Watchdog group files Hatch Act complaint against Kushner

Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner is the subject of a new Hatch Act complaint that says he advocated for President Trump’s 2020 reelection while acting in his official government capacity. 

In a Sunday interview with CNN host Fareed Zakaria, Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, weighed in at length about how the Senate’s impeachment trial has benefited the president politically, earning a complaint from the ethical watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

“Kushner’s blatantly political behavior while acting in his official capacity is a clear violation of the Hatch Act,” said CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder in a news release, as first reported by Axios.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Kushner’s interview on CNN is not the first time a Hatch Act complaint has been filed against someone within Trump’s administration. Last year, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel found White House counselor Kellyanne Conway in violation of the law by “disparaging Democratic presidential candidates while speaking in an official capacity during television interviews and on social media.”

A subpoena was issued from the House Ethics Committee but was ignored by Conway last year.