The White Residence has determined that Kellyanne Conway acted “inadvertently” and “without the need of nefarious motive or intent” when she promoted Ivanka Trump’s style line in an interview with Fox News last month, according to a White Property letter to the Workplace of Government Ethics obtained by ABC News.
In the Feb. 28 letter to OGE Director Walter Shaub, White Home deputy counsel Stefan Passantino said he met with Conway about the incident and briefed her on federal employee ethics laws.
“We concluded that Ms. Conway acted inadvertently and is very unlikely to do so once more,” he wrote. “Ms. Conway has acknowledged her understanding of the requirements and has reiterated her commitment to abiding by them in the future.”
“Go obtain Ivanka’s stuff,” Conway stated in a Fox News interview final month. “I’m going to give a totally free commercial right here. Go acquire it nowadays, everyone.”
After the incident final month, the OGE sent a letter to the White Residence calling for an investigation and evaluation of Conway’s actions — which Shaub described as a “clear violation of the prohibition against misuse of position” — and recommended disciplinary action.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, the prime Democrat on the Property Oversight Committee, said the lack of disciplinary action is “a incredibly bad sign.”
“Other federal staff would most likely be suspended for engaging in this conduct, and White Home officials should really not be held to a different common,” he said in a statement. “I hope that the president reconsiders his decision and that he and his staff will take their ethical obligations extra seriously.”
When the OGE can still propose a particular penalty for Conway to the White Home, that recommendation would be non-binding.
Conway said final month that the president nevertheless supported her immediately after the episode.
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