CONTACT: Jordan Libowitz
[email protected]

Washington—Senior Policy Advisor to the President Stephen Miller appears to have violated the Hatch Act during an interview this morning on Fox and Friends, according to a complaint sent today to the Office of Special Counsel by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). Miller criticized presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden while giving an interview from the White House in his official capacity. The Trump campaign then tweeted it out, again identifying him with his official title. 

“This administration continues to use its official powers improperly to assist the president’s re-election and to chip away at the checks and balances that preserve our democracy,” said CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder. “It is well past time for those like Stephen Miller, who show an open disdain for ethics laws like the Hatch Act and who illegally use official resources to promote the president’s re-election bid, to be held accountable for their actions.”

The Hatch Act prohibits executive branch employees from “us[ing their] official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.” “Political activity” is defined as “an activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan political office, or partisan political group.”

“Senior officials in this administration repeatedly act as though laws and ethics rules do not apply to them, particularly when it comes to misusing office for the president’s political or personal benefit, and it needs to stop,” said Bookbinder. “OSC should act swiftly and decisively to investigate Miller and take appropriate action.”

Throughout this presidency, CREW’s complaints have led to an unprecedented number of Trump administration officials being reprimanded for Hatch Act violations, including Dan Scavino, Nikki Haley, Stephanie Grisham, Raj Shah, Jessica Ditto, Madeleine Westerhout, Helen Aguirre Ferre, Alyssa Farah, Jacob Wood, Kellyanne Conway and Lynne Patton. Following CREW’s complaints against Kellyanne Conway, OSC took the unprecedented step of recommending Conway be removed from federal service in a scathing report detailing her numerous ethics violations.

Click here to view the complaint.