Whoopsie!
It looks like everyone's favorite press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, may have broken the law.
NBC News is reporting that a government watchdog group issued a warning to Biden's press secretary claiming that she likely violated the Hatch Act in the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections by referring to Republicans as "Mega-MAGA Republicans."
In a letter first shared with NBC News, the Office of Special Counsel determined that Jean-Pierre's choice of words in referring to Republican candidates violated the Hatch Act.
"Because Ms. Jean‐Pierre made the statements while acting in her official capacity, she violated the Hatch Act prohibition against using her official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election," Ana Galindo‐Marrone, who leads the agency's Hatch Act Unit, wrote in a letter Wednesday.
The watchdog group claims that KJP used her official government position to essentially campaign against Republicans running for Congress by deriding them negatively as "mega MAGA Republicans," repeating an anti-conservative talking point that the White House pushed multiple times in the lead-up to 2022.
Despite having found Jean-Pierre in violation of the law, the Office of Special Counsel "decided to close this matter without further action," Galindo‐Marrone wrote in last week's letter to Protect the Public's Trust, noting that the White House counsel's office "did not at the time believe that Ms. Jean‐Pierre's remarks were prohibited."
"We have decided not to pursue disciplinary action and have instead issued Ms. Jean‐Pierre a warning letter," Galindo‐Marrone wrote.
This is how it always goes with the Hatch Act. Unless you're a Republican and then the media calls for you to lose your job.
Although, personally, I don't think that the label "mega MAGA" did anything to hurt Republicans and only made them sound cooler. So, it's tough for me to think that KJP should be punished for accidentally campaigning for Republicans.
But we all know that Kayleigh McEnany would be on the front page of every newspaper if she violated the Hatch Act as a Republican.
