White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre frequently avoids answering pointed questions from reporters by saying she cannot do so because of the Hatch Act. However, she has no problem repeating one of Joe Biden’s snide labels for his Trump-supporting opponents. She uses the term Mega MAGA Republicans and that violates the Hatch Act, as it turns out.

A government watchdog, Protect The Public’s Trust, filed a complaint with the Office of the Special Counsel. The Office of the Special Counsel (OSC) is the independent federal office that enforces the Hatch Act among government employees. OSC decided that she was attempting to ‘sway an election’ with her comments. The Logan Act prevents federal employees from influencing elections through their offices. When KJP repeatedly uses the term Mega MAGA Republicans, she interferes with an election, and in this case it was the 2022 midterm elections.

‘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,’ Ana Galindo‐Marrone, who leads the agency’s Hatch Act Unit, wrote in a June 7 letter that was first shared with NBC News.

No action has been taken against KJP. The reason is because the OSC is unclear if anyone ever told her that she shouldn’t use the term in press briefings or if she knew the term was considered election interference.

Despite finding Jean-Pierre in violation of the law, the Office of Special Counsel ‘decided to close this matter without further action,’ Galindo‐Marrone said in her letter, noting that the White House Counsel’s Office ‘did not at the time believe that Ms. Jean‐Pierre’s remarks were prohibited.’

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

No discipline action will be taken, the OSC noted.

Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, said they are reviewing the opinion. ‘As has been made clear throughout the administration, we take the law seriously and uphold the Hatch Act.”

Last November, just before the midterm elections, she suggested that voters should avoid voting for Trump-supporting candidates because they won’t accept election results.

‘Unfortunately, we have seen mega MAGA Republican officials who don’t believe in the rule of law,’ she told reporters in her November 2nd briefing. ‘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.’

Her comments came less than a week before voters went to the polls in the November midterm election.

Michael Chamberlain heads Protect the Public’s Trust. He is a former Trump administration official. The group claims KJP was trying to “sway an election” with her comments. ‘While the President is not subject to the Hatch Act, Karine Jean-Pierre is and must be held accountable.”

Some Trump administration officials were found to be in violation of the Hatch Act during that administration. A government investigation in November 2021 stated that at least 13 former Trump administration officials violated the Hatch Act by blending their official duties with campaigning.

OSC has closed this case and is only issuing a warning to KJP. She’s getting off the hook very easily here, considering how often she has used the term.

Michael Chamberlain issued a statement in a press release.

“Karine Jean-Pierre’s repeated efforts to condemn political opponents leading up to last year’s midterms were a clear violation of the Hatch Act, even one the Office of Special Counsel could not ignore,” stated Protect the Public’s Trust Director Michael Chamberlain. “We are glad that there remains some interest in investigating misconduct within the highest levels of government. Officials are supposed to exercise their authority for the benefit of all Americans, not act as an arm of a political party. Unfortunately, Ms. Jean-Pierre was likely following the lead of her boss, President Biden, who, despite repeated promises to return the country to normalcy and lower the political temperature, has often employed deeply polarizing messages and demeaning slogans targeted at his opponents. This episode provides yet another example why the American public’s trust in its government continues its downward spiral.”

KJP is fond of saying that “We believe in the rule of law here” when she uses the excuse of the Hatch Act to avoid questions from reporters. We’ll see if she admits her transgression (she won’t) and stop using the term Mega MAGA Republicans when she wants to say something derogatory against Republicans during an election cycle.