Showing posts with label Hatch Act. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hatch Act. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Government website blames shutdown on "radical left." Ethics group calls it a "blatant violation."; CBS News, October 1, 2025

Faris Tanyos, CBS News ; Government website blames shutdown on "radical left." Ethics group calls it a "blatant violation."

"Ahead of Wednesday's government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Tuesday posted a banner in large type on its homepage blaming the shutdown on the "Radical Left," an allegation that an ethics group said was a "blatant violation" of the Hatch Act. 

"The Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands," the message read. "The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people."

A complaint filed Tuesday with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel by the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen alleged that the banner on HUD's website was a "blatant violation" of the Hatch Act, describing it as "highly partisan" and seeking to "idolize the Trump administration … without attributing any blame for the lack of compromise causing the shutdown."   

The Hatch Act is a federal law passed in 1939 that "limits certain political activities of federal employees as well as some state, D.C., and local government employees who work in connection with federally funded programs," according to the Office of Special Counsel.  

Its purpose, among other things, is to "ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion," the office explains."

Friday, March 14, 2025

Trump's White House Tesla showcase for Musk raises ethics concerns; ABC News, March 12, 2025

 Ivan Pereira, ABC News; Trump's White House Tesla showcase for Musk raises ethics concerns

"President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s controversial showcase of Tesla cars in front of the White House has set off alarms around Washington over what some see as an infomercial for the billionaire’s car company on high-profile government property.

Ethics experts ABC News spoke with are raising concerns that the Tuesday event could blur or even cross the lines of what's considered proper conduct by elected officials."

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Former Bush Ethics Lawyer Files Complaint Against FBI Director for Email Disclosures; Slate, 10/30/16

Daniel Politi, Slate; Former Bush Ethics Lawyer Files Complaint Against FBI Director for Email Disclosures:
"The former chief ethics lawyer at the White House during George W. Bush’s presidency has filed an ethics complaint against FBI Director James Comey. In an op-ed published in the New York Times on Sunday, Richard W. Painter writes that he filed a complaint against the FBI for violating the Hatch Act, "which bars the use of an official position to influence an election." He filed the complaint with both the Office of Special Counsel and the Office of Government Ethics.
Painter, who was the head White House ethics lawyer between 2005 and 2007 and now supports Hillary Clinton, says Comey violated the Hatch Act when he sent the letter to lawmakers on Friday informing them of the newly discovered emails."