特朗普政府主张，联邦法院无需就纳税人资助的宣传广告诉讼发表意见，因为这些广告将在周日结束。
The Trump administration argued that a federal court doesn’t need to weigh in on a lawsuit over taxpayer-funded promotional ads since their run ends Sunday anyway.
特朗普总统一直面临公众审查和多项法律挑战，原因是其政府动用高达2000万美元纳税人资金在中期选举前投放广告，其中许多广告看起来像是竞选宣传。
President Donald Trump has faced public scrutiny and several legal challenges to his administration’s use of up to $20 million in taxpayer funds to run ads ahead of the midterm elections, many of which seem like campaign spots.
国土安全部在周六的法庭文件中表示，该部门已动用资金购买广告时段，并主张这些广告不会在周日之后继续播出，政府也没有寻求额外的媒体采购。然而，非党派监督组织“共同事业”（Common Cause），该组织曾因这些电视广告起诉特朗普政府，呼吁联邦法官介入。
The Department of Homeland Security, which has used its funds to buy airtime, argued in a court filing Saturday that the ads aren’t scheduled beyond Sunday and the administration has not sought any additional media buys. However, Common Cause, a nonpartisan watchdog group that sued the Trump administration over the TV ads, called on a federal judge to intervene.
“除了他们即将终止的论点之外，被告未能提供任何保证，确保广告不会在今天之后继续播出，”共同事业在其文件中表示。“他们承认，与广告公司的合同将持续至2027年9月。”共同事业于周三向国土安全部提起诉讼，请求临时限制令，以阻止广告在法律挑战进行期间继续播出。该组织还要求法院下达更为永久的命令，禁止政府就该广告活动采取任何行动。
“Beyond their soon-to-be-cessation argument, Defendants offer no guarantee that the ads will not continue beyond today,” Common Cause said in its filing. “They acknowledge that the contract with the ad agency runs until September 2027.”Common Cause filed a lawsuit against DHS on Wednesday requesting a temporary restraining order blocking the ads from airing while the legal challenge proceeds. The group also requested a more permanent order from the court to bar the government from taking any action on the ad campaign.
纽约南区联邦法院法官珍妮弗·L·罗尚尚未就共同事业的紧急请求作出裁决。在周五的听证会上，罗尚法官（拜登任命）为政府和共同事业设定了加快进度，要求双方在此周末提交对动议的回应。
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon of the Southern District of New York has not issued a ruling on the emergency request from Common Cause. During a hearing Friday, Rochon, a Biden appointee, set an expedited schedule for the government and Common Cause to submit responses to the motion this weekend.
特朗普政府目前还面临来自民主党全国委员会和威斯康星州民主党的另外两起诉讼，这些诉讼针对特朗普在中期选举前几周利用这些广告推动其议程——实际上是推动共和党——的行为提出具体异议。
The Trump administration is facing two additional lawsuits from the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Party of Wisconsin concerning the ads. The legal challenges take specific issue with Trump running the ads to promote his agenda, and effectively the Republican party, weeks away from the midterms.
这些广告以风格化的方式呈现总统及其他内阁官员，其中一则广告呼应了共和党人关于共产主义危险的言论，另一则则宣传美国对伊朗的导弹袭击。本月早些时候，CNN 报道称至少已制作出十几则此类广告。先前播出的每则广告均包含一则免责声明，内容为“由美国政府付费”。
The ads feature stylized edits of the president and other Cabinet officials, with one spot echoing Republican rhetoric on the dangers of communism and another promoting U.S. missile strikes on Iran. Earlier this month, CNN reported at least a dozen ads had been created. Each of the previously aired spots contain a disclaimer reading “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
在周六提交的法庭文件中，国土安全部表示，美国海关与边境保护局根据一项“框架采购协议”向广告公司 LMD Agency 拨付了 2000 万美元，但指出该交易“仅用于播放已有的媒体内容”。国土安全部代理首席财务官 Holly C. Mehringer 在一份法庭宣誓书中表示，该部门在与 LMD Agency 的合同上使用了约 1900 万美元，因此可能仍有约 100 万美元未被使用。
In the Saturday court filing, DHS said that U.S. Customs and Border Protection had issued $20 million to the ad firm LMD Agency under a “blanket purchase agreement” but noted the transaction “only funded the airing of preexisting media.”Holly C. Mehringer, the acting DHS chief financial officer, said in a court affidavit that the department used approximately $19 million for the contract with LMD Agency, leaving potentially around $1 million on the table.
Mehringer 断言，国土安全部将不会在周日之后进行任何额外的媒体采购，任何剩余资金“将被解除义务”，但公共事业中心对此仍持怀疑态度。
Mehringer asserted that DHS will not make any additional media buys past Sunday and any leftover funds “will be de-obligated,” but Common Cause remained unconvinced.
“考虑到被告声称他们将继续在今天播放这些广告，国土安全部目前没有当前‘计划’使用剩余的 100 万美元——这笔钱尚未被解除义务且仍可使用——这种模糊的表述显得毫无说服力。同样，他们承诺今后不使用‘任何类似合同’来播放这些广告的诺言也显得过于有限，”该监督组织的律师们写道。
“Considering that Defendants state they will continue to run the ads today, the vague statement that DHS currently has no current ‘plans’ to use the remaining $1,000,000 — which has not been de-obligated and remains available — rings hollow. So too does the limited vow not to use ‘any similar contracts’ to air these ads going forward,” attorneys for the watchdog group wrote.
国会通过“一揽子宏大而优美的法案”为国土安全部拨款数十亿美元，用于“纪念与边境安全相关的努力和事件”。起初，该部门仅为此类别预算了 100 万美元，但白宫管理与预算办公室于 9 月 19 日将该项目的预算增加了 2000 万美元。广告随后于 9 月 23 日开始播出。
Congress allocated billions through the “one big, beautiful bill” to DHS for “commemorating efforts and events related to border security.”Initially, the department had only budgeted $1 million for this category, but the White House Office of Management and Budget added the $20 million to the item on Sept. 19. The ads began airing days later on Sept. 23.
这些广告引起了共和党和民主党议员的审查，他们质疑使用纳税人资金开展广告活动是否合法。
The ads have drawn scrutiny from Republican and Democratic lawmakers, who raised questions about whether it is legal to use taxpayer funds for ad campaigns.
白宫周二在发给《华盛顿太阳报》的一份电子邮件声明中称，这些电视广告是“总统公共服务公告”，并表示它们“并非新鲜事”，引用了前总统乔治·W·布什、巴拉克·奥巴马和乔·拜登所开展的广告活动。这些广告聚焦于政府运营的项目，例如奥巴马的《平价医疗法案》。
In an emailed statement sent to The Washington Sun on Tuesday, the White House characterized the TV-spots as “Presidential Public service announcements” and said they “are nothing new,” citing ad campaigns run by former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Those spots were focused on government-run programs like Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
特朗普上周在Truth Social上宣布，他计划自行支付广告费用，并借助其超级政治行动委员会MAGA Inc筹集的资金——这一举动可能违反联邦竞选财务法，该法律禁止总统干预超级政治行动委员会的支出决定。
Trump announced last week on Truth Social that he plans to pay for the ads himself with the help of the money he raised through his super PAC, MAGA Inc — a move that may be illegal under federal campaign finance laws that prohibit a president from directing the spending decisions of a super PAC.
白宫随后证实，特朗普仅计划为未来的广告付费，且他不打算向政府报销已经花费在媒体采购上的数百万美元。
The White House later confirmed that Trump only plans to pay for the ads going forward, and he does not plan to reimburse the government for the millions already spent on the media buys.