In the past week, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway used a news interview to encourage people to buy Ivanka Trump products, and President Trump hosted Japan’s Shinzo Abe at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Jim Zarroli
In the past week, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway used a news interview to encourage people to buy Ivanka Trump products, and President Trump hosted Japan’s Shinzo Abe at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Jim Zarroli
A worker cleaned the windows of the Ivanka Trump Collection in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York last month.
Andrew Harnik/AP
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A worker cleaned the windows of the Ivanka Trump Collection in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York last month.
Updated at 8 p.m. ET
Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to President Trump, may have violated federal ethics rules Thursday when she urged shoppers to buy Ivanka Trump’s retail brand, following the decision by several retail companies to drop the line because of poor sales.
« Go buy Ivanka’s stuff, is what I was [saying] — I hate shopping and I’m going to go get some myself today, » Conway said in an interview on Fox & Friends .
« This is just [a] wonderful line, » she added. « I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online. »
Her comments drew sharp criticism from the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Republican Jason Chaffetz. « That is absolutely wrong, wrong, wrong. It is over the top, » Chaffetz told reporters.
Chaffetz and the committee’s ranking minority member, Democrat Elijah Cummings, asked the U. S. Office of Government Ethics in a letter to determine whether disciplinary action should be brought against Conway.
« Conway’s statements clearly violate the ethical principles for federal employees and are unacceptable, » the letter said.
« In this case, there is an additional challenge, which is that the President, as the ultimate disciplinary authority for White House employees, has an inherent conflict of interest since Conway’s statements relate to his daughter’s private business, » it said.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday that Conway had been « counseled » over her remarks.
