Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump’s campaign manager.
Dan Mescon | CNBC
President Donald Trump’s senior counselor Kellyanne Conway should be removed from the federal government for repeatedly violating a law that bars executive branch employees from using their official position for political purposes, the government agency charged with enforcing that law said Thursday.
In a letter and accompanying report sent to the president, the Office of Special Counsel wrote that Conway was a “repeat offender” whose “multiple violations of the law would almost certainly result in removal from her federal position” if she were any other federal employee.
The agency, which is distinct from the Justice Department special counsel’s office, wrote that Conway violated the early 20th century law, known as the Hatch Act, and “ridiculed its enforcement.” Conway repeatedly disparaged Democratic presidential candidates while speaking in her official capacity, the agency said.
It is ultimately Trump’s decision whether Conway keeps her job, and he is unlikely to remove her. In a statement, White House deputy press secretary Steven Groves called the Office of Special Counsel’s actions “deeply flawed” and a violation of Conway’s “constitutional rights to free speech and due process.”
“Its decisions seem to be influenced by media pressure and liberal organizations – and perhaps OSC should be mindful of its own mandate to act in a fair, impartial, non-political manner, and not misinterpret or weaponize the Hatch Act,” Groves wrote.
The agency’s letter to Trump follows its March 2018 report finding that Conway violated the Hatch Act by advocating for and against candidates in the 2017 special election for Alabama’s U.S. Senate seat.
The agency also cited an interview from last month in which Conway dismissed the Hatch Act.
“If you’re trying to silence me through the Hatch Act, it’s not going to work,” Conway said, according to the Office of Special Counsel. “Let me know when the jail sentence starts,” she added.
Conway declined to comment.
— CNBC’s Eamon Javers contributed to this report.
