Conservative columnist Mike McManus was paid $10,000 to promote marriage by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, making him the 3rd columnist paid by the Bush administration to promote administration policy.
The use of taxpayer money to fund propaganda breaks federal law.
McManus' disclosure comes on the heels of Armstrong Williams' payment to promote No Child Left Behind and rally black journalists, and Maggie Gallagher's payment to talk up marriage.
McManus' column appears in about 50 U.S. newspapers, and recent columns have touted HHS' marriage initiative. Bush has ordered his Cabinet secretaries not to secretly pay columnists to promote their goals. McManus declined to comment.
