Conway ‘counselled’ after Ivanka promo talk
WASHINGTON • The White House said presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway “has been counselled” after she promoted Ivanka Trump’s clothing line in a television interview.
Her remarks, made Thursday on Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends program, drew quick criticism from ethics lawyers and liberal activists. Enforcing the rule will be left up to the White House itself — or a federal agency that has traditionally shown little interest in launching investigations, legal specialists said. At a briefing later in the day, White House press secretary Sean Spicer would say only that Conway had been counselled. He refused to elaborate.
Conway’s unusual product endorsement from the White House briefing room came in response to reports that retailers, including Nordstrom, have been dropping Ivanka Trump’s apparel due to lack of sales.
“It’s a wonderful line. I own some of it,” Conway said during the interview. “I’m going to give it a free commercial here. Go buy it today everybody; you can find it online.”
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump lambasted Nordstrom for its decision, saying in a tweet that his daughter had been treated “so unfairly” by the company. “She is a great person — always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!” After initially posting the message on his personal account, he later retweeted it from the official presidential handle, @POTUS.
Ethics rules that date to 1993 bar officials from promoting products for the private gain of friends and relatives. The employee’s agency — in Conway’s case, the White House — is responsible for enforcing the rules, though the Office of Government Ethics, which publicly clashed with Trump last month over his own potential conflicts of interest, could recommend disciplinary actions, the regulation states.
The OGE took to Twitter to note that its website, phone and e- mail systems were overwhelmed with contacts from citizens “about recent events.” The agency said that “when OGE learns of possible ethics violations, OGE contacts the agency, provides guidance & asks them to notify OGE of any action taken.” It said it is “actively following” that process.
Robert Weissman, president of activist group Public Citizen, said Conway’s remarks demonstrate that the Trump administration “will use the government apparatus to advance the interests of the family businesses.”
“Anyone harbouring illusions that there was some separation between t he Trump administration and the Trump family businesses has had their fantasy shattered,” Weissman said in a statement.
Nordstrom said the decision to stop selling Ivanka Trump- linked products was an economic one — the line wasn’t generating sales.