It’s a hat-chet job!
HUD big slapped over a ‘USA’ cap
Government watchdogs bared their fangs at federal housing official Lynne Patton Wednesday, slapping the Trump family friend with ethics violations — for putting a red USA cap being sold by the Trump campaign on a shelf in her office.
Patton, a regular on social media, was also dinged for using her official Twitter account to “like” partisan tweets, which, like Capgate, was termed a violation of the Hatch Act.
One tweet she hearted on April 25, 2018, was from Kanye West, who posted a picture of President Trump’s signature on his red hat and wrote “my MAGA hat is signed.”
The Hatch Act bars federal executive branch employees from using their positions for political activity.
Patton is the 13th Trump official to be reprimanded for violating it. Others include White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, press secretary Stephanie Grisham and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.
The Office of Special Counsel said Patton violated the law with her open affinity for Trump campaign hats, but the violations “do not warrant disciplinary action.”
Patton thanked the feds for not pursuing disciplinary action for “two minor infractions.” “I am grateful that the Office of Special Counsel remains an unbiased voice in Washington, DC, that examines accusations based upon their merits instead of their number of retweets,” she said in a statement.
Patton’s red USA hat was photographed on her office bookshelf (pictured) for New York magazine.
“Once Ms. Patton became aware the campaign was selling the hat, she immediately removed it from display in her office,” wrote OSE Hatch Act unit deputy chief Erica S. Hamrick.
Patton worked for the Trump family before the president tapped her to become Housing and Urban Development regional administrator for New York.
She’s made headlines for sleeping in NYCHA housing units to expose the poor living conditions there.
And in February, Patton, who is black, made waves when she stood behind GOP Rep. Mark Meadows during Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony to refute Cohen’s claims that Trump was a racist.