Let's talk about the Hatch Act
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…
In fact, some of them have stepped up their assault on government ethics. But we're still here watching. 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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