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Johnny DeStefano, Assistant to President Trump and Advisor to the President, and Stephanie Grisham, Press Secretary and Director of Communications of First Lady Melania Trump, follow the President as they leave the Oval Office to board the Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House. August 24 in Washington, DC (Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post)
Michelle Ye Hee Lee
A national political company and a journalist responsible for the issue of money and influence in politics
The First Lady's spokeswoman has violated federal law, which bars officials from using their official ability to carry out political activities by posting a photo and slogan of the 2016 Trump campaign on her official account, a federal investigator has found .
The investigator sent a warning letter to Stephanie Grisham, First Lady's director of communications, Melania Trump. The investigator did not find evidence that Grisham had engaged in other prohibited activities and therefore decided not to discipline him.
This is the third time that a White House official or adviser to President Trump has been cited for violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits public servants from using their official ability to carry out political activities.
The issue was Grisham's July 11 release on his official Twitter account to celebrate his third birthday as he joined the Trump team during the presidential campaign.
In the tweet, she included a hashtag (#MAGA) representing the slogan of the 2016 Trump campaign, "Make America Great Again". A photo of a 2015 rally was attached to the tweet.
In the United States, Grisham suppressed the message once she realized she could have violated the Hatch Act. The office is separate from the office of the special counsel of the Ministry of Justice.
In March, the Office of the Special Council issued guidelines on trap restrictions after Trump officially announced his re-election campaign. The Office noted that the prohibition of political activities of federal public servants is broad and applies to both in-person and online communications.
The bureau said federal employees could not wear or post Trump's slogans or campaign photos in 2016 or 2020, or use hashtags to support Trump or opponents, such as #MAGA or #ResistTrump.
The Citizens' Monitoring Group for Accountability and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed the initial complaint.
"Despite multiple violations and clear indications from the OSC, the White House is refusing to address the misuse of government offices and resources for political purposes," said the Executive Director of the White House. CREW, Noah Bookbinder. "Because the administration will not act to prevent the use of taxpayer-funded resources for political purposes, it is imperative that the OSC consider additional measures to prevent these pervasive abuses."
Grisham did not respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this year, the Special Advisor's office found that Kellyanne Conway, a Trump senior advisor, had violated the Hatch Act twice by making public comments in favor of a candidate before a US Senate special election. in Alabama. Last year, the office found that White House social media director Dan Scavino Jr. had violated the law by posting a call to Trump supporters on Twitter to defeat a GOP congressman, Justin Amash , Michigan.
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