Pierre, South Dakota - A recent report found that current Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem once accepted payment from a dark money group during her time as governor, raising concerns over possible violation of ethics requirements.

According to the report from ProPublica, while Noem was serving as governor of South Dakota in 2023, she received a payment of $80,000 from the dark money political group American Resolve Policy Fund (ARPF), which was funneled to her personal company Ashwood Strategies.

But when it came time to file her annual income disclosure form after President Donald Trump appointed her head of DHS, she chose not to include the payment.

On their own form, the ARPF did include the payment of the $1.1 million raised that year, which they described as payment for fundraising.

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While it's not unusual for a politician to work with nonprofits and other groups to raise funds to assist their political efforts, it is unusual for one to take a cut for themselves – and even more questionable for them not to report it.

As a "dark money" group, ARPF is not required to disclose the identity of its donors, leaving the source of the money she took as unknown.

Several experts told ProPublica that Noem's actions are "a likely violation of ethics requirements," and critics on social media have called it clear signs of corruption.

Throughout her tenure as governor, Noem has faced heavy criticism for using the state's taxpayer money to cover questionable expenses.

According to a report from AP News, over $640,000 in taxpayer money was used to fund travel-related costs throughout her six years as governor, which included a trip to Canada to participate in a bear hunt, a book tour, a trip to Houston for dental work, and traveling across the country last year to help Trump campaign for president.

In a statement, an attorney for Noem insisted she "fully complied with the letter and the spirit of the law" by "fully" disclosing her finances on her 2023 form, which was cleared by the Office of Government Ethics, but ignored questions specifically about the unreported $80,000 payment when pressed further.