Less than a year after issuing an opinion closing a loophole that enabled White House staff to avoid the disciplinary process for violations of the Hatch Act’s prohibitions on partisan political activity, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has rescinded that historic decision.
[…] rules, special government employees can avoid compliance with anti-corruption and transparency measures that would otherwise apply to full-time government employees. For instance, they are subject to the Hatch Act, which restricts the political activities of federal employees, but only while they are on duty, whereas full-time employees are subject to several Hatch Act restrictions […]
[…] police his own conflicts– a troubling arrangement which will likely shield him from meaningful public and legal scrutiny on this subject.) And they are subject to the Hatch Act, which restricts the political activities of federal employees, but only while they are on duty, whereas full-time employees are subject to several Hatch Act restrictions […]
[…] top appointees divest from their business interests as required Whether Trump enacts an ethics pledge that will lay out clear requirements for recusal for former lobbyists The Hatch Act What happened last time? During the last Trump administration, the Office of Special Counsel found that more than a dozen senior Trump aides, including Jared […]
[…] House and the attorney general or FBI director to participate in political investigations or drop valid cases. Such actions may violate the Constitution and statutes like the Hatch Act and the Civil Service Reform Act, while also contravening longstanding (post-Watergate) DOJ policy protecting its independence. Below, we outline the laws that may be implicated, […]
The Office of Special Counsel’s announcement that White House staff will now face real accountability for violating the Hatch Act is an important step in the right direction.
[…] the ethics code required him to do so, despite the broad duty for Supreme Court justices to hear cases. When asked about the case by Senator Orrin Hatch, Alito said, “I not only complied with the ethical rules that are binding on Federal judges—and they’re very strict—but also that I did what I have […]
[…] was recorded weeks prior. While ambassador to Denmark, Sands urged people to donate to Trump using her official Twitter account, one of her several violations of the Hatch Act. In 2022, she ran for Senate and lost the Republican primary. AFPI has yet to announce an Arizona chair, and no team members are listed […]
[…] with the 1883 passage of the Pendleton Act which created a bipartisan commission to evaluate candidates for federal jobs based on merit. The 1939 passage of the Hatch Act strengthened this separation between politics and federal employment by prohibiting federal employees from engaging in many political activities. Today, more than 90% of federal jobs […]
[…] them. For example, the Office of Special Counsel is expected to go from 130 employees to just 14 during a shutdown. OSC is responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act, a law that prohibits executive branch employees from using their official authority to engage in partisan political activity. If an employee violates the Hatch Act […]
[…] and ignored advice from ethics advisors about how to best comply with the law. Political appointees especially must abide by important ethics rules and procedures, like the Hatch Act, which is one of the clearest and most important laws governing federal officials. It is even more troubling when federal prosecutors involve themselves in partisan […]
[…] This is far from the first example of Wolf acting with little regard for ethics in his position. During his tenure at the agency, Wolf violated the Hatch Act multiple times, deployed heavily armed federal agents to American cities to quell political protests just before the 2020 election and continued to serve in his […]
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