Kellyanne Conway Scoffs At Hatch Act Violations: “Blah, Blah, Blah!”

White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway on Wednesday disregarded the claims that she had illegally violated part of the Hatch Act, a law barring federal employees from using their official government positions to discuss elections in a manner that may influence them. Conway’s recent comments on presidential candidate Joe Biden, as well as her previous comments on Sen. Doug Jones (D-Alabama), have been widely interpreted to violate the Hatch Act.

In 2017, Conway repeatedly spoke out against Jones during two interviews she gave related to the Alabama Senate special election in which Jones was running. She described the Democratic candidate as “weak on crime” and stated that he would definitely vote against President Donald Trump‘s proposed tax bill. The Office of Special Counsel (OSC), a separate entity from Robert S. Mueller III‘s special counsel, found that Conway was guilty of breaking the Hatch Act in these interviews and submitted a report to Trump for appropriate punishment. The White House refused to act, however, claiming that Conway had done nothing wrong.

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Conway has continued to use her government position to attack her boss’ opponents, specifically Democratic front-runner Biden. She has repeatedly brought up Biden’s previous governmental history, such as his vote on the 1994 crime bill and his role in overseeing the hearing of Anita Hill.

When reporters on Wednesday brought up Conway’s previous transgressing of the Hatch Act, as well as her recent comments on Biden, she scoffed, replying “Blah, blah, blah.” She added that “If you’re trying to silence me through the Hatch Act, it’s not going to work,” and to “let me know when the jail sentence starts.” Her remarks are unsurprising during a presidency marked by its flippant disregard for the law and known for its dismissal of how government officials should present themselves in both in their public and private lives. In fact, Politico found that during Trump’s first year in office, formal complaints to the OSC about potential Hatch Act violations had gone up over 30%.

Article by Daniel Knopf

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