It’s time for Merrick Garland to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate possible criminal Hatch Act violations.

BY CLAIRE O. FINKELSTEIN AND RICHARD W. PAINTER
NOV 16, 202111:14 AM

Last week, the Office of Special Counsel released a report finding that 13 senior Trump administration officials violated the Hatch Act, a statute prohibiting federal officials from using their positions to influence the outcome of partisan elections. In August 2020, we filed a Hatch Act complaint with that office against Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for, among other things, using a diplomatic mission to Jerusalem to broadcast a speech to the Republican National Convention in which he advocated for the reelection of President Donald Trump. The recent OSC report affirms the analysis in our complaint and finds that Pompeo did indeed violate the Hatch Act.