The U.S. Office of Special Counsel found that White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre violated the Hatch Act with her repeated blasts during press briefings at “MAGA Republicans,” but won’t pursue disciplinary action against her.
The office will instead issue Ms. Jean-Pierre a warning letter, said Ana Galindo‐Marrone, chief of the OSC’s Hatch Act Unit.
“Although we have concluded that Ms. Jean‐Pierre violated the Hatch Act, we have decided to close this matter without further action,” she said in a June 7 letter to Protect the Public’s Trust, which filed the complaint.
The office found that Ms. Jean-Pierre in her official capacity, made disparaging references to “MAGA Republicans” leading up to the November election, which violated the Hatch Act prohibition against “using her official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.”
At the same time, she said, the White House Counsel’s Office “did not at the time believe that Ms. Jean-Pierre’s remarks were prohibited by the Hatch Act, and it is unclear whether OSC’s contrary analysis regarding the use of ‘MAGA Republicans’ was ever conveyed to Ms. Jean-Pierre.”
“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,” said Ms. Galindo-Marrone in the letter shared with The Washington Times.
The office may issue recommendations for punishment of Hatch Act violations, but it’s up to the president to decide whether to take action, which rarely happens when it comes to senior White House officials.
Those running afoul of the Hatch Act under previous presidents include Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Trump Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway; Obama Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Obama Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro.
In the case of Ms. Conway, the OSC recommended in June 2019 that she be “removed from federal office,” calling her a “repeat offender.” She remained in her post until resigning in August 2020.
Michael Chamberlain, Protect the Public’s Trust director, said Ms. Jean-Pierre’s comments “were a clear violation of the Hatch Act, even one the Office of Special Counsel could not ignore.”
“Officials are supposed to exercise their authority for the benefit of all Americans, not act as an arm of a political party,” Mr. Chamberlain said. “Unfortunately, Ms. Jean-Pierre was likely following the lead of her boss, President Biden, who, despite repeated promises to return the country to normalcy and lower the political temperature, has often employed deeply polarizing messages and demeaning slogans targeted at his opponents.”
He also raised questions about the OSC’s mention of the disagreement with the president’s attorneys, calling it an “odd deferral of authority in what has historically been an area in which OSC has claimed sole discretion.”
The government watchdog group filed the complaint last Nov. 3, a day after Ms. Jean-Pierre made reference at a press briefing to “mega MAGA Republican officials who don’t believe in the rule of law.” The election was Nov. 8.
“In investigating the allegation, OSC discovered that Ms. Jean‐Pierre used the phrase’ MAGA Republicans’ repeatedly during official press briefings prior to the November 2022 midterm election,” said Ms. Galindo-Marrone in the letter.
“Although Ms. Jean‐Pierre never expressly instructed viewers to vote for or against Republican candidates for elected office, OSC concluded that the timing, frequency, and content of Ms. Jean‐Pierre’s references to ‘MAGA Republicans’ established that she made those references to generate opposition to Republican candidates,” she said. “Accordingly, making the references constituted political activity.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.