Mega MAGA Republicans
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre frequently avoids answering pointed questions from reporters by saying she cannot do so because of the Hatch Act. However, she has no problem repeating one of Joe Biden’s snide labels for his Trump-supporting opponents. She uses the term Mega MAGA Republicans and that violates the Hatch Act, as it turns out.
A government watchdog, Protect The Public’s Trust, filed a complaint with the Office of the Special Counsel. The Office of the Special Counsel (OSC) is the independent federal office that enforces the Hatch Act among government employees. OSC decided that she was attempting to ‘sway an election’ with her comments. The Logan Act prevents federal employees from influencing elections through their offices. When KJP repeatedly uses the term Mega MAGA Republicans, she interferes with an election, and in this case it was the 2022 midterm elections.
‘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 June 7 letter that was first shared with NBC News.
No action has been taken against KJP. The reason is because the OSC is unclear if anyone ever told her that she shouldn’t use the term in press briefings or if she knew the term was considered election interference.
Despite finding Jean-Pierre in violation of the law, the Office of Special Counsel ‘decided to close this matter without further action,’ Galindo‐Marrone said in her letter, noting that the White House Counsel’s Office ‘did not at the time believe that Ms.
