Overview
- NOTUS reported a Huckabee Relaxium commercial aired in Washington this month and his voice guided callers on the order line until both were removed after inquiries, with versions still viewable on Facebook and Vimeo.
- His Office of Government Ethics filing shows $414,683 in 2024 endorsement fees from Relaxium’s maker and he disclosed anticipated residuals under an agreement allowing payments from prior licenses.
- The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem says the ads were produced before his appointment, do not identify him as ambassador, and that he has no legal authority to stop their use; the embassy added, “Ambassadors need to sleep, too.”
- Relaxium’s marketer has faced scrutiny, including an FDA warning in April over clinical‑investigation compliance and a 2023 $925,000 judgment tied to automatic subscription renewals.
- Ethics experts criticized the arrangement as creating an appearance of private gain from public office, and whether he is currently being paid may not be clear until his next financial disclosure expected in May, with a possible extension to August.