During an interview on Fox and Friends, White House Senior Adviser Kellyanne Conway broke the law by using her position and the White House briefing room to tell people to buy Ivanka Trump’s clothing line.
Video:
During a Fox and Friends segment from the Brady Briefing Room in the White House, Conway said, “It’s a wonderful line. I own some of it. I fully — I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online.”
Conway’s “commercial” violated a regulation from the Office of Government Ethics that states:
This rule reflects a view, which has gained currency in the international community, that one definition of corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. Consistent with that view, the rule against misuse of position prohibits employees from:
^ Using public office for their own private gain for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom they are affiliated in a non-government capacity;
^ Endorsing any product, service, or company;
^ Engaging in financial transactions using nonpublic information, or allowing the improper use of nonpublic information to further private interests; and
^ Misusing government property or official time.
By telling people to go buy Ivanka Trump’s fashion line, Conway violated the ban by using her position for the financial gain of friends. She also endorsed a product while serving in an official capacity, and misused government property by selling Trump’s fashion line from the White House briefing room.
Kellyanne Conway broke the law, and her behavior was exactly what experts were worried about when they discussed the Trump family’s conflicts of interest. An employee of the federal government is using her position to enrich a friend on government property. The violations don’t get any clearer than what Conway did.
Conway broke the law, and her ethics violations need to be investigated immediately. President Trump and his corrupt administration must be held accountable.