An attorney representing U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Monday sent a legal demand letter to two political consultants affiliated with the American Exceptionalism Institute, which recently released an advertisement that accused her of engaging in public corruption to flood the country with opiates.
Addressed to Wayne Ducote and Joel Riter, the letter accuses the American Exceptionalism Institute of sponsoring an advertisement containing “knowingly false and defamatory accusations of bribery and criminal corruption.”
The ad was first tracked by AdImpact Politics last Thursday, when the political advertising intelligence service reported the institute has spent or reserved $1.4 million. The advertisement claims someone “paid Senator Marsha Blackburn to pass our bill” when “pain killing pills wouldn’t sell,” and alleged that such transactions amounted to “millions for Senator Blackburn.”
Attorney Brandon J. Smith, of the firm Holtzman Vogel, told Ducote and Riter, “The advertisement’s assertions are completely false.”
Smith wrote, “Senator Blackburn has never accepted a bribe to pass legislation, nor has she ever been accused or investigated for allegedly doing so. The advertisement includes no substantiation for any of its claims about Senator Blackburn.”
The Tennessee Star could find no evidence Blackburn has ever been accused of bribery, or investigated for such crimes. A review of the public record related to ethical allegations or reports involving Blackburn returned only a handful of issues since 2008, none of which rose to the level of public corruption or bribery.
The most recent matter appears to be a Senate Ethics inquiry in 2025, which questioned whether taxpayer resources were used to support her campaign staff, but Blackburn has said the matter was investigated and closed last year. Similarly, a watchdog group in 2018 alleged that a member of her campaign staff coordinated with two political action committees (PACs), but the Federal Election Commission (FEC) eventually dismissed the complaint in a 6-0 decision.
Earlier, a 2016 audit of her campaign filings for the U.S. House in 2015-2016 found Blackburn underreported receipts and disbursements, inadequately disclosed occupation or employer information for 180 donors, and accepted about $100,000 in excessive campaign contributions. The findings resulted in a $7,500 penalty in 2019. Her campaign raised about $2.2 million during that election cycle.
The earliest ethical issue reviewed by The Star occurred in 2008, when Blackburn’s U.S. House campaign announced an internal reconciliation; it was discovered that certain FEC reports dating to 2002-2004 did not match its records. The FEC classified it as a low-priority matter.
In addition to the claims Blackburn’s attorney called defamatory, the letter also accused the American Exceptionalism Institute ad of using artificial intelligence (AI), despite Tennessee passing legislation in 2024 that requires disclosures for political ads that incorporate the novel technology to depict a candidate saying or doing something that did not actually occur.
The letter demands the institute cease and desist its ad campaign, instruct television stations to stop broadcasting the commercial, disclose whether AI was used to produce the video, preserve all records related to its the creation and dissemination, and confirm compliance within 48 hours.
“Failure to comply with these demands will be treated as further evidence of your organization’s actual malice and will inform the scope of damages Senator Blackburn pursues in any subsequent litigation,” the letter states.
Located in Alexandria, Virginia, American Exceptionalism Institute does not need to disclose its funding sources as a 501 (c) (4) nonprofit, a class of organizations often called dark money groups. However, public reporting and filings show the institute has made expenditures in support of politicians in federal and state races across the country, ranging from U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
While McConnell and Raffensperger have often sparred with President Donald Trump, the group has made expenditures in support of candidates more aligned with the president, including former U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters and former U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Marsha Blackburn” by Marsha Blackburn.
