The top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee asked the Republican chair of that committee to consider disciplinary action against a top aide to President Trump for promoting Trump’s daughter’s private business in a TV interview.
Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s counselor, urged people on Fox News Thursday to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff,” and admitted she was doing a “free commercial” for Trump’s daughter.
“This appears to be a textbook violation of government ethics laws and regulations enacted to prevent the abuse of an employee’s government position,” Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., wrote to Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.
“Since the committee has direct jurisdiction over the ethics laws applicable to White House employees, I request that the committee make an official referral of this matter to the Office of Government Ethics and request that it report back to the committee as soon as possible with its findings,” he wrote.
Cummings noted that federal regulations say federal employees shall not use their public office for their own private gain.
Cummings’ letter followed the decision of an ethics watchdog to file an ethics complaint against Conway with the Office of Government Ethics. The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington contends that Conway issued an “official endorsement” of Ivanka Trump’s products from the White House during her Fox appearance, which they said is “an apparent violation of federal law, ethics regulations and other standards of conduct.”
Noah Bookbinder, the executive director of CREW, sent the complaint to ethics office Director Walter Shaub, an Obama appointee and Obama donor.
Conway was responding to questions on “Fox and Friends” about President Trump’s Twitter criticism of stores that have sidelined his daughter’s clothing line when she said, “I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online.”
The ethics watchdog contends Conway was “acting in her official capacity” as special counselor to the president, which they said violates a federal law prohibiting employees from endorsing products or appearing in commercials.
But Bookbinder noted “it is not clear” whether the Trump administration has issued a policy that would make the law apply to White House employees or the president.
