The House Oversight Committee continues to ask questions about Trump’s decision to deliver his acceptance speech from the White House next Thursday.
A House committee is questioning whether President Donald Trump might be breaking the law next week if he orders government employees to assist in his Republican National Convention speech.
Trump will formally accept his party’s presidential nomination next Thursday from the White House, an unusual choice that raised ethical concerns because of the Hatch Act, a law restricting federal employees from engaging in certain political activities. But House Democrats are also apparently asking questions about whether Trump might be breaking a separate law that forbids the coercion of federal employees to conduct political activity.
The revelation came in a follow-up letter sent Monday to House Democrats by the Office of Special Counsel, which oversees Hatch Act compliance. The letter clarified that while the office had previously confirmed Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are exempt from the Hatch Act, it could not answer questions about other “criminal provisions.”
“That opinion, which noted that the President and Vice President are not covered by any of the provisions of the Hatch Act, is limited to the civil provisions of the Hatch Act and does not opine on criminal provisions found in Title 18 of the U.S. Code,” reads the previously unreported letter, which was sent to House Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney.
A committee aide confirmed it is monitoring the RNC speech for possible violations and said Trump and Pence — who is also expected give his RNC speech on federal property — could face repercussions if they “intimidate, threaten, command or coerce” a federal employee to engage in political activity, quoting the criminal statute.
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The House Oversight Committee continues to ask questions about Trump’s decision to deliver his acceptance speech from the White House next week including, if it's legal https://t.co/riXCIBys2n
— POLITICO (@politico) August 20, 2020
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