Exhibit 861

Department of Education - Contract to Obtain Services of Armstrong Williams, B-305368

Exhibit 861 · Legal decision

Department of Education - Contract to Obtain Services of Armstrong Williams, B-305368

we find that the Department contracted for Armstrong Williams to comment regularly on the No Child Left Behind Act without assuring that the Department's role was disclosed to the targeted audiences.

Requested by Sen. Lautenberg and Sen. Kennedy. Relies on the Education Inspector General's report A19-F0007 (15 April 2005). Finds the Department arranged through Ketchum for Armstrong Williams to comment regularly on No Child Left Behind without assuring disclosure of the Department's role, which was covert propaganda and an Antideficiency Act violation. The Department paid Ketchum $188,543.48 for the two task orders, of which $186,000 covered amounts Ketchum paid Williams's company, the Graham Williams Group.

Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office
Date: 30 September 2005
Quoted from: Opinion, p. 1
Grade: Primary record
Document: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-305368
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.gao.gov/assets/b-305368.pdf
Accessed: 2026-11-09
Cited by: Findings citing this exhibit

Cited by

Finding POL-7.9: Primary record GAO found on 30 September 2005 that the Education Department contracted for Armstrong Williams to comment regularly on No Child Left Behind without assuring that the Department's role was disclosed, and that the arrangement "amounted to covert propaganda." The Department told GAO it paid Ketchum $188,543.48 for the two task orders, of which $186,000 covered amounts Ketchum paid Williams's company, the Graham Williams Group.