Kellyanne Conway is back in the headlines after an interview earlier this week with "Fox & Friends" where the senior Trump aide degraded Doug Jones, and seemingly told the voters of Alabama to not vote for him in the upcoming special election. During the interview she was asked if she was telling voters to support Roy Moore, she replied with "Folks, don't be fooled. He'll be a vote against tax cuts." Her comments created an immediate backlash on Twitter, where former director of the U.S. office of Government Ethics Walter Shaub posted that he had filed an ''official complaint" against the senior Trump aide.
I have filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which investigates Hatch Act violations. https://t.co/Mrm8al9nZz
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) November 22, 2017
Twitter outrage is bipartisan
Richard Painter, who was the chief White House ethics lawyer for George W. Bush, spoke out against Conway after the interview aired. He called for the immediate firing of Conway and wrote, "[The] Hatch Act applies to all executive branch employees except POTUS and VP. Political endorsements have to be in personal capacity, not official capacity." He finished with stating the penalty for this violation is "you're fired!"
Hatch Act applies to all executive branch employees except POTUS and VP.
— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) November 22, 2017
Political endorsements have to be in personal capacity, not official capacity. E.g,. NOT on the White House lawn! Presumptive penalty for violation: "you're fired."
As he continued to comment on the violation he made a joke comparing Conway to the turkeys Trump pardoned, writing, "Why does Kellyanne have to ruin our Thanksgiving with a Hatch Act violation?
Trump pardoned two turkeys yesterday. Looks like he should have pardoned a third." Jokes aside, he defended his remarks on Twitter, claiming that he would tell any administration to remove a White House employee for violating this law.
If anyone in the Bush White House (other than the president who is not subject to the Hatch Act) had stood on the White House lawn and trashed a candidate in an upcoming election I would have insisted that person be fired immediately.
— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) November 22, 2017
Clear evidence of Conway violating the law
Walter Shaub tweeted out a question asking if Conway was introduced using her official title during the "Fox & Friends" interview before he declared he filed a complaint against her.
It appears she was in fact in violation of the law because at the beginning of the interview she was introduced as "Counselor to the President" which is her official title. The Hatch Act specifically prohibits this type of political action to take place from the White House, only allowing for the President and Vice President from engaging in political activities such as endorsement for candidates.
The purpose of the Hatch Act is to keep trust in the White House and keep it somewhat removed from partisan politics.
This is the second time Conway has been criticized for violating ethics rules, the last being in March when she endorsed Ivanka Trump's clothing line during an interview.
