Newly leaked testimony from the chief of the White House’s Office of Special Counsel will justify calls for ousting White House counselor Kellyanne Conway by documenting her “complete disregard” for the law.
The Daily Beast reports that Henry Kerner, whom President Donald Trump appointed to lead the Office of Special Counsel, has submitted testimony to Congress in which he accuses Conway of going out of her way to knowingly flout the Hatch Act, which bars most executive branch employees from engaging in political activity.
“Her conduct hurts both federal employees, who may believe that senior officials can act with complete disregard for the Hatch Act, and the American people, who may question the nonpartisan operation of their government,” Kerner’s testimony states. “Ms. Conway’s conduct reflects not a misunderstanding of the law, but rather a disregard for it.”
Kerner’s office earlier this month called on the president to fire Conway because she has repeatedly engaged in attacks on Democratic presidential candidates, which the office says is a blatant violation of the Hatch Act.
Conway appeared on “Fox & Friends” on Monday to claim that the office’s recommendations were part of a conspiracy to silence her ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
“You know what they’re mad about?” she asked rhetorically. “They want to put a big roll of masking tape over my mouth!”