White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has been found to have violated the Hatch Act, a law that prohibits federal employees from using their positions to influence elections. The Office of Special Counsel determined that Jean-Pierre’s repeated references to “mega MAGA Republicans” during the lead-up to the 2022 midterms constituted a violation of the Act.

During a White House press briefing on Nov. 2, Jean-Pierre referred to “mega MAGA Republican officials who don’t believe in the rule of law” and made other disparaging remarks about Republican candidates. The conservative watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust filed a Hatch Act complaint against Jean-Pierre last November, pointing out her comments as an attempt to influence the election.

The Office of Special Counsel’s letter confirmed the violation but noted that it was unclear if their analysis regarding the use of “MAGA Republicans” had been conveyed to Jean-Pierre.

Ana Galindo‐Marrone, who leads the agency’s Hatch Act Unit, wrote in a June 7 letter:

Because Ms. Jean‐Pierre made the statements while acting in her official capacity, she violated the Hatch Act prohibition against using her official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.

While the violation of law was acknowledged, the Office of Special Counsel decided to close the matter without taking further action. The White House Counsel’s Office had not considered Jean-Pierre’s remarks as prohibited at the time. Instead of pursuing disciplinary action, Jean-Pierre received a warning letter.

Galindo‐Marrone wrote:

We have decided not to pursue disciplinary action and have instead issued Ms. Jean‐Pierre a warning letter.

[I]t is unclear whether OSC’s contrary analysis regarding the use of ‘MAGA Republicans’ was ever conveyed to Ms. Jean‐Pierre.

Read More:

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Special Counsel: WH Chief of Staff Ron Klain Broke the Law

KJP: “Mega MAGA Republicans do not believe in the rule of law. They refuse to accept the results of elections and they fan the flames of political violence." pic.twitter.com/W4Pw4gUhI4

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 2, 2022

Jean-Pierre had previously cited the Hatch Act as a reason for declining certain questions from reporters or providing limited responses, particularly in the weeks leading up to the 2022 midterms. Far from an isolated incident, the phrase was a deliberate strategy deployed by the Biden administration ahead of the midterm elections.

For VIP Subscribers, I encourage you to revisit this piece, where I lay out the evolution of the “extreme MAGA Republicans” rhetoric from the White House, especially Jean-Pierre, and its source… six months of polling:

…the Biden catchphrase was the product of six full months of research by the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Plus, of course, private polling by Hart Research and the Global Strategy Group.

The Anatomy of Anti-MAGA

The White House included such language in a memo in mid-August:

Congressional Republicans sided with the special interests — pushing an extreme MAGA agenda that costs families. The Building a Better America campaign will use all of the tools of the White House to bring these messages to the American people.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says President Joe Biden thinks "MAGA Republicans" are "an extreme threat to our democracy."

"That is just facts," she finished. pic.twitter.com/glu78GrGL4

— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) August 31, 2022

In late August, Jean-Pierre previewed what President Biden would theme his primetime address, calling MAGA Republicans an extremist threat:

The President thinks there is an extremist threat to our democracy… the MAGA Republicans are the most energized part of the Republican Party… this is an extreme threat to our democracy, to our freedom, to our rights. They just don’t respect our rule of law.

Last September, President Biden unveiled his use of this rhetoric in a now-infamous address to the nation saying, while flanked by Marines.

An excerpt of Biden’s hyper-partisan speech:

 Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.

Now, I want to be very clear — (applause) — very clear up front: Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans.  Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology. I know because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.

But there is no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country. These are hard things. But I’m an American President — not the President of red America or blue America, but of all America.

And I believe it is my duty — my duty to level with you, to tell the truth no matter how difficult, no matter how painful. And here, in my view, is what is true: MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution.  They do not believe in the rule of law.  They do not recognize the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a free election.  And they’re working right now, as I speak, in state after state to give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.

MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards — backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love. They promote authoritarian leaders, and they fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country.

In October, Jean-Pierre acknowledged that Biden’s then-chief of staff, Ron Klain, had violated the Hatch Act when he retweeted a political message from his official government account. She said that the White House takes the provision seriously but is “not perfect.”