SAYING ‘MEGA MAGA’ EARNS KJP A HATCH ACT COMPLAINT
- November 4, 2022
Staff, Off the Press
Watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust has called for an investigation into White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre after making public comments she made that appeared to endorse partisan political messaging.
PPT wrote to the Office of Special Counsel after Jean-Pierre spoke from the official podium in the White House briefing room on Wednesday, saying “Unfortunately, we have seen mega MAGA Republican officials who don’t believe in the rule of law. They refuse to accept the results of free and fair elections, and they fan the flames of political violence through what they praise and what they refuse to condemn.”
The Hatch Act bars public officials, excluding the president and vice president, from engaging in partisan political activity.
“Ms. Jean-Pierre made these statements during an official press briefing, in her role as Press Secretary, from her podium in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room bearing the White House’s name, standing in front of the White House’s insignia,” PPT’s letter read. “Her statements were clearly made in her role as an employee of the White House and appear to be political in nature, seeking the defeat of her political opponents in the Republican party in the upcoming general election less than a week away on November 8.”