Watchdog agency says Conway should be removed from job
Senior White House counselor Kellyanne Conway should be removed from office for repeatedly violating a law barring federal employees from engaging in election politics in their official capacity, the Office of Special Counsel recommended.
The Office of Special Counsel Thursday sent a report to President Donald Trump, detailing how 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,” according to a statement.
An accompanying letter from the head of the office, Trump-appointee Henry Kerner, called Conway’s “disregard for the restrictions” of the Hatch Act “unacceptable.”
“Her actions erode the principal foundation of our democratic system — the rule of law,” Kerner wrote.
Though the agency has previously cited officials for violating the Hatch Act, this marks the first time the counsel has recommended a White House official be removed from office, Politico reported.
While the office can recommend Conway’s ouster, only Trump has the power to remove her.
According the report, Conway violated the Hatch Act during media appearances and while using her Twitter account in an official capacity to engage in partisan attacks against several Democrats, shortly after they announced their candidacy for president.
The report highlights Conway’s interviews in which she called New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker “sexist” and a “tinny” “motivational speaker,” suggested Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was “lying” about her ethnicity, and said former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke did not “think the women running against him are good enough to be president.”
Conway also attacked former Vice President Joe Biden in interviews and over Twitter, calling him “Creepy Uncle Joe” and describing his announcement video as “dark and spooky,” while advocating for Trump, tweeting, “#2020I’mWithHim.”
The Trump aide was well aware of her behavior, the report states, pointing to an interview in March with The Hill in which reporters questioned her previous violations of the Hatch Act.
“Blah, blah, blah,” Conway reportedly said. “If you’re trying to silence me through the Hatch Act, it’s not going to work. Let me know when the jail sentence starts.”
Despite numerous warnings from the Office of Special Counsel and having previously received another disciplinary action referral in March 2018 from the ethics watchdog for violating the Hatch Act, Conway has not just failed to comply with the office’s requests, but “escalated her partisan critiques of candidates after OSC had communicated to the White House that her conduct violated the law,” the report said.