The Trump administration on Monday said White House counselor Kellyanne Conway will not appear before the House Oversight and Reform Committee later this week, The Hill reported. The Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing about alleged Hatch Act violations.
"As you know, the precedent for members of the White House staff to decline invitations to testify before congressional committees has been consistently adhered to by administrations of both political parties, and is based on clearly established constitutional doctrines," White House Pat Cipollone wrote in a letter to Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD).
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel told President Donald Trump he should fire Conway for Hatch Act Violations. According to the OSC, Conway violated the Hatch Act by "disparaging Democratic presidential candidates while speaking in her official capacity during television interviews and on social media."
"Ms. Conway's violations, if left unpunished, would send a message to all federal employees that they need not abide by the Hatch Act's restrictions. Her actions thus erode the principal foundation of our democratic system -- the rule of law," the letter to Trump said, CNN reported.
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Cummings said the Committee will be subpoenaing Conway over the alleged violations.
"We cannot have people disobeying the law," Cummings said. "The President is not above the law. And neither is Ms. Conway above the law."
If she still fails to appear before the Committee, even after being subpoenaed, Cummings is prepared to hold her in contempt.
Conway said during a "Fox and Friends" interview that if she came forward to testify on the Hatch Act, she would be the first West Wing employee to do so.
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