Although Kellyanne Conway insisted with a straight face that she’s a dedicated public servant, she refused to say whether she received any punishment for twice violating the Hatch Act, her third ethics violation in office that we know of. Fox host Bill Hemmer mostly glossed over her record and falsely suggested her violations were similar to those that occurred in the Obama administration.
On Tuesday, as reported by The Washington Post, a federal investigator found that Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to Donald Trump, had violated the Hatch Act twice. The Office of the Special Counsel (no relation to Special Counsel Robert Mueller) found Conway “impermissibly mixed official government business with political views about candidates in the Alabama special election” in two television appearances where she promoted U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore.
As the Post also noted, the White House rejected those findings. The Post also pointed out other ethics violations of Kelly and the White House staff:
This is not the first time Conway has been accused of ethics violations over her public remarks. Last year, she was upbraided by a top federal ethics official for touting the clothing line sold by Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump. The White House said Conway was “counseled” after that misstep, but no further disciplinary action was taken.
Another White House official was previously found to have violated the Hatch Act. The special counsel’s office last year found White House social media director Dan Scavino Jr. violated the law when he posted on Twitter urging Trump’s supporters to defeat a GOP congressman, Justin Amash, in Michigan.
Yet Hemmer ignored those other instances and said he “framed” the question by noting that it “happened twice under the Obama years” without punishment. Hemmer just forgot to mention that those occasions were minor compared to Conway. As per FoxNews.com, one involved then-HUD Secretary Julian Castro giving an insufficient disclaimer when discussing Hillary Clinton during a 2016 interview and the other involved U.S. Postal Service workers engaging in union-funded campaign work while on leave.
HEMMER: Now, you were in the news just a few days ago. You were ruled in violation of the Hatch Act for an endorsement you made for the Alabama Senate race several months ago. Ultimately, it’s the president’s call as to whether or not you were punished for this or whatever punishment will or will not come from this. As I frame this question, it happened twice under the Obama years and the president ruled that there would be no punishment given out. Have you met with the president on this and is there a final word on that?
CONWAY: The president and I have spoken about this. I have not made a comment on this at all and I won’t today.
HEMMER: We leave it there.
CONWAY: The White House has spoken, the White House counsel’s office at the White House yesterday.
HEMMER: Has the president told you what he desires from this?
CONWAY: I will not reveal my private conversations with the president about anything except that which he would like me to speak about publicly, including steel and aluminum [tariffs].
HEMMER: So, no punishment given?
CONWAY: I didn’t say that. I just said that we’ve spoken about this.
Conway sported a hideously self-satisfied smirk during her last two remarks.
Then she had the nerve to boast about her love for public service.
CONWAY: I also recognize every single day, maybe that’s why I’m still there and will continue to be, I’m not there to read about myself, I’m not there to talk about me and I’m there to – I’m there in the service of the country that I love and people who work in the White House should feel that it’s a privilege and a blessing.
Watch Conway refuse to take responsibility, much less show regret, for her numerous ethics violations below, from the March 8, 2018 America’s Newsroom.