Trump says he won't fire Kellyanne Conway just for breaking the law
Flagrantly breaking the law isn’t a deal breaker for Trump.
A federal watchdog on Thursday took the unprecedented step to recommend that Trump fire White House counselor Kellyanne Conway for repeatedly violating the Hatch Act — a law that prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan politics in their official roles.
But Trump says he has no intention of firing Conway, putting his marker in the sand that breaking the law is totally cool in his book.
“No, I’m not going to fire her,” Trump said in a phone interview with his favorite morning show “Fox & Friends” Friday morning. “I think she’s a terrific person.”
The Office of Special Counsel recommended Trump fire Conway because by keeping her on, it “would send a message to all federal employees that they need not abide by the Hatch Act’s restrictions.”
“Her actions thus erode the principal foundation of our democratic system — the rule of law,” the OSC wrote in a report laying out Conway’s Hatch Act violations.
But Trump said that OSC is being unfair, even though all the office is doing is trying to enforce a federal law that has been on the books for decades.
He said that Conway was asked a question by reporters, and answered it.
“They asked a question,” Trump said. “Every time you’re supposed to say, ‘I can’t answer, I can’t answer’? She’s got to have a right to answer questions.”
That’s rich coming from Trump, who is telling his aides who have received subpoenas from Congress to ignore the legal document that compels them to answer questions.
“It really sounds to me like a free speech thing,” Trump added. “It doesn’t sound fair.”
Of course, it’s very fair.
The law is the law, and Conway violated it.
Yet Trump seems to only want to apply federal laws when it suits him. And firing Conway — who blatantly lies to media outlets stupid and reckless enough to continue to put her on air — is not in his interest.
But then again, it’s not surprising that a lawless president like Trump, who publicly admitted that he would violate the law to allow foreign governments to interfere in our elections, doesn’t care about the rule of law.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
Recommended
Biden on abortion rights: President expects to give speech Tuesday on new Florida 6-week ban
‘Having the president of the United States speaking out loud and with confidence about abortion access is a great thing’
By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix - April 22, 2024Biden calls for expanded child tax credit, taxes on wealthy in $7.2 trillion budget plan
President Joe Biden released his budget request for the upcoming fiscal year Monday, calling on Congress to stick to the spending agreement brokered last year and to revamp tax laws so that the “wealthy pay their fair share.”
By Jennifer Shutt, States Newsroom - March 11, 2024Biden rallies Democrats in Las Vegas: ‘Imagine the nightmare’ if Trump reelected
With a primary win all but inevitable, President Joe Biden used his Sunday appearance in Las Vegas’s Historic Westside to rally his most vocal supporters in a battleground state that delivered for him four years ago.
By April Corbin Girnus, Nevada Current - February 05, 2024