Conway still in favor despite ethics foul
WASHINGTON — In many ways Kellyanne Conway, the president’s most visible spokesperson, serves as the face of Donald Trump’s White House. She also embodies many of the problematic issues plaguing the new administration — from its penchant to place business interests over ethics rules to its trouble with telling the truth.
The U.S. Office of Government Ethics is recommending Conway be disciplined for using a television interview from the White House as an opportunity to shill for first daughter Ivanka Trump’s clothing line, a move Conway herself dubbed “a free commercial.”
“OGE’s regulation on misuse of position offers as an example the hypothetical case of a presidential appointee appearing in a television commercial to promote a product,” stated a letter from OGE Director Walter M. Shaub to the White House. “Ms. Conway’s actions track that example almost exactly. Therefore, I recommend that the White House investigate Ms. Conway’s actions and consider taking disciplinary action against her.”
The letter comes after a rough week for the Trump team in general, including the resignation of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, but also a tumultuous time for Conway.
Her widely lampooned statement about the nonexistent “Bowling Green massacre” terror attack was one of several false or questionable statements she’s made in recent days. In an MSNBC interview just hours before Flynn’s ouster, she stated Flynn had the “full confidence” of the president. In an interview yesterday on NBC’s “Today Show,” she stated that Flynn voluntarily resigned because “he decided that this situation had become unsustainable for him.” Hours later at a White House press briefing, White House press secretary Sean Spicer underscored repeatedly that it was Trump who “asked for and received” Flynn’s resignation.
But don’t expect the letter to stop Conway from saying things she shouldn’t. She knows there is only one person she is required to answer to, and so far that person is very pleased with her performance.
“POTUS supports me, and millions of Americans support him & his agenda,” Conway tweeted the day after she made the impromptu sales pitch. And why shouldn’t Trump approve? After all, he refused to divest himself from his multibillion-dollar conglomerate, he doubled fees at his Mar-a-Lago private club after assuming office, and took to Twitter himself to blast Nordstrom for treating his daughter “unfairly” for dropping her line, despite its poor sales.
The ethics office has no power to discipline Conway — only Trump does. But Conway’s only following his example.