A report issued on Tuesday by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) found that 13 top-level Trump administration officials – including Kellyanne Conway, Mike Pompeo, Mark Meadows and Jared Kushner – violated the Hatch Act while the former president was in office, a law that aims to limit political activity by federal employees. 

What You Need To Know

  • A report issued on Tuesday by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) found that 13 top-level Trump administration officials violated the Hatch Act while the former president was in office

  • The Hatch Act “prohibits Federal employees from engaging in political activities while on duty, in a Government room or building, while wearing an official uniform, or while using a Government vehicle"

  • According to the report, 11 of the named individuals “made campaign statements” that either disparaged Joe Biden’s campaign or elevated Donald Trump’s reelection efforts during media interviews

  • Two Trump officials — Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf — are accused of violating the Hatch Act during the 2020 Republican National Convention

The Hatch Act, which “prohibits Federal employees from engaging in political activities while on duty, in a Government room or building, while wearing an official uniform, or while using a Government vehicle,” notably does not apply to the acting president or vice president. 

The OSC received over 100 requests to review whether Trump administration officials used their positions to influence the 2020 presidential elections, with many aimed at speeches given during the 2020 Republican National Convention. 

Eleven of the officials named in Tuesday’s report violated the Hatch Act during “official interviews or media appearances.” 

Those officials were: Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette, Senior Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, White House Director of Strategic Communications Alyssa Farah, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Senior Advisor to the President Jared Kushner, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Senior Advisor to the President for Policy Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Press Secretary Brian Morgenstern, National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and Chief of Staff to the Vice President Marc Short. 

Over the span of 18 separate interviews last year, each of the 11 named individuals “made campaign statements” that either disparaged Joe Biden’s campaign or elevated Donald Trump’s reelection efforts. In each case, the Trump official was “identified by their official title, discussed administration policies and priorities related to their official duties, and/or spoke from the White House grounds.”

“OSC therefore has concluded that these 11 Trump administration officials violated 5 U.S.C. § 7323(a)(1) by campaigning on behalf of President Trump’s reelection during official interviews or media appearances,” the OSC report said in part. 

The OSC found that two Trump officials — Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf — violated the Hatch Act during the 2020 Republican National Convention. 

Pompeo violated the act when he changed federal policy to “allow himself to speak at the RNC and thereafter using his official authority while giving that speech to promote President Trump’s candidacy,” the OSC report said; Wolf violated the Hatch Act during an “official naturalization ceremony he presided over that was produced for the RNC.”

“Both reflect the Trump administration’s willingness to manipulate government business for partisan political ends,” the report concluded in part. 

The OSC no longer has the ability to enforce any disciplinary actions now that the named officials have left office, but said the report aims to “fully document the violations, highlight the enforcement challenges that OSC confronted in investigating the violations, and to deter similar violations in the future.” 

Trump was widely known for taking an ambivalent approach to the ethics rules and norms that guided past administrations, and even joked he would "excuse anyone found to be violating” the Hatch Act on his behalf. 

The OSC issued an "unprecedented" amount of warnings to the Trump White House concerning numerous officials who may have violated the act, but found the administration was not receptive to their recommendations. The OSC also called on the president to fire his senior counselor Kellyanne Conway for repeatedly ignoring the rules. It is up to the president to determine any appropriate disciplinary action for workers who violate the law, and Trump declined to take action against Conway or the others.

"But rather than attempt to comply with the law, the most senior officials in the administration were publicly and, reportedly, privately dismissive of the Hatch Act’s restrictions," the report said. 

The Office of of Special Counsel is an independent investigative and prosecutorial agency that oversees executive branch officials, including their compliance with the Hatch Act.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.