WASHINGTON – Two White House officials violated the Hatch Act by participating in choreographed events broadcast during the Republican National Convention, according to two separate ethical complaints filed by government watchdog groups.
Secretary of State Chad Wolf, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, wrote the law when he appeared at a White House-sponsored naturalization ceremony with President Donald Trump, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics group in Washington, as CREW. in a complaint filed Thursday.
On Wednesday, two law school professors filed a separate complaint against Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, arguing that he had committed a “serious offense” by giving a video-recorded speech by Israel.
The Hatch Act is a 1939 law intended to restrict the cooperation of political activity and government companies, although it does not apply to the president and vice-president. While Wolf and Pompeo apparently performed their official duties, the watchdog groups claim that the events were staged and intended for use in a public political event – the convention – and are therefore violations of the act.
The Trump White House has taken an ambivalent approach to the ethical rules and standards that govern governments of the past. And Wolf and Pompeo are now joining a substantive list of other Trump officials who have taken a cavalier approach specifically to the Hatch Act.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Wednesday dismissed concerns about such violations and told Politico: “No one outside the Beltway really cares.”
Former Secretaries of State have done everything in their power to prevent the emergence of biased political activity, particularly in nominating conventions for the administrations they serve.
Pompeo’s speech defeated that president and even went against the guidance he gave to U.S. diplomats last month, advising that federal law prevented them from taking open sides in the presidential campaign.
It was filmed during a diplomatic mission, with Old Jerusalem as the setting. In it, he praised Trump’s foreign policy and also celebrated the relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, an issue of particular importance to white evangelicals who are a crucial bloc for Trump.
“This video is a gross violation of the Hatch Act,” wrote Claire O. Finkelstein and Richard W. Painter, the two professors of law schools. Secretary Pompeo, while on a diplomatic mission to Israel, gave a partisan political speech for an RNC campaign video in which he referred to the US Embassy in Israel, saying that a candidate in a partisan election – Donald Trump – should get credit for the relocation of that embassy. “
Wolf, meanwhile, took part in a naturalization ceremony with five newly relocated citizens based on White House. He stood in front of a stage, made introductory remarks and took the oath of allegiance. Trump also appeared at the ceremony, speaking for several minutes and handing out certificates.
“By participating in this event that official government companies mixed with the support of a political party and a candidate for partisan political office, Mr. Wolf appears to have used his official authority or influence to interfere with or influence the outcome of an election. “Noah Bookbinder, the director of CREW, wrote in the complaint to the Office of Special Counsel.” His participation in … this event is a political activity that is prohibited by law. “
The White House declined to comment.
The complaint of Finkelstein, a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania, and Painter – George W. Bush’s former ethics attorney, a one-time candidate for the Democratic Senate, and a law professor at the University of Minnesota – calls for a inspector-general investigation into Pompeo’s State Department.
They also called for a review of whether State Department staff who helped with logistics could have violated the Hatch Act as well.
Penalties for violating the Hatch Act may include federal service, exemption from federal employment for a period of less than five years, suspension, reprimand, or a civil penalty that may not exceed $ 1,000.
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