the U.S. government but promoted the actions of the Trump administration and criticized opponents of President Donald Trump, the lawsuit charged.

“Using that taxpayer money to pay for political ads is illegal, unconstitutional, and just wrong,” Eisen said Monday. Other ads “actually were recycled Trump campaign ads simply relabeled ‘paid for by the United States government.’”

Despite Trump administration claims that the payment for the ads was being shifted from the federal government to a Trump-supporting super PAC, Devin Remiker, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said he saw some of the government-funded ads as recently as Sunday’s Green Bay Packers football game.

“It is very clear that we cannot take this administration or Republicans at their word and we have to hold them accountable through the courts,” Remiker said.

The Wisconsin Democrats’ lawsuit is one of three that have been filed against the ad campaign. The political watchdog group Common Cause and the Democratic National Committee filed suits last week demanding that the taxpayer-funded ads stop. A New York federal judge issued an order Sunday blocking the ads.

Eisen said a hearing to seek another temporary restraining order against the ads is scheduled this week in Washington, in the Democratic National Committee’s lawsuit, and that the Wisconsin plaintiffs would join that effort.

He said the state party’s lawsuit reflected the fact that elections are not merely national, but are administered at the state and local level as well. “We felt it was very important even though other litigation was going on to have a state party that was speaking out, to have a state candidate that was speaking out,” Eisen said. “Ours is the only case involving a state party and a state candidate.”

Along with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, the Democratic candidate for state treasurer in November, Yee Leng Xiong, is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit. He joined the lawsuit “to hold the Trump administration accountable for using your taxpayer dollars for ads promoting himself,” Xiong said. “Our tax dollars should serve the people, not promote a politician.”