ProPublica Questions $80K Payment to Noem

The investigative journalist outfit ProPublica is raising ethical questions about Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem's acceptance of political donors' money when she was governor of South Dakota. Noem personally received $80,000 in 2023 from a nonprofit that promotes her political career, reports the story. The nonprofit, called the American Resolve Policy Fund, described the money as a payment to Noem for the hundreds of thousands of dollars she raised for the group. "There is nothing remarkable about a politician raising money for nonprofits and other groups that promote their campaigns or agendas," reads the story. "What's unusual, experts said, is for a politician to keep some of the money for themselves."

• Noem's defense: "Then-Governor Noem fully complied with the letter and the spirit of the law" on such matters, said her attorney, Trevor Stanley. He said the Office of Government Ethics, which handles disclosure forms from federal officials, "analyzed and cleared her financial information in regards to this entity."
• No disclosure: Noem did not disclose the income—a significant boost to her $130,000 salary at the time—on her disclosure form when nominated to run the DHS, per ProPublica. Her attorney did not respond to specific questions on whether the ethics office knew about the money.
• 'Dark money': The nonprofit is categorized as a "dark money group" and is thus not required to disclose the identifies of its donors. Noem's failure to disclose the income might constitute a violation of federal ethics rules, according to story.