Watchdog says 13 Trump officials illegally campaigned while in office

WASHINGTON >> Thirteen of former President Donald Trump’s most senior aides — including his sonin-law and his chief of staff — campaigned illegally for Trump’s reelection in violation of a law designed to prevent federal employees from abusing the power of their offices on behalf of candidates, a government watchdog agency said Tuesday.

Henry Kerner, who heads the Office of Special Counsel, made the assertion in a withering report that followed a nearly yearlong investigation into “myriad” violations of the law, known as the Hatch Act.

“Senior Trump administration officials chose to use their official authority not for the legitimate functions of the government, but to promote the re-election of President Trump in violation of the law,” the report concluded.

Investigators in Kerner’s office said Trump administration officials purposely violated the law prohibiting political activity during the final few weeks of the administration, when they knew that the Office of Special Counsel would not have time to investigate and issue findings before Election Day.

“The administration’s willful disregard for the law was especially pernicious considering the timing of when many of these violations took place,” the report said.

Violations of the Hatch Act are not uncommon for any presidential administration. But the Kerner report describes something more rare: a concerted, willful effort to violate the law by the most senior officials in the White House.

The people accused of breaking the law are a who’s who of Trump officials: Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette; Kellyanne Conway, counselor; Alyssa Farah, White House communications director; David Friedman, ambassador to Israel; Jared Kushner, senior adviser; Kayleigh McEnany, press secretary; Mark Meadows, chief of staff; Stephen Miller, senior adviser; Brian Morgenstern, deputy press secretary; Robert C. O’Brien, national security adviser; Marc Short, chief of staff to the vice president; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf. The report said that Pompeo and Wolf violated the law through their actions during the Republican National Convention, which took place at the White House because of the pandemic. The rest of the officials broke the law by overtly campaigning “during official interviews or media appearances.”

Emails to several representatives of Trump were not answered.