White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has been accused of flagrantly violating the Hatch Act during a recent live interview on MSNBC.
The Hatch Act, established in 1939, restricts certain political activities of federal employees, along with some state and local employees who work in connection with federally funded programs. The act’s primary aim is to ensure a federal workforce free from partisan political influence or coercion.
Violating this law may lead to removal from federal service or prohibition from federal employment.
During the MSNBC interview, Jean-Pierre campaigned for Biden ahead of the upcoming debate, unabashedly praising his leadership and policies while simultaneously disparaging Trump’s administration.
In the interview, Jean-Pierre responded to host Willie Geist’s question about potential criticism from Trump regarding inflation and rising costs in the upcoming presidential debate on Thursday.
Geist: “One of the places [Trump’s] undoubtedly going to go is to inflation, which everybody across the country is feeling, despite all that economic data we talk about all the time that is so strong; the economy is thriving. Talk about things costing too much. He’ll look into the camera, maybe, and say, ‘You know that your cereal costs too much.’ He’ll go down the list of groceries and gas. How will the President address that criticism?”
In response to a question about potential criticism from Trump, Jean-Pierre said:
Jean-Pierre: This is something that we’ve been talking about for some time: the economy. You’re right, the data shows that the economy is indeed strengthening; it’s stronger. We understand that we came out of a pandemic, a once-in-a-century pandemic.
The work that this President did—from the American Rescue Plan to the bipartisan infrastructure legislation to the Inflation Reduction Act—all of these historic pieces of legislation have helped this country get back on its feet. So yes, eggs and milk, and there were grocery things that were up. It has gone down. It has gone down since 2022. Gas prices, because of the actions that this President took.
And let’s not forget, there was an invasion Russia did, obviously, into Ukraine that caused gas prices to tick up. The President took action, tapped the SPR, and we saw gas prices go down. The President has met the moment with every issue that we have had in front of us.
The President obviously talks about that often. He’s going to have another opportunity on Thursday to speak to those issues. And talking about Donald Trump, which I just mentioned, Dobbs’ decision.
The reason why we have chaos right now after the Dobbs’ decision, the reason why after Roe v. Wade was overturned, overturned after being constitutional law for 50 years, is because of what Donald Trump did in his administration. And now IVF is on the line. Contraception is on the line. I was thinking about when I was sitting here before starting this conversation, there are some of us who have young children.
Can you believe that we had more rights growing up than our kids? That’s because of the Trump administration and what they were able to do. So there’s a lot here. There’s a big contrast in what we’re trying to do on behalf of the American people, majority of Americans, what they want to see, and what we see Congressional Republicans, extreme Republicans.
WATCH:
Did she quit her job as Press Secretary? This is a DIRECT violation of the Hatch Act. She is literally campaigning for Biden and AGAINST Trump. That isn’t only for the Press Room. She’s getting paid by US, the taxpayers. This is NOT okay. Don’t pay attention to how bad her… pic.twitter.com/2HugHL3a3U
— Joe Pags Pagliarulo (@JoeTalkShow) June 25, 2024
Talk Show Host Joe Pags Pagliarulo was first to report on this, writing, “Did she quit her job as Press Secretary? This is a DIRECT violation of the Hatch Act. She is literally campaigning for Biden and AGAINST Trump… She’s getting paid by US, the taxpayers. This is NOT okay. Don’t pay attention to how bad her answer is — grammatically and substantively — pay attention to the fact that she’s campaigning on YOUR dime!”
A legal counsel for The Gateway Pundit contends that Karine Jean-Pierre’s actions constitute a violation of the Hatch Act, and recommends that a formal complaint be lodged with the US Office of Special Counsel.
“She’s campaigning. She’s trying to persuade and influence voters. She’s supposed to inform. If she had just spit out facts, she would have been fine,” says TGP’s legal counsel.
The role of a White House Press Secretary is to communicate the administration’s policies and actions to the public, not to act as a campaign spokesperson.
This is not the first time that Karine Jean-Pierre has been accused of violating the Hatch Act. Jean-Pierre violated the Hatch Act, according to a government watchdog in 2023.
The Office of Special Counsel said Karine Jean-Pierre violated the Hatch Act for repeatedly bashing “mega MAGA Republicans” before the 2022 midterm elections. Despite Karine Jean-Pierre violating this law, zero action was taken against her!
Jean-Pierre’s actions have reignited debates about the enforcement of the Hatch Act. During Trump’s presidency, several officials were accused of violating this act.
Recall, President Trump’s Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke was forced to step down from his post for violating the Hatch Act because he tweeted a photo of Trump socks.
Former Trump administration political appointee Lynne Patton faced a fine and a temporary ban from federal employment after she was found to have violated the Hatch Act in producing a video for the 2020 Republican National Convention. It should be noted that SIX Obama cabinet members spoke at the 2012 Democrat National Convention! NONE of these officials were fined using the Hatch Act.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) also investigated at least 13 high-level officials from the Trump administration who allegedly misused their official government roles to impact the 2020 election.
Among the high-ranking officials previously implicated in violating the Hatch Act were Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, and Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway. The report also accused other prominent figures, such as White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, and Senior Advisor Jared Kushner.
The selective outrage over alleged Hatch Act violations during Trump’s term was clearly politically driven.
