The two Marines who appeared in a video that aired Tuesday night at the Republican National Convention were on official duty at the time the footage was filmed, the Marine Corps said Wednesday.
At issue is a video of a naturalization ceremony that President Trump presided over that was aired during Tuesday night’s convention programming. The beginning of the video shows two active-duty Marines in uniform opening the door for Trump as he walks into the room.
“The Marines in the footage of the ceremony at the White House were at their assigned place of duty,” the Marine Corps said in a brief statement Wednesday. “Their official duty is to assist the president in office; those duties include opening doors for the president.”
The service directed any further questions to the White House, which said the ceremony was an official White House event.
“The president held a naturalization ceremony and pardoned an individual which were official White House events,” a White House official said in a statement. “The White House publicized the content of both events on a public website [Tuesday] afternoon, and the campaign decided to use the publically available content for campaign purposes. There was no violation of law.”
Airing the naturalization ceremony at a political convention was highly unusual and immediately led to accusations that officials violated the Hatch Act, which restricts federal employees from participating in partisan political activities. Earlier in the evening, the convention aired footage of Trump granting a pardon, which also elicited accusations of Hatch Act violations.
The inclusion of the Marines at the beginning of the naturalization ceremony video also led to questions over whether the video violated Pentagon policy barring troops from engaging in political activities while in uniform.
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Marine Corps: Marines at naturalization ceremony aired at GOP convention were on official duty https://t.co/Tr65zl0fy5 pic.twitter.com/imbEMSvR24
— The Hill (@thehill) August 26, 2020
In a pre-taped video, President Trump holds a naturalization ceremony at the White House: "Today, America rejoices as we welcome five absolutely incredible new members into our great American family." #RNC2020 https://t.co/olQGAg3k2O pic.twitter.com/rGaDvub2kj
— CNN (@CNN) August 26, 2020
President Trump has issued a pardon for Jon Ponder, who was arrested for robbing a bank and has since founded a reintegration program for former prisoners. "It's just an honor and you have done incredible work," Trump said. #RNC2020 https://t.co/OPI8Gq3Zcx pic.twitter.com/eJUI8TuQpU
— CNN (@CNN) August 26, 2020
Trump’s entrance looked familiar. But WH doors need more gold. pic.twitter.com/NhO5dFDnk1
— NastyWoman SL McIntosh 😷🇨🇦 (@Mcatlady54) August 26, 2020
"By making the oath of citizenship part of a partisan convention reality show with Trump as the special guest star, the president turned it into an oath not to the Constitution, but to himself."
Fire from @RadioFreeTom:https://t.co/qvWqvvgVDV
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) August 26, 2020
Last week, the Pentagon acknowledged within hours a violation of policy during the DNC (there was one, as was widely covered).
Asked to comment on the use of Marines in uniform during the RNC, the Pentagon referred me this morning to the White House. No other response. https://t.co/2UOWmAHBeg
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) August 26, 2020
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