Noem ad rep accuses Senate Dems of false smears
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Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) grills Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about spending on an ad campaign, which used a firm tied to Noem's past political campaign as a subcontractor. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
An ad maker behind Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's multimillion-dollar media campaign for immigration enforcement is disputing Democrats' claims about how much money it was paid.
- The Strategy Group for Media, a DHS subcontractor, was paid about $226,000 for audio and video production, not the $143 million Democrats claimed, according to a letter and invoices the company sent to lawmakers.
Driving the news: In a grilling on Capitol Hill last week, lawmakers from both parties questioned Noem's decision to spend about $200 million on ads that prominently featured her, and why a company with ties to her staff was involved in the work.
- Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) indicated that The Strategy Group took in $143 million under one contract. But the group's letter claims the company actually was paid "a sum representing approximately one-tenth of 1% of the contract value."
- The letter was a response to an inquiry from Sens. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to the firms behind the ad campaign.
Zoom in: Noem, a former South Dakota governor who's leaving DHS at the end of the month, incorrectly told lawmakers it was an open bidding process.
- Two firms, Safe America Media and People Who Think, got the business. The Strategy Group was a subcontractor for Safe America.
The intrigue: The Strategy Group's Ben Yoho previously worked for Noem's political campaigns and is married to Noem's former DHS spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin.
- Yoho's firm provided "limited production services" for the ad campaign, including a spot filmed at Mount Rushmore, according to the letter and attached billings Yoho provided lawmakers.
- The prime contractor is Safe America, a firm registered to GOP consultant Michael McElwain, that also received an inquiry letter Senate Democrats.
What they're saying: "Basic research or requesting this information from me prior to your hearing would have eliminated this diatribe and the damages done to me and The Strategy Group for Media," Yoho wrote to lawmakers. "You failed to do so."
- A spokesperson for Schiff countered that Schiff "referenced public reporting in his questioning and gave Secretary Noem multiple opportunities to correct the record. She did not, and we'd welcome the opportunity for Mr. Yoho and others involved to clarify under oath before our committee."
- "There is bipartisan interest in better understanding what Tricia McLaughlin, Kristi Noem and other administration officials knew about this no-bid contract, how it was awarded to an entity less than two weeks old, and whether Noem lied under oath in front of the committee," the spokesperson added.
By the numbers: Yoho's The Strategy Group was paid $226,137 for video and audio production that covered "5 film shoots, 45 produced video advertisements, and 6 produced radio advertisements," according to the letter.
- It cost about $92,684 to produce the ads, according to a list of production costs also shared with the senators.
- The Strategy Group also received a $60,000 signing bonus.
- The firm was also subcontracted by NCN Technology last year to make ads for a Secret Service recruitment campaign, for which it was paid $165,000.
The intrigue: Democrats also demanded to know whether there was any financial relationship between The Strategy Group and Corey Lewandowski, Noem's chief adviser and a special government employee at DHS.
- "Let me be very clear, Mr. Lewandowski has not received any money from myself, The Strategy Group for Media or any of our subsidiaries for our work with Safe America. Any such claim is disgusting and defamatory," Yoho wrote in the letter.
- In a response, Welch's office chided Yoho for not explaining "how his company was awarded this subcontract."
Marc Caputo contributed to this story.
