Kellyanne Conway ended any hopes the Democrats had of grilling her about her alleged Hatch Act violations Monday. She was a no-show at a congressional hearing before the House Oversight Committee, defying a subpoena on the instructions of President Donald Trump, the Hill reported.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone notified the committee that Conway would not testify Monday, claiming that she had immunity as a part of Trump’s staff. “The long-standing principle of immunity for senior advisers to the President is firmly rooted in the Constitution’s separation of powers and protects the core functions of the Presidency,” Cipollone wrote to Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD).
Cummings held a brief hearing without Conway and set a July 25th date for a contempt vote against her because of her absence. “We hope Ms. Conway will reconsider,” Cummings said. “Our goal is to hear from Ms. Conway. If she does not change course, we have no choice but to hold her accountable.”
Why Conway won’t testify
With the House now run by Democrats, Republicans have become cautious about responding to subpoenas asking them to answer questions about Trump and their work for him. “They’re trying to silence me and take away my First Amendment rights,” Conway said during an interview on Fox News. “I would be happy to testify, just so we’re clear. I have nothing to hide. I have done nothing wrong.”
“I would love to go testify, but I’m taking one for the team here because there’s a long-standing tradition to claim immunity and not have people like me testify,” she added.
The committee’s ranking Republican Jim Jordan (OH) called the hearing “pure politics” and a blatant effort “to silence one of the president’s top advisers.”
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said Democrats were engaged in a “purely political campaign to harass the President and his close advisers.” “Democrats continue to overreach and politicize the Office of Special Counsel — this time, by trying to silence Kellyanne Conway with ill-founded, phony allegations about the Hatch Act,” Grisham said, adding that the committee knows they can’t compel Conway to testify.
Playing gotcha
House Democrats are seeking to get Conway to testify about alleged Hatch Act violations. The 1939 Hatch Act says that members of a presidential administration cannot comment on elections in their professional capacity, according to Politico.
Conway did make negative remarks about several presidential candidates in response to questions by cable news hosts, but argues that she was answering a direct question, which she said did not violate the law.
It seems as though Democrats are stretching pretty far to attack Republicans with connections to Trump. When Mueller failed to prove collusion or obstruction, the Democrats instead turned their efforts toward trying to get dirt on anyone who has ever served in Trump’s administration.
It isn’t even about catching Trump in doing something wrong. Every time they get a Republican to testify before them, they have an opportunity to catch them in an unintentional lie.
Luckily, Trump and his team are well aware of the Democrats’ attempts at perjury traps. That’s why most have been instructed not to testify.
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