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Does This Administration Even Know What the Hatch Act Is?

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  July 07, 2023 2:00 PM

Earlier this week, an "unknown item," which turned out to be cocaine, was found at the White House. The more we learn about the situation, the weirder it gets. As is sadly not all that surprising, the Biden administration hasn't been very helpful or forthcoming. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre indicated during Wednesday's press briefing that they're not "assisting in anything." It's only gotten less than helpful from there. 

Thursday's press gaggle aboard Air Force One was even more bizarre, as Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates tried to hide behind the Hatch Act while refusing to answer a question about speculation from former and potentially future President Donald Trump that the cocaine belonged to President Joe Biden or his son, Hunter Biden. 

"You know, President – former President Trump has made some pretty wild posts recently on social media. One of them was that the cocaine found in the White House was – had belonged to either the President or his son. Are you willing to say that that's not the case, that they don't belong to them?" the reporter asked. 

"I don't have a response to that because we have to be careful about the Hatch Act," Bates claimed. 

The response was a line of defense that Katie, in her coverage about the White House's "stonewalling," aptly referred to as "a completely ridiculous assertion." Other people noticed, too, as "Hatch Act" was trending on Twitter following the gaggle on Thursday and even into Friday. 

A Fox News report mentions a statement that Bates provided to Fox News Digital that says Trump's comments – referenced in the question – were a direct "comment from a declared candidate." 

Bates didn't just move on to take another question, though. He took the time to give a lengthy non-answer that had nothing to do with the direct question asked. The question wasn't why Trump reacted as he did, though that was the question Bates decided to answer. 

"What I will say is that I have noticed there does seem to be some increasing frustration coming from that corner in general. And I think it is probably rooted in the contrast between their substantive policy records," he offered, launching into a spin-filled overview of Biden's record. 

Included in that response was a claim that "the economy [the Biden administration] inherited was in freefall. We turned it around by creating more jobs in two years than any other president in four," which has been fact-checked at length, as Mia did on multiple occasions. Bates eventually went on to say that "it would be unsurprising if there's a little bit of frustration on the part of people who worked in the last administration," which in no way addressed the discovery of cocaine in a particularly alarming area of the White House, "in a cubby near the White House's West Executive entrance," according to NBC News, which is "one floor below the main West Wing offices and the same floor as the Situation Room and a dining area." 

Just before he finally moved on to take another question, Bates lamented that "of course, this dovetails with today's announcement from Enphase, which comes at a moment when we have crossed the threshold of $500 billion in private sector investment due to Bidenomics, which is about growing our economy by growing the middle class." 

Bidenomics is a complete failure, as Townhall has highlighted at length regarding inflation and job growth. Americans oppose Bidenomics, too, though it's still something that the White House nevertheless is trying to push. 

Lauding another failed policy of this administration, Bates also claimed, "There is no better way to do that than giving people good jobs coming to America, thanks to policies like the Inflation Reduction Act." 

Regardless of Bates' response included all kinds of faulty points, it highlights how this administration can't take accountability or personal responsibility. 

Bates' response means it's worth asking if he or anyone else in this administration knows what the Hatch Act is and says, given that they hide behind it in non-applicable situations and abuse it in others where it does apply. 

Here is the overview of the Hatch Act from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC): 

The Hatch Act, a federal law passed in 1939, limits certain political activities of federal employees, as well as some state, D.C., and local government employees who work in connection with federally funded programs. The law’s purposes are to ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation. 

That same Fox News report mentions expert opinions saying invoking the Hatch Act makes no sense.

Bradley P. Moss, an attorney, told Fox News Digital that he is "candidly at a loss as to why Mr. Bates believes the Hatch Act is relevant with respect to addressing that question." Moss also offered that he "could envision other legitimate bases for declining to respond, such as respecting the integrity of the ongoing investigation, but references to the Hatch Act seem misplaced." 

Richard Painter, who served as an ethics lawyer under the George W. Bush administration and ran for Congress as a Democrat last cycle, was less charitable. 

Painter also explained that he has "given lectures at the White House" and published articles on the Hatch Act, but the bill "does not cover snorting cocaine." 

"What the —— does the Hatch Act have to do with cocaine?" Painter told Fox News Digital, calling it "the ridiculous invocation of the Hatch Act I’ve ever heard." Even if someone on Biden's campaign were "high as a kite," the Hatch Act would not cover the cocaine in question, Painter also said. 

Thursday's incident isn't the first time Bates has discussed the Hatch Act. Last month, it was revealed that the OSC found Jean-Pierre violated the Hatch Act, for which she received a warning letter. 

"Unfortunately, we have seen mega MAGA Republican officials who don’t believe in the rule of law. They refuse to accept the results of free and fair elections, and they fan the flames of political violence through what they praise and what they refuse to condemn," Jean-Pierre said from the podium last November just before the midterm elections. 

"As has been made clear throughout the administration, we take the law seriously and uphold the Hatch Act. We are reviewing this opinion," Bates told NBC News. His statement wasn't believable then, and it's certainly not believable now. 

Jean-Pierre is not the only one to have violated the federal law. 

As Spencer reported at the time, Health & Human Services Sec. Xavier Becerra was informed by the OSC in April that he violated the Hatch Act by "expressing support for Senator Alex Padilla's reelection while speaking in his official capacity at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Annual Awards Gala on September 15, 2022." 

When deviating from his prepared remarks, Becerra spoke about Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), saying, "To my brother, my friend and senator, and someone I will be voting for in a little bit more than a month, Alex Padilla, thank you so much, senator, for being there for all of us. We are proud to have you as our senator." 

It was also revealed last October that then-White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain had been in violation with his retweets from his official account in May 2022 of the pro-Democrat Strike PAC. Since the retweets were deleted once he was informed of the violation, the matter was closed without disciplinary action. 

Like Bates, Jean-Pierre has hidden behind the Hatch Act as well. As Spencer covered at the time, Jean-Pierre used the Hatch Act to claim that she couldn't answer a question during the May 30 press briefing about the president's 2024 campaign schedule. 

To those who would point to accusations against members of the previous administration for violating the Hatch Act, it's worth wondering what happened to the buck stopping in the here and now and what problems these members have with something called personal responsibility.