REPORT: Biden Chief of Staff Violated Hatch Act

The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) told White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain that he violated the Hatch Act in connection with a May Twitter tweet.

The infringement was highlighted by the OSC in a letter sent on Wednesday to Gene Hamilton, vice president and general counsel of the America First Legal Foundation, who originally submitted the complaint.

“OSC confirmed that Mr. Klain retweeted a May 22, 2022 message from Strike PAC (@StrikePAC) from his official Twitter account (@WHCOS). The tweet read, “Operation Fly Formula delivers 70,000 pounds of infant formula for American mothers and their infants. Thank you @POTUS.” The tweet also read, “Get your Democrats Deliver merch today!” and included a link to Strike PAC’s online store and an image of the group’s “Democrats Deliver” tshirt.” The letter read.

“By retweeting this message, Mr. Klain used his official Twitter account to promote a partisan political group’s interests and, therefore, OSC has concluded that he violated the Hatch Act’s use of official
authority prohibition.” The letter continued.

“In addition, Strike PAC’s tweet constituted a solicitation for political contributions because it encouraged others to buy the group’s merchandise.” The letter added.

Strike PAC is a partisan political organization that backs the Democratic Party.

Klain’s retweet took place in May.

On June 2, America First Legal requested an ethics probe against Klain.

Other Biden White House officials, like former Press Secretary Jen Psaki have also been warned over violating the Hatch act. Psaki had previously been cited for her decision to support then-Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe during his failed gubernatorial bid.