Judge orders three taxpayer-funded Trump administration ads pulled days before the midterms

A federal judge in New York on Friday ordered the government to pull three taxpayer-funded Trump administration ads that she found were likely made for partisan purposes, including one featuring President Donald Trump's claim that every American will get $5,000 if Republicans keep control of Congress, The Associated Press reported.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon sided with a coalition that includes the watchdog group Common Cause. The three ads are titled "$5,000 to Americans," "Every Democrat Voted Against No Tax on Tips" and "Cost of Socialism." They must come off official government websites and social media accounts, and any plans to air or distribute them through authorized third parties, including Trump's main super PAC, MAGA Inc., must be canceled, according to the AP.

Ruling from the bench after an emergency hearing, Rochon said the ads were "purely partisan" and likely violated a long-standing ban in federal spending law on using public money "for publicity or propaganda purposes," Courthouse News Service reported. In the "$5,000" spot, Trump tells viewers from the Oval Office that "if the Democrats win, you will have an economic depression" and "if the Republicans win, you will each have $5,000 in your pocket." The judge said she was "hard pressed" to see it as anything other than a direct call to support one party. "Voters are being directly asked to support one political party over another in an upcoming election," she said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Oestericher argued in court that the ad lawfully communicated the president's functions and policies, Courthouse News reported.

Rochon had earlier barred the government from running partisan ads on television after Common Cause sued the Department of Homeland Security over its use of border security funds for the clips. The group then asked her to extend that order, saying the government was using Executive Office of the President money to run the ads online. Common Cause sought the removal of more than a dozen ads before Tuesday's election, but Rochon found only three were "substantially likely" to meet the bar for propaganda, at least for now. She noted that the Government Accountability Office has said the president's office is sometimes entitled to inform the public about its policies, justify them and respond to attacks on them, the AP reported.