New: Senators have called for an investigation after a ProPublica story revealed that Kristi Noem-connected firm the Strategy Group was secretly hired as a subcontractor on a $220 million DHS ad campaign.

NEW AP INVESTIGATION: With license plate readers and local law enforcement partnerships, Border Patrol is monitoring American drivers and detaining those exhibiting ‘suspicious’ travel patterns in the U.S. interior. w/ @garanceburke https://t.co/eGqvvn0lHV

New: FBI Director Kash Patel Waived Polygraph Security Screening for Dan Bongino, Two Other Senior Staff (w/ @Bing_Chris)

In a statement, DHS said, “DHS has no involvement with the selection of subcontractors.” They said the agency does its contracting “by the book” and the process is run by career officials. “It is very sad that Pro Publica would seek to defame these public servants,” DHS added.

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McLaughlin’s husband, Strategy Group CEO Ben Yoho, didn’t respond to questions. It’s not clear how much his company has been paid. Sheahan also didn’t respond to questions.

Asked about the firm’s work for DHS, DHS spox Tricia McLaughlin said, “We don’t have visibility into why they were chosen.” “I don’t know who they’re a subcontractor with, but I don’t work with them because I have a conflict of interest and I fully recused myself," she said.

We’re still reporting on Kristi Noem, contracts at DHS, and the ad deal. If you have any information we should know, my email is joshua.kaplan@propublica.org and I’m on the encrypted messaging app Signal (you can message me at js_kaplan.85)

Read the full story here:

The same year the company got that big South Dakota ad contract, it sent up to $25k to one of Noem’s closest aides. That aide, 28-year-old Madison Sheahan, now second-in-command at ICE.

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This isn’t the first time the firm has gotten public money through a Noem contract. When she was governor of SD, the company got $8.5M in state funds for another ad campaign (starring her). A former Noem admin official told us that Noem quietly intervened to push the deal.

This is the latest ad in the campaign, which the Strategy Group made at Mount Rushmore. Noem filmed it on the second day of the government shutdown. It’s aired in recent days on “Fox & Friends.”

The consulting firm, the Ohio-based Strategy Group, has longstanding personal and business ties to Noem and her senior aides at DHS. It played a central role in Noem’s 2022 reelection campaign. And the company’s CEO is married to Noem’s chief spokesperson at DHS.

Where that $220M ended up has been unknown. The main recipient listed on public docs was a Delaware LLC created days before the deal was signed. We found there's been a secret beneficiary: a GOP consulting firm with a much longer — & more interesting — track record.

First, let's back up. Noem has starred in a sprawling ad campaign she’s said is a crucial tool to stem illegal immigration—so crucial that DHS bypassed the normal competitive bidding process, designed to prevent waste & corruption in federal contracts

NEW: We’ve uncovered the first known example of taxpayer money flowing from DHS to businesses controlled by Kristi Noem’s allies and friends. It’s part of a money trail that’s been shrouded in secrecy—and involves $220 million, a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill.

NEW: Elon Musk’s SpaceX has taken money directly from Chinese investors, according to newly unsealed testimony. It's the first time direct Chinese investment in the defense contractor has been disclosed. https://t.co/96XZU1semy

New story: @KristiNoem fast-tracked millions in disaster aid to Naples, Florida tourist attraction after campaign donor intervened

NEW: Kristi Noem has been widely criticized for slowing down FEMA's response to natural disasters. But she fast-tracked $11 million+ to fix a Florida tourist attraction — after one of her big donors reached out. https://t.co/YkZi3SuHEX

New: Kristi Noem secretly took a cut of political donations. A dark money group routed the funds to Noem's Delaware LLC, tax records show. The original source of the money remains unclear. https://t.co/yP4UKfHnIE

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