It’s beginning to look like the entire Trump administration has absolutely no idea what the Hatch Act is. Or at least, that none of them have the slightest intentions of following it.
Just as a refresher — the Hatch Act is a federal law that expressly prohibits employees in the executive branch of government (except for the president, vice president, and certain designated high-level officials) from engaging in political activities that could affect an election.
You’ll recall that Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway was recently busted for multiple Hatch Act violations when the Office of the Special Counsel suggested that the White House terminate her employment immediately for her blatant ignorance of the federal law.
It was soon after that several Democratic representatives called for the investigation and termination of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner for repeated violations of the same law. Now, up next on the Hatch Act chopping block is Trump’s daughter and Kushner’s wife, Ivanka Trump.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the Office of the Special Counsel today requesting an investigation into Ivanka for violating the federal law in a tweet on June 16th that was focused solely on her father’s presidential campaign and his “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Four years ago today, I introduced my father @realDonaldTrump when he launched a Campaign that would forever change America.
Because of his courage, Americans are safer and more prosperous…and the best is yet to come!
Happy Father’s Day! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ygcbg3URQx
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 16, 2019
The tweet in question praised Donald for “a Campaign that would forever change America” and featured a photo of a Trump campaign banner.
“These actions were directed specifically toward the success or failure of Donald J. Trump, a candidate in a partisan election,” CREW’s letter read. “By sharing these posts on a Twitter account that Ms. Trump uses for official government business, Ms. Trump engaged in political activity prohibited by law.”
Of course, Ivanka is technically an employee of the federal government in her capacity as an unpaid advisor to her father. She also posted the tweet from her official account that describes her as “Advisor to POTUS on job creation + economic empowerment, workforce development & entrepreneurship.”
“The profile photo on the account is an image of Ms. Trump at an official event with the South Korean president,” the watchdog group pointed out in their call to action.
We’re sure that Donald and the White House will ignore this blatant violation of federal law the same way they have in the past. But it certainly doesn’t change the fact that Trump obviously doesn’t make his administration play by the rules. Voters, pay attention!
You can read the full letter here.
Featured image via DC Tribune GalleryÂ
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