Watchdog claims Ivanka Trump violated Hatch Act after federal office called for Conway’s firing

A watchdog group filed a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) on Thursday claiming Ivanka Trump, who is President Trump’s daughter and serves as his assistant, violated the Hatch Act, which bars federal employees from engaging in elections in their official capacity. 

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) cited a tweet from Ivanka Trump two days before the president’s 2020 campaign launch that featured the campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” and stated “the best is yet to come.”

Four years ago today, I introduced my father @realDonaldTrump when he launched a Campaign that would forever change America.

Because of his courage, Americans are safer and more prosperous…and the best is yet to come!

Happy Father’s Day! pic.twitter.com/ygcbg3URQx

— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 16, 2019

CREW said that she has used her government Twitter account to retweet “multiple partisan political posts” since March 2018.

{mosads}“It has become clear that this rampant abuse of public office is not a problem of ‘one bad apple’ but rather a key feature of the Trump White House,” said CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder.

“By blatantly using her office for politics right after the Office of Special Counsel recommended her colleague be fired for repeatedly acting similarly, Ivanka Trump has basically thumbed her nose at the OSC and the rule of law. Never before have we witnessed this level of illegal politicized behavior, and it must not be allowed to continue.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill. 

The complaint comes a week after the OSC, which is separate from special counsel Robert Mueller’s office, urged the president to remove Kellyanne Conway as White House counselor over repeated violations of the Hatch Act.

The agency accused Conway in a 17-page report of breaking the law on numerous occasions “by disparaging Democratic presidential candidates while speaking in her official capacity during television interviews and on social media” and called on the president to oust her “immediately.”

“As a highly visible member of the administration, Ms. Conway’s violations, if left unpunished, would send a message to all federal employees that they need not abide by the Hatch Act’s restrictions,” special counsel Henry Kerner wrote. “Her actions thus erode the principal foundation of our democratic system — the rule of law.”

President Trump rebuffed the request the next day, but the House Oversight and Reform Committee announced it will hold a hearing later this month over Conway’s alleged violations.