News

Government Watchdog Says Trump Administration Officials Violated Hatch Act

Officials inside former President Donald Trump‘s administration repeatedly violated the Hatch Act by actively campaigning for Trump’s reelection while holding public office, the Office of Special Counsel revealed in a report published on Tuesday.

The Hatch Act forbids government officials from using their power to influence and affect the outcomes of elections.

“OSC received over 100 complaints alleging that the senior Trump administration officials described in this Part violated the Hatch Act by using their official authority or influence to interfere with or affect an election. In essence, each allegation was that the subject official campaigned on behalf of President Trump’s reelection while acting within the scope of his or her official duties,” the report states.

More than a dozen individuals who served under Trump were identified by the OSC as having allegedly “violated the Hatch Act over the course of 18 different official interviews or media appearances. In each case, the subject official was identified by their official title, discussed administration policies and priorities related to their official duties, and/or spoke from the White House grounds,” OSC alleges. “Accordingly, the subject officials were acting in an official capacity when making the statements described in this subsection.”

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of political news in your in-box.
We find the news you need to know, so you don't have to.

The list of the accused includes former Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former White House Advisers Jared Kushner, Stephen Miller and Kellyanne Conway, former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, former White House Deputy Press Secretary Brian Morgenstern, former White House Director of Strategic Communications Alyssa Farah, former United States Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, former National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, former Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf and Marc Short, ex-Vice President Mike Pence‘s chief of staff.

A speech given by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Republican National Convention in August 2020 – despite numerous warnings about its potential illegality – was identified by OSC as a particularly egregious Hatch Act breach.

“OSC concludes that Secretary Pompeo violated the Hatch Act in two instances. First, he did so by authorizing a last-minute change to State Department policy for the purpose of promoting President Trump’s reelection. And second, he did so by devoting nearly the entirety of his RNC speech to discussing matters within his purview as Secretary of State, thereby using his official authority in furtherance of President Trump’s reelection,” OSC wrote.

“Secretary Pompeo’s speech was focused almost exclusively on the work of the State Department. In less than four minutes he discussed seven major Trump administration foreign policy decisions,” the report says. “His reference to his wife and son at the beginning of the speech appears intended to convey that he was speaking in a personal capacity. But even assuming that were true, Secretary Pompeo nevertheless violated the Hatch Act by repeatedly discussing the Trump administration’s foreign policy accomplishments.”

OSC also concluded that Trump’s White House “tacitly or expressly approved of senior officials violating the Hatch Act by campaigning for President Trump’s reelection. This conclusion is based upon the administration’s refusal to hold officials accountable for their violations, the frequency and similarity of the violations, and the fact that some administration officials repeatedly ignored the advice OSC provided to them.”

Brandon Gage

Share
Published by
Brandon Gage

Recent Posts

VIDEO: Veteran Escorted Out Of GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards’ Town Hall For Protesting Trump’s Budget Cuts For Vets

https://youtu.be/8Ps9DIuo8Pg A man who identified himself as a veteran was escorted out Republican Rep. Chuck…

3 hours ago

VIDEO: Vice President JD Vance Booed At Kennedy Center Concert

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/x0Zmyug302w Vice President JD Vance was booed on March 13 as he took his seat…

4 hours ago

VIDEO: Jewish Protest Group Occupies Trump Tower In Support Of Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil

https://youtu.be/Gx3360VdPTk Members of a Jewish-led protest group took over the lobby of Trump Tower in…

16 hours ago

Trump Administration Withdraws Nomination Of Vaccine Skeptic Dave Weldon For Director Of CDC

The Trump Administration has withdrawn its nomination of Dave Weldon, a former Republican congressman and…

16 hours ago

56% Of Americans Disapprove Of Trump’s Economic Policies, New Poll Shows

A new CNN poll reveals that a majority of respondents disapprove of President Donald Trump’s…

17 hours ago

After Senate Democrats Vow To Reject GOP Spending Bill, Government Shutdown Seems Increasingly Likely

A government shutdown is becoming increasingly likely as Senate Democrats refuse to support a Republican…

20 hours ago