Kayleigh McEnany Accuses Jen Psaki of Violating Hatch Act: ‘She has twice advocated for political candidates from the podium’
Kayleigh McEnany called out White House press secretary Jen Psaki for possible Hatch Act violations and ripped the media for not reporting on them. The Hatch Act is a useless law most ignore but the media accused the Trump admin of violating it near every day.
They never said this was routine and the law should not be there, they just made it seem like the apocalypse was coming. So Kayleigh and others who dealt with the media during the Trump admin have every right to call out the double standard and blatant hypocrisy.,
Kayleigh said: “Why does the media not hold @PressSec accountable for potential Hatch Act violations? She has twice advocated for political candidates from the podium. There is no problem in engaging in First Amendment political activity, but it must be done separate and apart from the podium.”
She was responding to journalist Matthew Foldi who said:
“Another day, another possible Hatch Act violation from @presssec @jrpsaki
PSAKI: “Again, we’re going to do everything we can to help former governor McAuliffe, and we believe in the agenda he’s representing.”
Only one person in recent memory was busted abusing the law, a Trump official Lynne Patton.
From CNN April 6, 2021:
A former Housing and Urban Development official and Trump family associate has been fined and barred from federal work for violating the Hatch Act’s prohibition of use of official authority after she blurred the lines between official business and politics by producing a video for the 2020 Republican convention.
The US Office of Special Counsel announced Tuesday that Lynne Patton had “improperly harnessed the authority of her federal position to assist the Trump campaign in violation of the Hatch Act” when she was HUD regional administrator and that she had admitted to violating the act when she produced a video about housing conditions for the Republican National Convention. In the settlement agreement, Patton will receive a $1,000 civil fine and is prevented from working as a federal employee for 48 months.
“As a HUD employee, Patton received permission in early 2019 to temporarily live in and observe living conditions in the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA),” OSC said in a statement.
“During her approximately one-month stay, Patton met residents and later leveraged one of these relationships to recruit participants to film a video that would air at the RNC. Patton wanted NYCHA residents to appear in the video to explain how their standard of living had improved under the Trump administration.”
Patton told CNN she doesn’t regret making the video and denied that residents were “tricked.”
“And yes, I received advance permission and written legal guidance from the HUD Office of the General Counsel & Ethics and followed their instructions to a ‘T,’ which can be confirmed by over 4 hours of independent audio and video,” she said in an email Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, after consulting multiple Hatch Act lawyers post-employment, receiving incorrect and/or incomplete legal advice, even in good faith, from your own agency does not an affirmative defense make.”
The Hatch Act is intended to stop the federal government from influencing elections or carrying out official activities in a partisan manner, and it applies to federal workers as well as state and local employees who work with federally funded programs.
The rule is a workplace guideline and violating it is not a crime. Responses can vary significantly if employees violate the rule.
Why does the media not hold @PressSec accountable for potential Hatch Act violations? She has twice advocated for political candidates from the podium.
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) October 15, 2021
There is no problem in engaging in First Amendment political activity, but it must be done separate and apart from the podium. https://t.co/ICLldHRCgs