Watchdog catches Trump defying court order 'hundreds of times'

U.S. President Donald Trump stands on the tarmac, as he heads to board the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One en route to New York City, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., July 17, 2026. REUTERS Evan Vucci

One day after a federal judge in New York ordered the Trump administration to immediately stop airing controversial government-funded television ads featuring President Donald Trump, government watchdog group Common Cause was already ratting out the administration for countless violations.

In a two-page notice, reported by AllRise News Editor Ada Klasfeld, Common Cause told federal Judge Jennifer L. Rochon that Trump's taxpayer funded propaganda ads ran “hundreds of times” after the judge’s temporary restraining order demanded an immediate halt to them.

“Plaintiffs respectfully submit this letter to bring to the Court’s attention information relevant to Defendants’ compliance with the Court’s Temporary Restraining Order, which was entered on October 11, 2026, at 6:46 p.m. and was effective immediately,” Common Cause said, before then unloading a report of easily more than 400 spots despite the court’s binding TRO.

Trump’s “Final Battle” spot ran in 193 spots during “60 Minutes,” which aired on CBS starting at 7 p.m., said the group. And the “Maduro” ad ran in 198 spots during “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” These were in addition to many others the group was quick to catalogue Sunday and Monday.

“Plaintiffs do not presently seek contempt sanctions. But given that the ads have continued to run on October 12 — the day after Defendants insisted the ad-buy was no longer effective — Plaintiffs request a status conference to determine Defendants’ compliance,” Common Cause said in it’s Monday letter to the court.

Judge Rochon ordered the Trump administration to immediately pull a slate of taxpayer-funded pro-Trump ads that have been running on national television for two weeks. Her temporary restraining order also bars the Department of Homeland Security from spending any more of the $20 million in taxpayer funding allocated for the ad campaign. About $19 million of that allocation has already been spent on the ads.

CNBC reports the order came a day after the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office — which is defending the Trump administration in a lawsuit challenging the ads — assured Rochon that the ads would not continue airing past Sunday.

The alert by Commons Causes appears to dash that claim.

The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump personally instructed his budget director to use taxpayer money for TV ads praising him and his presidency, “setting in motion a $20 million contract that used funds from the Department of Homeland Security, according to people familiar with the matter.”

NBC News later reported that federal sources said Trump did not even alert administrators that their budgets would be footing the bill for the ads

“They didn’t sign off on it,” an official said of CBP leaders. “They were thinking, ‘There’s no way they’re going to try to take the funding from CBP for those ads.’”

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