It's not just Donald Trump that continuously lies and violates the law. Many members of his administration do the same. One of those administration aides is Kellyanne Conway.
We know that Conway is willing to lie to protect Trump, and does so on a continuing basis. But now we learn that she is also willing to repeatedly violate federal law on behalf of Trump.
Conway has used her official position in the White House to attack Democrats. That's a clear violation of the Hatch Act.
The White House said the charges by the Office of Special Counsel violated Conway's right to free speech. That's wrong. Conway has the right to say what she wants, but she cannot do that in her official capacity as a member of the Trump administration.
Here's part of how The Washington Post reports Conway's criminal conduct:
The Office of Special Counsel on Thursday recommended the removal of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway from federal office for violating the Hatch Act, which bars federal employees from engaging in political activity in the course of their work.
The report submitted to President Trump found that Conway violated the Hatch Act on numerous occasions by “disparaging Democratic presidential candidates while speaking in her official capacity during television interviews and on social media.”
The agency said that because Conway was a “repeat offender,” it was recommending that she be removed from federal office.
However, the decision about whether to remove Conway is up to Trump.
“Because Kellyanne Conway is a presidential appointee, the Office of Special Counsel itself does not have authority to discipline her,” said Daniel Jacobson, who worked at the White House Counsel’s Office under President Obama advising on ethics and compliance matters. “They can only recommend disciplinary measures and it is up to the president to take up the recommendation or not.”. . .
The Office of Special Counsel is an independent federal agency charged with enforcing the Hatch Act and other civil service rules. The office is run by Henry Kerner, whom Trump nominated to the post. It is a separate agency than the office run by now-former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who led the investigation into Russian interference.
In a letter to Kerner, the White House requested his office to withdraw and retract its report recommending Conway’s removal.
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