Conway Acted ‘Without Nefarious Motive or Intent to Benefit Personally’ White House Says
After White House Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway stood in the White House and gave what she said was a “free commercial” for Ivanka Trump’s clothing line on Fox News, the Office of Government Ethics sent a letter to the Trump administration asking them to describe what disciplinary action, if any, it will take against her.
The White House has responded: none.
“Upon completion of our inquiry, we concluded that Ms. Conway acted inadvertently and is highly unlikely to do so again,” a letter, signed by White House deputy counsel for compliance and ethics Stefan C. Passantino reads, according to CNN Money.
“Go buy Ivanka’s stuff, is what I would tell you,” Conway told “Fox & Friends” viewers last month. She specifically noted that she was giving the president’s daughter a “free commercial.”Â
“It is noted that Ms. Conway made the statement in question in a light, off-hand manner while attempting to stand up for a person she believed had been unfairly treated and did so without nefarious motive or intent to benefit personally,” the letter adds.
Office of Government Ethics director Walter Shaub had written to the White House, saying that “there is strong reason to believe” Conway “violated the Standards of Conduct and that disciplinary action is warranted.”
“I recommend that the White House investigate Ms. Conway’s actions and consider taking disciplinary action against her,†Shaub stated.
Democratic U.S. Congressman Elijah Cummings had requested the House Oversight Committee investigate Kellyanne Conway’s remarks for “potential disciplinary action.”
Ethics experts called Conway’s apparent violation of a federal ethics law, “jaw dropping.”