Politics

White House Aide Violated Hatch Act, Feds Say

REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Alex Pfeiffer White House Correspondent
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White House aide Dan Scavino violated a federal law when he used his Twitter account to call for the primary defeat of Republican Rep. Justin Amash, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has determined.

Scavino, the White House’s social media director, tweeted in April, “[Donald Trump] is bringing auto plants & jobs back to Michigan. [Justin Amash] is a big liability. #TrumpTrain, defeat him in primary.”

The Hatch Act prohibits certain federal employees from using their position to influence an election.

Ana Galindo-Marrone, chief of the Office of Special Counsel’s Hatch Act Unit, wrote in a June 5 letter to the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) that this tweet was in violation of the Hatch Act and hat Scavino has been given a “warning letter.”

CREW filed a complaint about Scavino’s tweet and said the letter is a “Big win for CREW!”

“In addition, we note that Mr. Scavino was recently counseled about the Hatch Act by the Office of the White House Counsel,” Galindo-Marrone wrote.

She said another violation by the White House aide could result in more serious punishment.