Ex-ethics chief says Conway broke law

White House aide Kellyanne Conway violated the Hatch Act when she told Alabama voters not to support Democratic Senate candidate Doug Jones, according to the former director of the Office of Government Ethics.

In a Washington Post op-ed, Walter Shaub, who has frequently criticized Trump administration officials over ethical matters, writes that Conway inappropriately used her position to influence the Alabama Senate special election, which is just weeks away.

“That law prohibits executive branch employees from using their government positions to influence elections, which is precisely what presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway did last week,” Shaub writes. “Whether [Office of Special Counsel chief Henry] Kerner will enforce the law is another matter.”

{mosads}Shaub writes that Conway was not “innocently championing the president’s agenda,” as she says, but rather seeking to concretely influence the election in favor of Roy Moore, the embattled Republican candidate accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women after a Washington Post investigation.

“The question is not whether Conway was championing the agenda of the president — who, it’s worth noting, actively supports Moore — but whether she was advocating against Jones. Only in a world of alternative facts could Conway’s televised words amount to anything other than advocacy against Jones,” Shaub says.

“In short, the case against Conway is airtight. Or it would be, that is, if President Trump hadn’t appointed Kerner to lead the OSC,” he adds.

Kerner, who Shaub points out worked for the conservative group Cause of Action Institute, will make the determination as to whether Conway’s remarks violated the Hatch Act. Shaub says that if Kerner does decide to punish Conway, it would be a “slam-dunk case.”

“His willingness to pursue this slam-dunk case will tell us whether he has any intention of fulfilling that oath,” Shaub writes.

“If he does seek to hold Conway accountable, his penalty recommendation will tell us how vigorously he intends to go about fulfilling that oath. We should all watch what Kerner does next.”