White House moves to bar counselor Kellyanne Conway from testifying to Congress
Source: Washington Post
The White House will block counselor Kellyanne Conway from testifying before a House panel about allegations by a government watchdog that she violated the Hatch Act, increasing the likelihood of another subpoena battle between the two branches of government. White House lawyers planned to reject the House Oversight Committee’s request for Conway to appear at a Wednesday hearing, according to two White House officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity Monday to freely discuss private deliberations. The White House counsel will argue that in accordance with long-standing precedent, staff in the West Wing do not testify before Congress. House Democrats counter, however, that the White House has no right to claim executive privileged or immunity for Conway because the alleged violations in questions deal with her personal actions — not her duties advising the president or working in the West Wing.
The Hatch Act bars federal employees from engaging in political activity during work hours or on the job. But a report submitted to Trump earlier this month by the Office of Special Counsel — which is run by a Trump appointee — found that Conway violated that law on numerous occasions by “disparaging Democratic presidential candidates while speaking in her official capacity during television interviews and on social media.” It recommended Trump terminate her federal employment. Oversight plans to vote Wednesday to subpoena Conway if she does not agree voluntarily to answer questions.
Meanwhile, Conway has already taken to national television to defend her name. On Monday morning, she claimed on Fox News that House Democrats are trying to retaliate against her for successfully managing President Trump’s 2016 campaign. “You know what they’re mad about?” Conway said. “They want to put a big roll of masking tape over my mouth because I helped as a campaign manager for the successful part of the campaign . . . So they want to chill free speech because they don’t know how to beat [Trump] at the ballot box.”
Special Counsel Henry Kerner, a longtime congressional GOP staffer, said in an interview that that’s not true. “We're trying to hold Ms. Conway to the same standard we hold other people in government to,” Kerner said Monday. “My staff came up with violations. They're obvious. She says things that are campaign messages.”
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kellyanne-conway-says-democrats-seeking-testimony-on-hatch-act-violations-are-retaliating-against-her-politically/2019/06/24/9398d3ea-9689-11e9-830a-21b9b36b64ad_story.html
Full headline: White House moves to bar counselor Kellyanne Conway from testifying to Congress about alleged violations of Hatch Act
Original article -
A report earlier this month by the Office of Special Counsel — which is run by a President Trump appointee — found that Conway violated the Hatch Act on numerous occasions.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway claimed Monday that House Democrats are seeking to compel testimony from her about alleged violations of the Hatch Act in retaliation for her successfully managing President Trump’s 2016 campaign.
The House Oversight Committee is planning to vote Wednesday to subpoena Conway if she does not voluntarily appear at a hearing on allegations of her repeatedly violating the law that bars federal employees from engaging in political activity in the course of their work.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kellyanne-conway-says-democrats-seeking-testimony-on-hatch-act-violations-are-retaliating-against-her-politically/2019/06/24/9398d3ea-9689-11e9-830a-21b9b36b64ad_story.html?utm_term=.cf7658263fa7
= new reply since forum marked as read
AGAIN! 
ho hum 
It’s because she’s so effective at violating the law.
