The Biden administration continues to violate the Hatch Act by using the term “MAGA” one week after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was warned to stop.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel stated in a letter dated 7 June that Jean-Pierre violated the Hatch Act by repeatedly using the term “MAGA Republicans.”
The Hatch Act prohibits government personnel from “engaging in partisan political activity while on duty, in a federal facility or using federal property,” according to the Justice Department’s website.
President Joe Biden has also referred to his political opponents as “MAGA Republicans” in an effort to depict them as extremist or potentially dangerous.
During a briefing on November 2 at the White House, Jean-Pierre stated, “Unfortunately, we have seen mega MAGA Republican officials who don’t believe in the rule of law.”
The next day, former Trump administration official Michael Chamberlin, who leads the watchdog organization Protect the Public’s Trust, lodged a complaint against her.
Ana GalindoMarrone, chief of the Office of Special Counsel’s Hatch Act branch, stated in a letter to Chamberlain last week that Jean-Pierre had been warned about her behavior.
“OSC has investigated your allegation and concluded that Ms. Jean‐Pierre violated the Hatch Act,” Galindo‐Marrone wrote.
“However … we have decided not to pursue disciplinary action and have instead issued Ms. Jean‐Pierre a warning letter,” she said.
“We have advised Ms. Jean‐Pierre that should she again engage in prohibited political activity, OSC would consider it a knowing and willful violation of the law that could result in OSC pursuing disciplinary action,” Galindo‐Marrone wrote.
The OSC also issued a memo instructing federal employees to refrain from using the term “MAGA” in official capacities.
The memo stated, “MAGA remains the campaign slogan of a current candidate for partisan political office, and therefore, its use constitutes political activity.”
More on this story via The Western Journal:
In spite of the clear violation and a warning, however, Axios reported members of the Biden administration have continued to use the term.
“On Wednesday, the White House released a statement to Axios that continued to use ‘MAGA,’” the outlet reported. CONTINUE READING…