US: Jen Psaki promises to choose her words 'carefully' after Hatch Act violation complaint

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) demanded that the Office of Special Counsel investigate the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki for the remarks she made from the White House podium on Thursday about the Virginia gubernatorial campaign. She promised to consider her words more carefully after the nonpartisan, non-profit United States government ethics and accountability watchdog group filed a complaint on Friday alleging she had broken the Hatch Act. 

Psaki responded to the allegation by telling Fox News that while the president has openly voiced his support for McAuliffe, they will leave the analysis of the race to the press and the campaign. She claims that she takes ethics extremely seriously and will be more careful with her statements in the future.

"President wants former Governor McAuliffe to be the next governor of Virginia"

Regarding the Virginia gubernatorial campaign, Psaki acknowledged that she had to be a bit careful about how much political analysis she can do from the platform, which CREW took issue with. She further said that the president wants former Governor McAuliffe to be the next governor of Virginia, as per the reports of Fox News. According to Psaki, there is agreement on a lot of their agenda, whether it's the need to spend in restoring the roads, railroads and bridges, or making it easier for women to return to work. She stated that they are going to do everything they can to assist former Governor McAuliffe, and they believe in the agenda he's representing. 

Psaki appeared to violate the Hatch Act by impermissibly mixing official government business with advocacy for former Governor McAuliffe's election, according to the complaint, which was filed with Henry Kerner of the Office of Special Counsel. Her comments were made in her official capacity and were intended to influence the outcome of a partisan political contest, according to the lawsuit.

According to CNBC, President of CREW, Noah Bookbinder stated that Psaki's actions do not come close to rising to the level of the Trump administration's heinous violations, which systematically co-opted the government for the president's reelection. Several Trump administration personnel, including two press secretaries, Kayleigh McEnany and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, as well as then-communications aides Raj Shah and Hogan Gidley, were named in Hatch Act complaints.

Image: AP