$80K political payout to Kristi Noem spurs ethics complaints

Whistleblower group wants federal probe after Trump's Homeland Security secretary took cut of campaign gifts while South Dakota governor

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem at her confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate.

A campaign finance watchdog on Capitol Hill is calling for a federal investigation around Kristi Noem pocketing $80,000 in political donations while governor of South Dakota.

End Citizens United (ECU), a Washington, D.C.-based political action committee, on Wednesday filed formal ethics complaints with both the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section, alleging federal disclosure violations ahead of her appointment to President Donald Trump’s cabinet in January.

PAC with ties to Kristi Noem behind paid ads targeting The Dakota Scout

“The facts in this matter are clear, Secretary Noem failed to disclose an $80,000 payment from American Resolve Policy Fund, a nonprofit managed by Secretary Noem’s former campaign treasurer Staci Goede,” ECU President Tiffany Muller wrote in the complaint calling on the agencies to “take action to prevent the improper influence of our public officials.”

The complaints follow a recent report by ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization, revealing Noem received $80,000 through her personal firm, Ashwood Strategies, LLC, for helping raise funds for a nonprofit called the American Resolve Policy Fund. She did not include that payment on her December 2024 federal financial disclosure form — a month before resigning as governor to become head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Ashwood Strategies was formed and incorporated in June 2023 with Noem registered as managing member. Later that year, she received $80,000 in payments from the nonprofit American Resolve Policy Fund, which puts financial support behind Noem and Republican candidates aligned with the Castlewood native’s political agenda.

According to ProPublica, the payment was compensation for raising $800,000 for the group that paid for a social media campaign earlier this year attacking The Dakota Scout after the newspaper reported on her use of state-issued credit cards while governor.

(The Dakota Scout photo illustration)

Federal ethics laws require executive branch officials to report “all income from whatever source derived” under 5 U.S.C. § 13101 et seq. and 5 C.F.R. Part 2634, according to ECU. The group contends Noem’s failure to report the $80,000 payment is a violation.

“It looked like it was a complete shell game lining her own pockets and we really have no idea where that money truly came from or the potential conflicts of interest that it may have created,” Muller told The Dakota Scout Tuesday. “It remained hidden — and purposely hidden — and we know that omission … likely violated federal law.”

A private attorney representing Noem told ProPublica that she “did not establish, finance, maintain, or control American Resolve Fund. She was simply a vendor for a non-profit entity.”

ECU touts itself as a non-partisan organization that works to reverse the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which deregulated limits on campaign donations.

In recent months it has spotlighted Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (D-Ariz.) use of campaign funds on luxury purchases and called for the resignation of Sen. Bob Menendez following the New Jersey Democrat’s indictment on bribery charges.

ECU has also alleged violations against Republicans like President Trump, who was accused by the organization of possibly accepting bribes for pardons, and Rep. Ken Calvert of California, who — like Noem — also did not disclose financial interest information with the FEC.