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Attack target: Transparency ×
Trait: Investigations into corruption are blocked, buried, or retaliated against ×
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Tier 1 carried by a primary record
Corroborated 2+ independent news desks
Every result is verified and democracy-related.
Open an event to see its evidence. Attack and trait tags link to their definitions
Mar 21, 2026 Department of Homeland Security awarded a $220 million advertising contract to associates of agency leadership Corroborated Economic Structure
A federal agency steered a large taxpayer-funded contract to political allies through a subcontracting arrangement that circumvented competitive bidding and transparency rules.
Independently corroborated by3 independent news desks
Supporting reportingSurfacings — do not carry alone
Supporting reports
- ProPublica report detailed $220 million DHS ad contract to cronies — A November 2025 ProPublica report by Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan, and Alex Mierjeski documented that the Department of Homeland Security awarded a $220 million contract for a taxpayer-funded advertising campaign to cronies. The contract circumvented transparency laws by being awarded to a small company that then subcontracted the work to associates of Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski. Trump allegedly commented on the arrangement: "Corey made out on that one."
Verified: Corroborated — 2+ independent news desks
Week 62 – 2026-03-21–2026-03-27
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