False Ethics Violation Against Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has filed ethics violation charges against Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders because she tweeted a picture of herself with Kayne West wearing a MAGA hat. The claim does not warrant an ethics violation under the Hatch Act of 1939. CREW should get their facts correct.
Kayne West was at the White House on official business. The White House Press Secretary met the Mr. West as a part of her official duties and his official visit at the White House. Ms. Sanders was not engaging in any political activity (campaigning). Had she requested Mr. West to remove his hat because it displayed his support for the President (though does not indicate the Trump name nor 2020), that would have been in violation of the Hatch Act as an federal employee may not “solicit” or “discourage” political activity by a person with business before an agency. Ms. Sanders was not wearing the hat or any partisan campaign button.
No mention of the 2020 campaign was made in the tweet, she commented on the official business stating “never a dull moment”. “Make America Great Again” was the official slogan of the 2016 campaign. That campaign is over. The official campaign slogan for the Trump 2020, as President Trump has stated at campaign rallies and their website, is “Keep America Great”, a different slogan which did not appear on Mr. West cap nor the twitter message.
To say that an ethics violation existed is to claim that Mr. Kayne West, an American citizen, does not have a right to wear a hat of his choosing that displays no offensive message. “Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington” and HuffPost would prefer to shred the U.S. Constitution and our First Amendment Rights.
News article: https://www.yahoo.com/news/sanders-broke-ethics-rules-she-031800281.html
Hatch Act of 1939 wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatch_Act_of_1939
article describing the Hatch Act: https://www.thoughtco.com/the-hatch-act-3368321