After another successful night of the Republican National Convention, panicked reporters on Wednesday’s network morning shows wildly declared that the entire event could be “illegal” and “possibly a violation of the Hatch Act,” which regulates how and when government officials engage in campaign politics. Making it clear who was issuing the marching orders, the broadcasts touted “House Democrats now investigating” the GOP presentation.
Leading off the mass media hysteria was CBS This Morning co-host Tony Dokoupil, who frantically proclaimed at the top of the show: “Breaking Convention. Republicans stretch the limits on mixing politics and official business. Was it illegal?” Minutes later, he teed up correspondent Weijia Jiang to argue the answer was yes: “The convention also featured repeated examples of Trump administration officials mixing government and politics....Why is it significant that officials mixed government business and politics?”
Reading her DNC-approved script, Jiang warned:
The White House was used as a prominent backdrop and multiple official duties were conducted at a campaign event, which is possibly a violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits government employees from participating in some political activities while on the job....Mike Pompeo violated his own department’s policy banning diplomats from engaging in political activity.
At the top of the 8:00 a.m. ET hour, co-host Anthony Mason cited the Democratic Party puppet masters of the media to attempt to bolster the laughable case:
Democrats say they will investigate Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s convention speech. He taped it in Jerusalem while on State Department business. A spokesman says Pompeo spoke in his personal capacity, with no help from government officials. Democrats say last night’s speech may violate the Hatch Act prohibiting executive branch employees from some political activities.
Completely lacking any self-awareness, fellow co-host Gayle King, a Democratic Party donor who pretends to be a journalist, fretted over political conflicts of interest to former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus: “Reince, I want to start with you first, picking up on the Mike Pompeo story....it was a very political speech. Now normally, you know, we don’t mix up government and politics in this particular time. What did you think of him breaking the norm? Did it concern you at all?”
Priebus dismissed the incredibly weak criticism:
Not really, Gayle....the Hatch Act’s kind of a – it’s a law that makes sure that people that are political or they have a federal position like a chief of staff, like me or Valerie Jarrett, a senior counselor, that when it comes time for campaigning that you only do that on personal time....And as far as what the law says, he’s fine to do it....all of those things have been approved by Office of Legal Counsel and the Democrats aren’t going to win debating the Hatch Act, I promise you that.
ABC’s Good Morning America kept up the attempt to criminalize campaign politics as fill-in co-host Cecilia Vega announced at the top of program: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s unprecedented convention speech violating protocol and sparking sharp criticism.”
In a report minutes later, correspondent Mary Bruce breathlessly feared: “Never before has the White House been used as a backdrop for a party convention. Critics say it crosses an ethical line and even raises questions of legality, using the power of the presidency for political gain.” Like her CBS colleagues, she had no problem promoting Democrats abusing their power: “The nation’s top diplomat delivering a political speech at a convention while on a diplomatic mission abroad, violating his department’s own policy not to engage in political activity to back a candidate....House Democrats now investigating if he violated federal law.”
Following the hit piece, ABC anchor and resident Democratic hack George Stephanopoulos fretted to former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie:
White House taking some heat for – the President and the White House taking some heat for the use of the White House. Mike Pompeo giving that speech as a sitting Secretary of State on a diplomatic mission, it sure seems like the President has basically embraced that, despite the criticism and possible investigations.
During the network’s special coverage Tuesday night, Stephanopoulos had the audacity to turn to his old Clinton White House buddy Rahm Emanuel as the two of them denounced President Trump for having “always broken the boundaries.” Maybe they should ask Monica Lewinsky about that assertion.
Not wanting to be left out of the partisan inquisition, on NBC’s Today show, correspondent Peter Alexander wailed:
With parts of it broadcast from here at the White House, the convention so far didn’t just blur the line between governing and politics, it seemed to erase it all together....The President putting the powers of his office to work for his re-election, from the unprecedented use of the White House grounds for his wife’s convention speech, to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shattering a longstanding tradition that American diplomats do not participate in political conventions, speaking from the site of an official trip to Jerusalem.
The nervous leftist press are so desperate to declare the RNC a failure, before it’s even complete, that they are grasping at any straw they can find to condemn the event. They need to help drag the Biden-Harris campaign over the finish line no matter what.
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Here is a transcript of the August 26 coverage on CBS This Morning:
7:00 AM ET
TONY DOKOUPIL: Breaking Convention. Republicans stretch the limits on mixing politics and official business. Was it illegal?
(...)
7:12 AM ET
TONY DOKOUPIL: The convention also featured repeated examples of Trump administration officials mixing government and politics. Weijia Jiang is at the White House for us following all of this. Weijia, good morning to you. Why is it significant that officials mixed government business and politics?
WEIJIA JIANG: Well, good morning, Tony, good morning to everybody. The White House was used as a prominent backdrop and multiple official duties were conducted at a campaign event, which is possibly a violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits government employees from participating in some political activities while on the job. But it is worth noting that President Trump has the final say to determine if someone violated the Hatch Act, and he has made clear that positive optics outweigh any potential ethics violations.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Mixing Business & Politics; President Trump Uses the Office, First Lady Steps Into the Spotlight]
The second night of the Republican National Convention put the power of the presidency on display at a political event in an unprecedented way.
DONALD TRUMP: As I grant John, I’m not sure you know this, a full pardon.
JIANG: Beginning with President Trump’s pardoning of Jon Ponder, a convicted bank robber who has since founded a program helping former inmates reenter society.
CHAD WOLF [ACTING DHS SECRETARY]: Raise your right hand –
JIANG: The President also oversaw a naturalization ceremony at the White House, even though his administration has taken controversial actions to limit legal immigration to the U.S.
TRUMP: We welcome five absolutely incredible new members into our great American family.
JIANG: Mike Pompeo violated his own department’s policy banning diplomats from engaging in political activity. The State Department insisted Pompeo spoke in his personal capacity. But he praised Mr. Trump’s foreign policy accomplishments while on an official trip in Jerusalem.
(...)
8:05 AM ET
ANTHONY MASON: Democrats say they will investigate Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s convention speech. He taped it in Jerusalem while on State Department business. A spokesman says Pompeo spoke in his personal capacity, with no help from government officials. Democrats say last night’s speech may violate the Hatch Act prohibiting executive branch employees from some political activities.
GAYLE KING: Well, we are joined now by Valerie Jarrett, she’s a former senior adviser for President Barack Obama, and Reince Priebus, who is President Trump’s former chief of staff. Reince, I want to start with you first, picking up on the Mike Pompeo story. He started the speech, Reince, as you saw, saying, “I’m Susan’s husband and I’m Nick’s dad.” But nobody could miss the fact that he also had his Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State face on and that it was a very political speech. Now normally, you know, we don’t mix up government and politics in this particular time. What did you think of him breaking the norm? Did it concern you at all?
REINCE PRIEBUS: Not really, Gayle. And by the way, good morning to you and Valerie and the gang.
KING: Good morning.
PRIEBUS: Yeah, not really. You know, the Hatch Act’s kind of a – it’s a law that makes sure that people that are political or they have a federal position like a chief of staff, like me or Valerie Jarrett, a senior counselor, that when it comes time for campaigning that you only do that on personal time. And so, it’s just like the President using Air Force One and you’ve had to split up the costs and the campaign pays for part. And you know, I think in the case of Mike Pompeo, a big part of the portfolio of Trump is going to be confronting China, Israel, trade, and all of those issues that I think are going to be very important in this election. So Office of Legal Counsel, which is an official sort of third-party body that reviews these things, also approved it. So, you know...
KING: But Reince, you know, he did violate his own –
PRIEBUS: It makes for an interesting conversation, but it’s – go ahead.
KING: But he did violate his own department’s policy.
PRIEBUS: Yeah, and I haven’t seen that. But I do know that it’s completely unconstitutional to prevent people from using their personal time if they want to be involved in politics. It’s like me going to a Trump rally when I was the chief of staff. I mean, I did that – I did those things quite a bit. But we also had to account for my time in a way that was legal. And so, that’s really, I think, what’s going on here. Now whether they’re violating their own policies, I don’t know about that. But I do know what the law says. And as far as what the law says, he’s fine to do it.
KING: Alright. There are some Republicans, though, who disagree with that. But, Valerie, what did you think of the impact of that speech?
VALERIE JARRETT: Well, it wasn’t just the Secretary of State doing it, it was also the fact that they held much of the ceremony in the White House, in the Rose Garden. Gayle, that’s totally unprecedented to do. And, even further, to have gone up on the state floor and had a naturalization ceremony – no one can argue that that is anything but official business – as a backdrop to a political campaign. All of this is totally unprecedented. It certainly, in my opinion, violates the Hatch Act. But certainly if not the law, certainly the spirit. We want to separate politics from government. And that did not happen last night. It wasn’t a blurring of the lines, it was an erasing of the line.
(...)
8:10 AM ET
PRIEBUS: I do think the Republicans are going to get a bump here. And as far as the Hatch Act is concerned, all of those things have been approved by Office of Legal Counsel and the Democrats aren’t going to win debating the Hatch Act, I promise you that.
(...)
