UH OH: Complaint filed against Kellyanne Conway with Special Counsel’s office…

The other day we reported on an interview where Kellyanne Conway was telling people in Alabama not to vote for Doug Jones.

According to the former director of the Office of Government Ethics that’s a Hatch Act violation, and he then filed a complaint with the Special Counsel’s office:

THE HILL – The former director of the Office of Government Ethics filed a complaint with a federal watchdog over White House counselor Kellyanne Conway’s comments on the Alabama Senate race, saying Conway could have violated a law that forbids federal employees from using their positions for political purposes.

“I have filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which investigates Hatch Act violations,” Walter Shaub tweeted Wednesday.

https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/933339079856525312

The Hatch Act “prohibits federal employees from using their official authority or influence to affect the outcome of an election.”

The Hatch Act “prohibits federal employees from using their official authority or influence to affect the outcome of an election.”

His complaint comes after Conway earlier this week blasted Alabama Democratic Senate candidate Doug Jones.

“Doug Jones in Alabama, folks, don’t be fooled. He will be a vote against tax cuts. He is weak on crime, weak on borders. He is strong on raising your taxes. He is terrible for property owners,” Conway said on “Fox & Friends.”

She was questioned whether she was telling people in Alabama to vote for GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore, who has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct when the women were teenagers.

“I’m telling you that we want the votes in the Senate to get this tax bill through,” Conway said, calling Jones a “doctrinaire liberal.”

Shaub pointed out in another tweet that Conway was “standing in front of the White House” while giving the interview.

“It seems pretty clear she was appearing in her official capacity when she advocated against a candidate,” he tweeted. “This is at least as clear a violation of 5 U.S.C. § 7323(a)(1) as OSC identified with regard to Castro.”

The ‘Castro’ he’s referring to is Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, who was found to have violated the Hatch Act in 2016.

It sounds like Shaub might have a point, so I guess we’ll see where this goes.


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