What is the Hatch Act, that Trump has been accused of violating?

Team Udayavani, Aug 31, 2020, 9:28 AM IST

The Trump administration is facing accusations that it is in violation of the federal ethics law known as the Hatch Act over its use of the White House as a setting for the GOP convention

The Hatch Act is the 1939 law that regulates the political activities of federal employees and some state and local government workers.

The legislation originally prohibited nearly all partisan activity by federal employees, banning them from endorsing candidates, distributing campaign literature, organizing political activities and holding posts in partisan organizations.

The law is enforced by the Office of the Special Counsel (OSC), an independent federal agency which also oversees various other laws applying to federal employees, and receives complaints about alleged violations.

According to Forbes, Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has found Hatch Act violations by “at least thirteen” Trump administration officials with a dozen open cases, compared to just two violations by Obama officials.

Trump officials accused of violating the act include White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, Vice President Mike Pence’s Chief of Staff Marc Short, adviser Ivanka Trump and senior counselor Kellyanne Conway, who violated the act dozens of times by disparaging Democratic presidential candidates in her official capacity