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Politico: Trump's electoral threat against Sen. Claire McCaskill raises legal questions
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/30/trump-claire-mccaskill-ethics-missouri-242187President Donald Trump’s public electoral threat Wednesday against Sen. Claire McCaskill during a speech in Missouri on tax reform triggered another round of questions about the administration’s blurring the line between partisan politics and official business.
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“We must — we have no choice — we must lower our taxes. And your senator, Claire McCaskill, she must do this for you, and if she doesn’t do it for you, you have to vote her out of office,” Trump said to loud applause and whistling from the audience. “She’s got to make that commitment. She’s got to make that commitment. If she doesn’t do it — we just can’t do this anymore with the obstruction and the obstructionists.”
Ethics experts said the main issue raised by the president’s comments is whether he was ad-libbing or whether White House aides planned for him to urge McCaskill’s defeat.
Trump is not covered by the Hatch Act, the federal law prohibiting politicking while on official duty, but White House officials are subject to the measure.
“The Office of Special Counsel should examine very closely if staffers were involved in the preparation of these remarks,” said Nick Schwellenbach, a former OSC official now with the Project on Government Oversight.
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“We must — we have no choice — we must lower our taxes. And your senator, Claire McCaskill, she must do this for you, and if she doesn’t do it for you, you have to vote her out of office,” Trump said to loud applause and whistling from the audience. “She’s got to make that commitment. She’s got to make that commitment. If she doesn’t do it — we just can’t do this anymore with the obstruction and the obstructionists.”
Ethics experts said the main issue raised by the president’s comments is whether he was ad-libbing or whether White House aides planned for him to urge McCaskill’s defeat.
Trump is not covered by the Hatch Act, the federal law prohibiting politicking while on official duty, but White House officials are subject to the measure.
“The Office of Special Counsel should examine very closely if staffers were involved in the preparation of these remarks,” said Nick Schwellenbach, a former OSC official now with the Project on Government Oversight.
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According to the article, the WH has not answered questions about who wrote the speech.
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