CONTACT: Jordan Libowitz
202-408-5565 | [email protected]

Washington—Presidential Adviser Jared Kushner appears to have yet again violated the Hatch Act with his praise of Trump 2020 Campaign Manager Brad Parscale, according to a supplemental Hatch Act complaint filed with the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

According to reports, during a White House staff meeting on February 28th, Kushner briefed senior staff on the campaign’s selection of Parscale, noting that he was chosen because of his “digital savvy, and also stressed that Parscale has the full support of the president and his family.”

The day before this meeting, CREW filed a complaint against Kushner after he likely violated the Hatch Act in a press release sent out by the Trump presidential campaign announcing Parscale’s new position, in which he gave a quote about the campaign and is identified as “Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President, and President Trump’s son-in-law.” The Hatch Act prohibits the use of official title for political purposes.

“The Hatch Act is one of the clearest and most important laws governing federal officials,” CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said. “Jared Kushner’s close relationship to the president does not allow him to use his official position for politics any more than other government officials can.”

The Trump administration has shown a pattern of Hatch Act violations. Following previous CREW complaints, both Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and White House Director of Social Media Dan Scavino Jr. were reprimanded for Hatch Act violations. Earlier this week, Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway was reprimanded for two Hatch Act violations.

“We are well past any doubt as to a clear pattern of Hatch Act violations by this administration,” Bookbinder said. “There is a total disregard for ethics in this White House.”

Click here to read the complaint.