John,
Former Trump HUD official Lynne Patton has agreed to a four year ban from federal employment following an investigation into a CREW Hatch Act complaint.
Patton had previously been referred for discipline after she was found to have violated the Hatch Act by intentionally filming a video with New York City Housing Authority residents to air at the Republican National Convention and lying to those tenants about it, telling them the video was a nonpartisan project. Read CREW’s statement here.
Patton’s behavior was particularly egregious, even for an administration filled with ethical violations and corruption. Not only did Patton use her position for political purposes—something she had previously gotten a reprimand for doing after earlier CREW complaints—but she exploited public housing residents for political gain. She never should have done that, and we never should have had to file this complaint, but her admission of violating the law, her fine, and her four-year ban from federal employment is at least a step toward accountability. The consequences may have been a long time coming, but they set a precedent that ethics law still matters.
At CREW, we’ll keep calling out corruption and ethics abuses wherever we see them. During the Trump administration, real consequences could be hard to come by, but as today’s announcement shows, fighting for accountability matters, and it can pay off.
Thank you,
Noah Bookbinder
President, CREW
