PR exec demands Senate Dems apologize for spreading 'falsehoods' about him during heated Noem hearing
The top executive of a public relations and political consulting firm, who is married to a former top Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson, is demanding an apology from Senate Democrats for their allegations that he used his wife to improperly secure lucrative contracts from the agency.
In a Thursday letter addressed to Sens. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Benjamin Yoho took aim at a figure mentioned by Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., claiming his company, The Strategy Group for Media, had secured $143 million in subcontracts.
Yoho clarified that The Strategy Group for Media had been hired in relation to media work at DHS, but not to the degree Schiff had outlined.
"We provided limited production services, for which we received $226,137.17 for video and audio production, a sum representing approximately one-tenth of one percent of the contract value [Schiff] referenced," Yoho wrote in his letter.
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He also noted that the services didn’t directly go to DHS.
"The facts are The Strategy Group for Media was hired by Safe America Media LLC to serve as a subcontractor to them for production work," Yoho explained, referring to a separate company partnering with the agency.
Yoho is married to Tricia McLaughlin, the former assistant secretary for Public Affairs at DHS who recently departed last month.
The pair’s connection to DHS came under scrutiny in the Senate when former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was probed by lawmakers about a $220 million ad campaign she had used to highlight the agency’s work. Democrats like Schiff hinted that some of that $220 million figure had ended up lining the pockets of those with close ties to the agency’s workings.
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"This statement is factually incorrect, and I respectfully request that you have your colleague correct the official record and issue an apology," Yoho wrote.
Yoho is demanding that the Democratic lawmakers strike their remarks about his company from the record.
Noem was removed as head of DHS shortly after President Donald Trump learned that she told senators that he had approved the $220M DHS ad campaign that featured her prominently throughout them.
Reports surfaced after the hearings saying that Trump was "furious" with Noem over her performance in bicameral Judiciary Committee hearings earlier this month, particularly over a contract for an advertisement that Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., and others grilled her on.
Trump reportedly took issue with her suggesting to Kennedy that he approved a taxpayer-funded ad subcontracted to a firm connected with her inner circle, according to National Review.
Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., for comment.