White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre violated Hatch Act, watchdog agency says
WASHINGTON ? White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre violated the federal Hatch Act during the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections when she repeatedly warned of "mega MAGA Republicans," according to a government watchdog agency.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel found Jean-Pierre's use of the phrase during press briefings last year violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from using their title to engage in political activity to interfere with the results of an election.
Ana Galindo-Marrone, who heads the Hatch Act Unit of the Office of Special Counsel, wrote in a June 7 letter that although Jean-Pierre "never expressly instructed viewers" to vote for or against Republican candidates, the agency concluded "the timing, frequency, and content of Ms. Jean‐Pierre’s references to 'MAGA Republicans'" proved the references were to generate opposition to Republicans.
"Accordingly, making the references constituted political activity," Galindo-Marrone wrote in the letter, which was addressed to Protect the Public's Trust, a conservative watchdog group that filed a Hatch Act complaint against Jean-Pierre.
The federal watchdog agency closed the case without taking any disciplinary action, arguing the White House Legal Counsel's Office did not believe Jean-Pierre's remarks violated the Hatch Act and that it was unclear whether the Office of Special Counsel's contrary position was ever conveyed to Jean-Pierre
"We have advised Ms. Jean‐Pierre that should she again engage in prohibited political activity, OSC would consider it a knowing and willful violation of the law that could result in OSC pursuing disciplinary action," Galindo-Marrone said in the letter.
Ironically, Jean-Pierre regularly cites the Hatch Act as a reason not to engage on questions from reporters, particularly questions that pertain to former President Donald Trump, who is running for president in 2024.
"As has been made clear throughout the administration, we take the law seriously and uphold the Hatch Act," White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said. "We are reviewing this opinion.”
"MAGA Republicans," which Biden started using last year, remains a go-to label for the White House in an effort to paint Republicans as increasingly extreme and beholden to Trump and the MAGA movement he spawned.
Jean-Pierre, when asked about the matter at Tuesday's press briefing, pointed to nearly 2,000 uses of "Make America Great Again" on the archived White House web site from the Trump years and said congressional Republicans have frequently used "MAGA" in official policy "for years now."
“At the time, I was given the sign-off to use that terminology," Jean-Pierre said, adding that White House attorneys will have a "routine conversation" with the Special Counsel's office about the Hatch Act allegations.
Trump and other members of his administration famously violated the Hatch Act frequently, including using the White House ground for Trump's 2020 Republican National Convention speech.
More than a dozen high-level Trump administration officials improperly used their official government powers in violation of the Hatch Act to try to influence the 2020 election, the Special Counsel’s office concluded in a report in November 2021.
Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: White House's Karine Jean-Pierre violated Hatch Act: watchdog agency
