The former director of the US Office of Government Ethics plans to file a second Hatch Act complaint against White House counselor Kellyanne Conway. Conway defended GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama and spoke against his competitor on TV again.
Walter Shaub, ethics director under the Obama administration, plans to file his second Hatch Act complaint in a month against Conway for this violation.
The complaint argues that Conway violated the Hatch Act after appearing to endorse Moore while appearing on CNN's "New Day" on Wednesday morning. The Hatch Act prohibits White House officials, or any government employee, from advocating for or against candidates while acting in their official capacity. The complaint will be filed by the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center.
During her interview, Conway spoke about the President's endorsement of Moore and made negative comments about his opponent, Democrat Doug Jones. Then Conway added what sounded like her own opinions.
The only endorsement that matters in this race is President Trump's."
"And he came out questioning the ideology and the vote of Doug Jones," Conway said. "He'll be a reliable vote for tax hikes. He'll be a reliable vote against border security. He'll be a reliable vote against national security and keeping ISIS in retreat. He'll be the reliable vote against the Second Amendment and against life."
Conway, despite phrasing her comments about the candidates as facts she believed to be true, ducked questions specifically asking for her opinion during the interview.
My feelings don't matter — anytime I express a feeling about a candidate, people who want to make themselves relevant get airtime and Twitter time," Conway said.
The draft of the complaint stated "approximately 15 minutes of the 21-minute appearance was consumed by Ms. Conway advocating against the election of Democrat Doug Jones" and "additionally defending or advocating for the election of Jones' Republican opponent, Roy Moore."
Last month, Shaub submitted his first Hatch Act complaint against Conway after an appearance on Fox News where she advocated against Jones.
Conway addressed the heated Alabama race and Moore's Democratic competitor, saying, "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. I just want everybody to know, Doug Jones, nobody ever says his name, and pretends he is some kind of conservative Democrat in Alabama. And he's not."
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