Press Releases
Pascrell Demands Probe of Trump Use of White House for Campaign War RoomElection night letter addresses latest Hatch Act violation
Washington, DC,
November 4, 2020
Reacting to news reports that the Trump campaign was using the White House and Old Executive Office Building as a campaign command center and election day war room, last night U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) sent an urgent plea to United States Special Counsel Henry Kerner, demanding a federal probe of the latest Hatch Act violation by the Trump regime. “I write urgently demanding an explanation of whether Donald Trump and members of the executive branch are breaking the law on Election Day. Reports suggest that Donald Trump is using space inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building as a campaign “war room.” Additionally, Mr. Trump is expected to be briefed in the White House residence and the Oval Office throughout the day by campaign officials. These actions put executive branch officials at risk of blatant violations of the law, including the Hatch Act,” Pascrell wrote. Pascrell asked the Special Counsel to investigate, among other things, who installed Trump campaign WiFi at the White House, and why a planned election night party in the Executive Mansion wouldn’t violate the Hatch Act. The text of Rep. Pascrell’s letter is provided below.
November 3, 2020
Henry Kerner Special Counsel 1730 M Street, NW Washington, D.C. United States Office of Special Counsel
Dear Special Counsel Kerner: I write urgently demanding an explanation of whether Donald Trump and members of the executive branch are breaking the law on Election Day. Reports suggest that Donald Trump is using space inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building as a campaign “war room.” Additionally, Mr. Trump is expected to be briefed in the White House residence and the Oval Office throughout the day by campaign officials. These actions put executive branch officials at risk of blatant violations of the law, including the Hatch Act. Trump campaign officials have claimed that “Every piece of equipment, including WiFi and computers, was paid for by the campaign, and no White House staff is involved. The arrangement has been approved by White House counsel.”[i] However, it is your office that is responsible for investigating and prosecuting Hatch Act violations. I request answers to the questions below by Friday, November 6, 2020 regarding these reports.
I take potential violations of the Hatch Act very seriously and expect that your office will not ignore blatant violations of the law happening on Election Day. I look forward to working with you to better understand why Donald Trump is being allowed to abuse taxpayer resources. We need an administration that understands that our nation’s laws matter and refrains from abusing those laws. I hope you and everyone registered to vote participated in today’s election. Sincerely, |