Kellyanne Conway Simultaneously Claims To Not Understand Hatch Act And That She Didn’t Violate It


White House counselor Kellyanne Conway is accused of violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits government employees from participating in partisan political activities while acting in their official capacity. While defending herself on Monday against the claim, Conway simultaneously claimed that she didn’t understand the Hatch Act while also insisting that she didn’t violate it. She also asserted that the watchdog group who made the complaint against her was a “left-wing propaganda machine” that was attempting to silence her.

According to The Hill, Conway appeared on Fox News’ Fox & Friends, where she argued that the Hatch Act isn’t clear as to whether or not it applies to an assistant to the president. At the same time, she said that she hasn’t violated the provision. During the same interview, she also said that she was being targeted by left-wing activists who were attempting to silence her voice because she helped Trump win in 2016.

“You know what they’re mad about? They want to put a big roll of masking tape over my mouth because I helped as the campaign manager for the successful part of the campaign,” she said. “I helped by being on television, by being on radio, I helped and they want to silence me now. This is my First Amendment right, they want to chill free speech because they don’t know how to beat [Trump] at the ballot box.”

The law, which was established in 1939, is meant to prevent government officials from using their influence to promote any one candidate. The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint against Conway for violating the act, and earlier this month, the Office of Special Counsel — which is not related to Robert Mueller’s investigation — recommended to Trump that Conway be removed from office for her violations of the act. The recommendation also stipulated that Conway clearly understood the statute but continued to violate it.

As The Inquisitr reported, Trump said that he wouldn’t remove Conway from her position, claiming that he believed that the complaint was a way to attempt to take away her right to free speech. He said that a person should be able to say what they want in office.

“It doesn’t work that way,” he said. “A person wouldn’t be able to express themselves, and I just don’t see it.”

But a CREW spokesman said that Conway should not be in office, but would perhaps be better suited to running his campaign since her violations were numerous and egregious.

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