Former ethics adviser files complaint against Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway
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White House senior counselor, Kellyanne Conway, lashed out at Fox and Friends hosts after they pressed her on Alabama GOP senate candidate Roy Moore’s scandal.
Buzz60
WASHINGTON – The dispute over Roy Moore’s Senate campaign has now led to a legal complaint against White House adviser Kellyanne Conway.
Walter Shaub, a former government ethics official and frequent critic of President Trump, said Conway’s comments about Moore’s Democratic challenger Doug Jones may be a violation of the Hatch Act, which forbids federal employees from getting involved in elections. Shaub said he filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.Â
“She’s standing in front of the White House. It seems pretty clear she was appearing in her official capacity when she advocated against a candidate,” tweeted Shaub, who earlier this year left his job as director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
During a Fox News interview on Tuesday, Conway said: “I just want everybody to know Doug Jones, nobody ever says his name and they pretend that he’s some kind of conservative Democrat in Alabama and he’s not.â€
In an apparent response to Shaub on Twitter, Conway said her comments mirrored those of President Trump.
“I addressed Doug Jones,” Conway said. “I did not address Roy Moore. Let Alabama choose its representatives.”
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which handles Hatch Act cases, has previously flagged statements by Conway as possible ethics violations.Â
Earlier this year, Conway spoke on Fox News from the White House briefing room and urged viewers to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff†– appearing to endorse the fashion line by Trump’s daughter. Ethics rules prohibit government officials from using their positions to to endorse any product or service.Â
Richard Painter, former ethics lawyer for president George W. Bush, agreed that Conway appeared to violate the Hatch Act “by using her position to take sides in a partisan election.”
That, he tweeted, “is a firing offense. And for her this is strike two.”Â
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