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First off, not that special counsel (i.e. Robert Mueller). This is special counsel Henry Kerner from the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), who appears to either have an extremely dry sense of humor or more faith in Donald Trump than any sane person should. In any case, Kerner informed Trump Tuesday that OSC has concluded White House aide Kellyanne Conway violated federal law during two separate interviews. Believe it or not, neither of those instances involve Conway's QVC-esque promotion of Ivanka Trump products from the White House briefing room. Instead, she wielded political influence from her perch in the White House, which is a no-no. Kerner writes:
OSC concluded that Ms. Conway violated the Hatch Act on two occasions by advocating for and against candidates in the December 2017 Alabama special election for the United States Senate.
The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from using their positions to influence elections. The interviews cited include one on Nov. 20 and another on Dec. 6 in which Conway used her "official capacity" to urge voters to cast their ballot for Roy Moore over Democrat Doug Jones. The OSC report also notes that Conway has "significant knowledge" of the Hatch Act.
"Thus, I refer her violation for your consideration of appropriate disciplinary action," Kerner wrote to the president.
Looks like someone's up for a promotion in Trump's empty vessel of a White House.
As if that's not humorous enough, the New York Times ran a whopper Monday about Conway’s keen survival instincts as Trump's White House implodes: "Defying the Odds, Kellyanne Conway Steps Back and Hangs On."
Sounds more like Kellyanne is just laying low until the latest legal flap for Trump’s White House blows over.