Airports decline to air Kristi Noem shutdown video at TSA checkpoints - The Washington Post

"We believe the Hatch Act clearly prohibits use of public assets for political purposes and messaging," said Molly Prescott, a spokesperson for the Port of Portland, which operates Portland International Airport. Enacted in 1939, the Hatch Act bars federal employees from engaging in politics while on the job and is meant to ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2025/10/13/kristi-noem-shutdown-video/

Federal agencies blame Democrats for looming shutdown in apparent Hatch Act violation

"Yes, this violates the Hatch Act," said Kathleen Clark, professor of law at Washington University. 

The email appeared to "impose on Democrats the blame for a government shutdown and resulting furloughs of agency employees", she said. "In other words, this email has a partisan political goal. This email is both a violation of the Hatch Act and an abuse of government power."…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/30/federal-agencies-democrats-shutdown

 

Trump new "INVESTIGATION" Instantly BACKFIRES on HIM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzS3OciHRPo

 

The Office of Special Counsel Is Updating Rules for White House Officials - POLITICO

"…I am announcing that prior OSC statements that White House officials cannot face Hatch Act enforcement in the same way other federal civilian employees do are no longer in effect. It is time to close the Hatch Act's escape hatch. 

OSC enforcement of the Hatch Act also is being updated in two other ways. First, we will no longer automatically rule out bringing actions against former government employees. As the MSPB has advised: an "employee's post-violation resignation does not eliminate the case or controversy between the employee and the Special Counsel concerning whether the employee violated the Hatch Act and, if so, what penalty is warranted."…

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/05/20/office-of-special-counsel-updating-rules-for-white-house-officials-00158687

Top Trump administration figures flout law banning partisan campaigning

The agriculture secretary is the latest of 14 political appointees to be cited by the government watchdog for violating the Hatch Act....
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/15/trump-administration-partisan-campaigning-hatch-act

House Democrats unveil reforms to ‘prevent future presidential abuses’ - The Washington Post

House Democrats unveiled a sweeping package of reforms Wednesday morning designed to strengthen Congress’s ability to check the executive branch and prevent abuses of power, especially by the president. The package, which its architects have informally referred to as “post-Trump reforms,” includes measures to restrain the president’s power to grant pardons and declare national emergencies, to prevent federal officials from enriching themselves, and to accelerate the process of enforcing congressional subpoenas in court. It also includes provisions to protect inspectors general and whistleblowers, increase penalties for officials who subvert congressional appropriations or engage in overt political activity, and safeguard against foreign election interference....

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/congress-post-trump-reforms/2020/09/23/38291e70-fd44-11ea-9ceb-061d646d9c67_story.html

Opinion | The Lawbreakers Trump Loves - The New York Times

He uses scare tactics about “law and order.” But what distinguishes this White House is its ties to criminals.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/29/opinion/sunday/trump-protests-law.html

As Trump appointees flout the Hatch Act, civil servants who get caught get punished - The Washington Post

A Defense Logistics Agency employee was suspended for 30 days without pay last fall after giving his office colleagues a PowerPoint presentation that displayed the words, “Vote Republican.” An Energy Department worker was forced to resign in January after admitting she gave a woman running for Congress a tour of a federal waste treatment plant so the candidate could show her expertise to potential voters. Another civil servant began a 120-day suspension without pay from the Food and Drug Administration in July after creating a Facebook page with his name and photograph to solicit political donations and then co-hosting a fundraiser. These were some of the recent consequences for federal workers who illegally mixed government employment with partisan politics in violation of the Hatch Act, the anti-corruption law Congress passed in 1939. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/hatch-act-trump-convention/2020/08/28/dce68a7e-e877-11ea-bc79-834454439a44_story.html

Donald Trump’s RNC weaponized exhaustion - Vox

The sheer volume of lies and illegal behavior from Trump and the Republicans is what allowed them to get away with it.
https://www.vox.com/2020/8/28/21405144/trump-rnc-speech-fact-check-lies-hatch-act

It’s Illegal for Federal Officials to Campaign on the Job. Trump Staffers Keep Doing It Anyways. — ProPublica

Trump administration officials have been cited 13 times for violating the Hatch Act, a New Deal-era law prohibiting government officials from engaging in campaigning. https://www.propublica.org/article/its-illegal-for-federal-officials-to-campaign-on-the-job-trump-staffers-keep-doing-it-anyways

‘I’m in charge of the Hatch Act’: Trump barked at ‘weak’ chief of staff Mick Mulvaney — in a room full of aides – Raw Story

The Wall Street Journal has published an exposé about the Trump 2020 re-election campaign and how the president is “banking on base-pleasing campaign events – more meticulously produced this time – to outweigh any need for a fresh message.”

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/im-in-charge-of-the-hatch-act-trump-barked-at-weak-chief-of-staff-mick-mulvaney-in-a-room-full-of-aides/

It’s Illegal for Federal Officials to Campaign at Work. A Trump Official Just Did So - ProPublica

A trend may be emerging after the Trump administration took no action against a "repeat offender," White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
https://www.propublica.org/article/its-illegal-for-federal-officials-to-campaign-at-work-a-trump-official-just-did-so

Down the Hatch (Act)? (Opening Arguments podcast OA287)

Today’s Rapid Response Friday covers all of the breaking developments this week, including a ruling from the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the latest news out of the House of Representatives, and the Office of Special Counsel’s latest request that Donald Trump should fire Kellyanne Conway for “flagrant” serial violations of the Hatch Act. What does all that mean? Listen and find out!

 We begin by revisiting the state of Wisconsin, where Republicans in gerrymandered-safe seats in the state legislature stripped power away from the incoming Democratic Governor and Attorney General. A trial court issued an injunction preventing that law from going into effect, and just two days ago, the state Supreme Court finally ruled on that injunction. How did that go? (You know the drill.)

Then, we move into the main segment, in which we discuss all of the developments related to the census question we last discussed in Episode 286. Learn about one respondent’s petition for limited remand, the White House’s assertion of executive privilege, and then what’s next from the Democratic House.

After all that, it’s time to climb Yodel Mountain. Learn exactly who Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn hired once he fired Covington & Burlington Coat Factory, and what that (probably) means. And then, it’s time to learn allllll about the Hatch Act, and why a loyal Trump supporter thinks it means it’s time to fire Kellyanne Conway.

Then, it’s time for Thomas Takes the Bar Exam. This time, Thomas tackles a tricky question about a government agency that hires a private collector to purchase antiques. Can the state charge sales tax? Listen and find out!
Interview:
https://openargs.com/oa287-down-the-hatch-act/

Kellyanne Conway dismisses Hatch Act violation: 'Let me know when the jail sentence starts' - The Hill

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Wednesday scoffed at a government office's findings that she violated a decades-old law barring officials from weighing in on elections in their government capacity as she railed against Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's record...
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/445914-kellyanne-conway-dismisses-hatch-act-violation-let-me-know-when-the

‘It’s entirely inappropriate’: Trump shot a political video on Air Force One - The Washington Post

While Trump can use the presidential plane to take him to political events, it is out of the norm for it to be used as a campaign backdrop, ethics experts said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/its-entirely-inappropriate-trump-shot-a-political-video-on-air-force-one/2019/05/18/58432016-78a7-11e9-b3f5-5673edf2d127_story.html

Lawrence O’Donnell Runs Video Of Kellyanne Conway Allegedly Breaking The Law - HuffPost

Lawrence O'Donnell believes Kellyanne Conway "is going to need a lawyer."The host of MSNBC's "The Last Word" on Wednesday alleged that the White House counselor had broken the law twice in the previous two days when she criticized Joe Biden, the former vice president and now Democratic presidential hopeful, to reporters on the White House driveway.O'Donnell said Conway had been "illegally campaigning against Joe Biden for Donald Trump while holding her position on the federal payroll....
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lawrence-odonnell-kellyanne-conway-breaking-law-video_n_5ccaa095e4b0e4d7572da402

FCC commissioner broke the law by advocating for Trump, officials find - The Verge

Republican FCC commissioner Michael O'Rielly broke a federal law preventing officials from advocating for political candidates when he told a crowd that one way to avoid policy changes was to "make sure that President Trump gets reelected,” according to a newly released letter from government officials. O’Rielly was warned by the officials about making similar comments in the future....
https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/1/17308418/fcc-commissioner-orielly-trump-law

Setting the record straight on charities and political speech | TheHill

There’s a core American belief that just about everyone agrees with regardless of political stripes: People employed to serve the public good should not, in their official capacity, endorse or oppose candidates for public office. That core belief, long codified in federal and state laws, holds true for all public servants, whether they are government employees or representatives of charitable nonprofits, houses of worship, or foundations. Yet, some in Congress are seeking to repeal or weaken this important taxpayer protection in the omnibus spending bill.....

http://thehill.com/opinion/finance/378439-taxpayers-should-never-have-to-subsidize-speech-by-politicians

Kellyanne Conway’s Attack on Alabama Democrat Draws Legal Complaint

Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, ran afoul of federal law when she attacked the Democratic candidate in Alabama's Senate special election during a Fox News appearance Monday morning, according to Walter Shaub, former director of the Office of Government Ethics. ....
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-22/kellyanne-conway-s-comments-on-fox-show-draw-legal-complaint

Watchdog group requests Hatch Act probe of Zinke's appearance at Virgin Islands -- POLITICO

The nonprofit Campaign Legal Center says that activity may have run afoul of the federal law. ....
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/06/ryan-zinke-fundraiser-hatch-act-watchdog-243554?cid=apn