'Unorthodox': MAGA super PAC hired military musicians at top dollar despite regulations
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A super PAC supporting President Donald Trump hired musicians from the U.S. Army and gave them a hefty sum to play at a MAGA Inc. event despite federal regulations.
NOTUS reported on Tuesday that performances must be “limited to patriotic programs as opposed to pure entertainment." They are prohibited from participating when “there is fund-raising of any type connected with the event.”
Yet campaign finance disclosures from MAGA Inc. showed that each musician received $950 for participating in the event.
Federal workers are barred from using their positions to promote political campaigns, candidates or parties. A MAGA Inc. spokesperson wouldn't give any details about the event but made it clear the "Army Band" didn't play, just a few military members played. They were also not in uniform while playing.
There are some special rules for active-duty service members that bar political participation "in or out of uniform," the report said. Those rules include a ban on “partisan political fundraising activities — except as a donor,” NOTUS said, citing an Air Force memorandum from 2024 entitled, “Political season DOs and DON’Ts for [Department of Defense] employees.”
None of the musicians paid by MAGA Inc. got money from other political committees in the past 15 years, the FEC data shows. It's an "unorthodox" move, the report said. "Super PACs rarely disclose paying musicians of any kind or for any reason."
A defense policy analyst at the nonpartisan watchdog group Project on Government Oversight agreed it is unusual.
The military members playing is “definitely weird," said analyst Virginia Burger, who is a Marine Corps veteran.
She said that side gigs aren't unusual, but if a Marine photographer, for example, were to photograph a MAGA Inc. event, it could violate the Hatch Act, which restricts federal employees' participation in partisan political activity.