What Is The Hatch Act? Trump’s Campaign Accused Of Breaking Federal Law

President Donald Trump’s campaign for reelection may have broken the law at the Republican National Convention. The Hatch Act is intended to prevent federal employees from taking part in political activities while on the job, and the House is investigating if Trump’s campaign broke the rule on Tuesday night.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in the middle of a diplomatic trip to Jerusalem when he made a speech Tuesday night at the RNC. However, The Hatch Act dictates that presidential and political appointees are supposed to refrain from engaging in partisan political activities related to U.S. elections, especially while overseas.

A March 31 memo from the Department of Ethics makes it clear that The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from taking part in political activities “while on duty, in a Government room or building, while wearing an official uniform, or while using a Government vehicle.”

The memo, sent to all Department of the Interior employees, further clarifies that the Hatch Act defines political activity as just about anything that promotes or fights against a candidate or political party. “Violations of the Hatch Act carry serious penalties, which may result in disciplinary action or removal from Federal employment,” the note warned.

The consequences of violating the Hatch Act are not criminal. Violators could be terminated, fined or simply warned not to do it again.

Pompeo is not the only one who appears to be violating the Hatch Act. Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf swore in five new U.S. citizens. His appearance at the RNC seems like a violation of the Hatch Act.

House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee announced Tuesday that they’d investigate if Pompeo’s speech was legal.

Part of the Hatch Act’s reason for existing is to present a united front to other countries. “The argument for avoiding such gatherings has been that the United States needs to speak with one voice overseas, and that the secretary of State needs to be seen as representing the country, not a political party,” Politico reports.

Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Vice Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Chairman of its Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, noted in his letter to Deputy Secretary Biegun about the investigation that it not only violates the Hatch Act, but Pompeo’s speech also violates the Foreign Affairs Manual as well as a December 2019 memo from the Office of the Legal Adviser to the State Department.