Former White House lawyer Ty Cobb
President Donald Trump recently released a campaign ad using taxpayer money, an act so blatantly illegal that even many of his fellow Republicans are fuming about it. Yet despite GOP lawmakers grumbling about it, Trump's former attorney described them as "cowardly" because they will never take substantive action to hold the president accountable.
"Trump has thrown so much lawlessness and so much corruption at the American people that his hope is that people just accept it, that they think this is the way it is, and that they surrender to him," Cobb told CNN anchor Erin Burnett on Tuesday. "[Senate Majority Leader] John Thune, [North Carolina Sen.] Thom Tillis, [Texas Sen.] John Cornyn, even [Louisiana Sen.] John Kennedy said that this was improper, that they shouldn't spend public funds on this. They know it's illegal."
When Burnett affirmed this, Cobb added that they were not going to do anything.
"We've got a cowardly Republican-led Congress, and in the absence of Congress getting involved and taking charge, we know that Todd Blanche is going to do nothing," Cobb told Burnett. "We know that the GAO is going to do nothing. We have the Russ Vought, Brendan Carr, Stephen Miller-led apparatus of Project 2025. They're out there to serve the president. They aren't there to serve the rule of law or enforce it."
He then pivoted to a commentary about the 2026 midterm elections.
"And sadly, that's what this election is about," Cobb told Burnett. "We need to step up and take the country back, and thankfully we have people like Jamie Raskin waiting in the wings. You know, I'm reading Robert Harris's book, [Agrippa], and there are very interesting parallels raised in that book."
The ad, which Trump is reported to have personally helped create through government accounts, included black-and-white footage of Trump walking down a hallway toward the camera in which he promoted Republicans during the upcoming midterm elections by saying "this is the final battle" to drive out "warmongers," "globalists" and "communists," and additionally vows to "liberate" America from "villains." The Hatch Act makes it illegal for government officials to use taxpayer money to promote their own campaigns.
"A taxpayer-funded propaganda TV spot. This is the most shameless administration of our lifetime," former Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) wrote.
Similarly, conservative commentator Sarah Longwell from The Bulwark wrote that "what’s crazy is it’s not that hard to for a White House to steer donors to an outside group who can run fluffer ads like this. But no, Trump and this administration wants to take the maximally corrupt route just to show you they can get away with it."