An anti-Trump political action committee filed an ethics complaint Thursday against White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders after she said ESPN host Jemele Hill committed a "fireable offense."
The Democratic Coalition filed its complaint with the Office of Government Ethics because it believes Sanders "crossed the line and put herself in dubious legal territory," the Wrap reported.
Hill attacked President Donald Trump on Twitter Monday by calling him a "white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists."
Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017
ESPN has called Hill's comments "inappropriate" and said she has a right to express her political opinions, but not in a way that suggested it represented the network. Hill apologized for the way she expressed her views, and the network accepted her apology.
Sanders was asked during the White House press briefing Wednesday whether Trump knew about Hill's comments.
"I'm not sure if he's aware, but I think that is one of the more outrageous comments that anyone could make, and certainly something I think is a fireable offense by ESPN," Sanders said.
Sanders doubled down on her comments Thursday, saying she stands by her comments from the White House press briefing and that ESPN should take actions against Hill.
The Super PAC disagrees, and said that if anyone should be fired, it should be Sanders.
"For Sanders to publicly call for the dismissal of a Trump critic is bizarre and disturbing, to say the least," Coalition chairman Jon Cooper said. "If anyone is to be fired, it should be her."
The coalition's complaint is based on a federal law stating that certain government employees, including all executive branch employees, are prohibited from influencing the employment decisions or practices of a private entity or company "solely on the basis of partisan political affiliation."
Breaking the law is punishable by a fine, up to 15 years in prison, or both.
"This is yet another example of the Trump White House's blatant disregard for the Constitution and its authoritarian efforts to quiet dissenters," said Nate Lerner, the group's executive director. "It is of the utmost importance that we hold the Trump administration accountable for this illicit behavior and protect our democratic institutions."