Donald Trump began this week with an unexpected announcement: Going forward, the president said, his well-funded super PAC will start paying for his propagandistic campaign ads instead of using taxpayers’ money.

It was a welcome development; the White House’s legally dubious misuse of public funds had generated bipartisan criticism, and polls showed 86% opposition to the idea. But it did not fully resolve the burgeoning scandal. Among the lingering questions was the issue of the money that’s already been spent. The New York Times reported:

A day after President Trump said his super PAC would pay for television ads promoting him that had been funded by taxpayers, White House officials said the group did not plan to reimburse the government for the more than $10 million it had already spent on the ads.

In a statement made available to multiple news organizations, the White House’s press office said that when Trump announced the shift on Monday, he “was not referring to reimbursement.”

Soon after, when a reporter asked the president directly whether he would reimburse Americans for the millions of dollars he’s already spent, the Republican celebrated the ads but failed to directly answer the question.

Whether White House officials appreciate this or not, their position is untenable.

For all intents and purposes, members of Team Trump are effectively arguing that they ignored legal restrictions and misappropriated nearly $11.5 million in taxpayer money, and they want to assure Americans that, moving forward, they won’t misappropriate any additional funds.

That’s a step in the right direction, but there’s still the matter of the funds that have already been taken.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in an online statement, “This was historic corruption, and the president announcing he will illegally coordinate with a super PAC won’t cut it. Trump must refund the American people for these taxpayer-funded ads.”

Looking ahead to the post-midterms Congress, Murray added, “You can bet a Senate Democratic majority will investigate and deliver accountability.”

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee similarly characterized the president’s gambit as the “theft of public resources,” which comes with the expectation that the money must be paid back.

“It’s not enough to simply have his super PAC slush fund foot the bill — an illegal action itself,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a written statement. “Trump must return this money to the American people and there must be a full investigation into this gross waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars.”

The underlying scandal, in other words, hasn’t ended; it’s simply changed. Watch this space.

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