The Hatch Act is one of America's most important ethics laws. It prohibits people in government from using their official position for partisan political means. It also prohibits them from using taxpayer dollars to campaign for one side or the other.
In other words, the Hatch Act is meant to keep a separation of church and state between the government and campaigns. In a free and open democracy, the government doesn't use government resources to keep itself in power.
While the Hatch Act applies to most people in the government, like many of our ethics laws, it does not apply to the president or vice president. So no, President Trump cannot violate the Hatch Act. The people who help him with these events, however...
If it seems like you hear about the Hatch Act way more in the Trump Administration than in previous administrations, that's because you do. No administration has ever shown such a wanton disregard for ethics laws.
A dozen senior Trump officials have been investigated by the Office of Special Counsel and found to have violated to the Hatch Act off of CREW complaints alone. Here's a primer: citizensforethics.org/reports-invest…
In an unprecedented move, the Office of Special Counsel declared that Kellyanne Conway's Hatch Act violations were so egregious that she should be removed from federal service citizensforethics.org/news/press-rel…
Just two days ago, a CREW complaint led to Secretary of Agriculture being ordered to reimburse the government for an event about government support for farmers that he turned into a Trump re-election speech citizensforethics.org/news/press-rel…
President Trump, exempt from this law, has taken a cue from dictators and started using the White House as a backdrop for his campaigning. While he's not breaking the law, others certainly are citizensforethics.org/news/press-rel…
Here's why it matters: if an administration disregards laws meant to prevent them from using the government to keep themselves in power, what other laws will they be willing to violate to keep the president in the White House?
America needs tougher ethics laws, particularly on the president. That's for sure. We've got some ideas, but that's for another thread. For now, the most important thing is to keep the pressure on. Make your voice heard. Let them know you still believe in an ethical government.
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Tomorrow, Charles Rettig, the Trump appointed IRS commissioner will be testifying before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
We have a few simple questions for him.
One: How can you carry out your duties impartially when you are making six-figures by renting out condos in a Trump property? That’s a major conflict of interest for the person helping Trump hide his tax returns. citizensforethics.org/charles-rettig…
Two: A tiny change buried in the middle of the CARES Act could bring the Trump Organization and Jared Kushner an unprecedented windfall.
Last night, Trump’s chief of staff told the press that no one outside of Washington cares about the Trump administration’s violations of the Hatch Act.
But if they think no one cares about the law, why is Trump running as a “law and order” president?
With Trump’s selective fixation on “law and order,” he is showing his hand: The phrase is nothing more than a racist dog whistle.
Let’s take a look at his record:
Trump’s business:
Charged with housing discrimintation, defrauding customers, tax evasion and more. It has settled more lawsuits that we can count and is currently under investigation by the Manhattan DA, and the NY AG. washingtonpost.com/politics/new-y…
When Trump tries to claim he’s the “law and order” president, you really have to wonder — has he read the news about the people involved with his 2016 campaign?
First, there was Michael Flynn, a top aide to Trump's campaign, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia. Trump hired him as national security advisor. nytimes.com/2020/07/30/us/…
Then there was Trump’s first campaign manager, Paul Manafort, who was sentenced to 47 months in prison for hiding millions of dollars he earned for political consulting in Ukraine. bbc.com/news/world-us-…
Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf and Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli were invalidly appointed to their positions and are ineligible to serve, according to a GAO report.
No matter what the IG finds, DHS is no stranger to flouting the law.
Its multi-pronged attack on civilians at anti-racism protests could be a constitutional violation and raises serious questions about abuse of power. citizensforethics.org/foia/federal-p…
Ivanka reported that she received $100,001 - $1,000,000 from the trust holding her fashion brand. This is significantly lower than what she reported earning in 2018, but she also reported that the brand ceased operations in July 2018, so how did she make money from it in 2019?