Today, upon the request of Senators Lautenberg and Kennedy, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a letter released to RAW STORY that it will investigate the legality of the payments made to columnist Maggie Gallagher by the Bush Administration. The Department of Health and Human Services transferred $21,500 in taxpayer funds to Ms. Gallagher to help promote President Bush’s marriage initiative.
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The GAO will address whether this contract between HHS and Ms. Gallagher is a violation of the prohibition against using taxpayer funds to pay for publicity or propaganda.
“Whether it is paying real journalists to create fake news or hiring fake journalists to pose as real reporters, the Bush Administration is manufacturing propaganda, plain and simple,” said Lautenberg. “The Bush administration has violated the trust of the American people.”
“The GAO is doing the right thing by investigating the illegality of the Bush Administration’s payments to Maggie Gallagher. Despite continued claims by the President that these propaganda campaigns with taxpayer funds will stop, more and more are being discovered. The President should put in place sound policies that benefit all Americans rather than pay the press to promote bad policies,” said Senator Kennedy.
