White House chief of staff and serial Twitter user Ron Klain violated the Hatch Act, a federal law that forbids government employees from engaging in campaign-related activity, according to an Office of Special Counsel letter obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The violation occurred earlier this year when Klain retweeted the left-wing political action committee Strike PAC on May 22, the Office of Special Counsel said in its letter to the America First Legal. The tweet thanked President Joe Biden for delivering infant formula to the United States amid a national shortage, and linked to the commitee's online store.
Such conduct is illegal. The Hatch Act forbids federal "employees from, among other things, using their official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election and knowingly soliciting, accepting, or receiving political contributions from any person."
The Hatch Act violation is one in a series of White House controversies that stem from Klain's habitual use of Twitter. As the Free Beacon previously reported, Klain's Twitter feed often provides a window into the inner workings of the White House.
Klain's Twitter feed has revealed, among many other things, his preference for a $23 minimum wage and how the Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin holds tremendous influence over the Biden administration's policy decisions. In the midst of the United States' disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, Klain was on Twitter liking tweets by a left-wing pundit who said "we know war is messy."
Despite the violation of federal law, the chief of the office's Hatch Act Unit concluded it would not charge Klain with a crime. Instead, the agency's vice president and general counsel sent Klain a warning letter.
"Although OSC has concluded that Mr. Klain violated the Hatch Act, we understand that he promptly removed the retweet upon being notified of this complaint," the letter states. "Accordingly, we have decided not to pursue disciplinary action and will close this matter."