John,
Rampant abuse of public office has become business as usual in the Trump White House. Jared Kushner has joined the long list of officials who have broken the public trust by violating one of the government’s most important ethics laws.
On Sunday, Kushner gave an interview on CNN in his official government capacity, and spoke extensively about the Trump campaign and his strategy to re-elect his father-in-law. That’s a clear violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits government employees from using their official position to influence an election. Read more about our complaint, and share on Facebook, Twitter, or by forwarding this email.
Amid President Trump’s impeachment for abusing the powers of his office for political gain, Kushner’s violation highlights what we sadly already knew: President Trump refuses to follow the rules, and those in his administration have followed his example. Improperly and unfairly using the powers of government to advance the President’s political interest has sadly become common practice for them.
An unprecedented number of senior Trump administration officials have been reprimanded for violating the Hatch Act, most following CREW complaints. Last summer, OSC called for Kellyanne Conway’s removal from federal service, for her egregious repeated ethics violations—the first time it ever made that recommendation.
President Trump refuses to take disciplinary action for even the most serious violations, but that does not mean that we are letting this administration off the hook, and CREW will never stop fighting for accountability. We’ll continue tracking violations, taking legal action, and pushing for reforms for as long as it takes. President Trump may believe that his administration is above the law, but we know that no one, especially not a president, can escape accountability forever.
Thank you,
Noah Bookbinder
Executive Director, CREW
