White House Won't Punish Julián Castro
U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro looks to be off the hook with the White House after the U.S. Office of Special Counsel found that Castro violated federal law.
At issue is the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that prohibits some of the political activities of federal employees, and a Katie Couric interview. In an April interview, Castro answered questions from the journalist of a political nature. The problem, according to the Office of Special Counsel, is that Castro gave the interview in his "official capacity" as a Cabinet member.
"I saw the statement from Secretary Castro, who acknowledged the inadvertent error," said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, when asked if a punishment was in store. "And he indicated that he would participate in some additional training and get an additional briefing to make sure that when hes doing interviews in the future that he understands what the Hatch Act requires."
"I think to his credit, Secretary Castro acknowledged the mistake that he made," Earnest added. "He owned up to it, and hes taken the necessary steps to prevent it from happening again. I think thats the expectation that people have when you make a mistake, particularly in a situation like this."
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2016/07/19/white-house-wont-punish-julian-castro/