WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Since taking on the role of White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre has become known for frequently dodging questions by citing the Hatch Act. The law bars civil servants from politicking during their day jobs, and Jean-Pierre uses it to deflect reporters' questions involving campaigns.
But apparently she wasn't careful enough. The Office of Special Counsel, a government agency that enforces , said in a recent letter that Jean-Pierre violated the law before last year's midterm elections.
Her offense: Making frequent references to 鈥淢AGA Republicans鈥 during White House briefings.
According to a letter from the Office of Special Counsel, Jean-Pierre 鈥渕ade those references to generate opposition to Republican candidates鈥 and 鈥渁ccordingly, making the references constituted political activity.鈥
was posted online by The Washington Post. It was first reported by NBC News.
Penalties for Hatch Act violations are uncommon, and the office did not recommend any fines or other punishments for Jean-Pierre.
Violations were much more common under President Donald Trump. The Office of Special Counsel sent an 15 warning letters to senior Trump administration officials about running afoul of the Hatch Act, and it even recommended the firing of top adviser Kellyanne Conway.
Jean-Pierre faced scrutiny after a conservative organization called Protect the Public鈥檚 Trust filed a complaint.
The organization said Jean-Pierre was 鈥渄isparaging President Biden鈥檚 political opponents as 鈥榤ega MAGA Republican officials who don鈥檛 believe in the law.鈥欌
Jean-Pierre said the White House counsel鈥檚 office was reviewing the letter, adding that 鈥渨e do everything we can" to comply with the law and take it 鈥渧ery seriously.鈥
鈥淎t the time, I was given the sign off to use that terminology,鈥 she said. Jean-Pierre said the term was used "in the context of talking about their policies, in talking about their values."
She noted that some reporters often express 鈥渇riendly consternation鈥 about how often she cites the Hatch Act, and she suggested that she was confused by the violation.
After all, she said, Trump鈥檚 White House used the phrase 鈥淢AGA鈥 about 2,000 times to describe his administration鈥檚 policies.
