According to the Comptroller General as reported by the Times, there has been "a violation of federal law". The C.G. in his letter spells out just what activities are forbidden for the Bush Administration to engage in:

Can there be any doubt that the various arms of the Republican propaganda machine have engaged in every one of the above illegal activites?

The letter does not tell federal agencies they can't produce propaganda, but they must disclose the source and not attempt to pass if off as real news. It is this practice which is truly subversive to a free society.

If the Bush Administration has points it would like to make, or a message it wants to disseminate, then it should do so openly and without deceit. Surely the fact that these attempts to hide the origin of the propaganda suggest that the Republican administration is aware that their messages would not have the same power if their self-interested nature was apparent. So instead of being forthright with the American people they choose to hide their hand in producing propaganda in an effort to make people believe they are hearing from an unbiased source.

That's illegal, says the Comptroller General.

Democrats urged the Bush Administration to stop propagandizing the American people and be upfront about it's efforts to manipulate public opinion. From the Times:

Senator Lautenberg has been out front on this issue of propaganda and recently called on the White House to release all documents relating to "Jeff Gannon", another cog in the propaganda mill that has been receiving headlines of late. In his letter on the Gannon matter Lautenberg had this to say about the larger propaganda scandal:

The Bush Administration is receiving well-justified criticism and scrutiny for its policy of deceiving the American public. However, given that many of these activites have been a "violation of federal law" the question must be raised as to why there have been no indictments on any of these matters. Clearly, the fact that Republicans control all branches of government is the most obvious reason why law-breaking is being tolerated.

There must be some Republicans who are troubled by this descent into a Soviet style propaganda state. I remain pessimistic, yet hopeful, that some Republicans will begin to stand up for American values instead of merely sitting on their hands as partisan Republicans while their comrades break the law.