WASHINGTON (AP) – Two White House officials violated the Hatch Act by participating in choreographed events that were aired during this week’s Republican National Convention, according to two separate ethics complaints filed by government watchdog groups.
Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, violated the law when he appeared during a taped naturalization ceremony on White House grounds with President Donald Trump, the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, wrote in a complaint filed Thursday.
On Wednesday, two law school professors filed a separate complaint against Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, arguing he committed an “egregious violation” by delivering a video-taped speech from Israel.
The Hatch Act is a 1939 law that is intended to limit the commingling of political activity and government business, though it does not apply to the president and vice president. While Wolf and Pompeo were ostensibly performing their official duties, the watchdog groups contend the events were staged and intended for use during an overtly political event – the convention – and are thus violations of the act.
The Trump White House has taken an ambivalent approach to the ethics rules and norms that guided past administrations. And Wolf and Pompeo now join a substantive list of other Trump officials who have taken a cavalier approach specifically toward the Hatch Act.