House Panel Votes to Subpoena Kellyanne Conway

The White House counsel has insisted that no violations have occurred and that even if they had, the law does not apply to the most senior adviser to the president.

The White House also instructed Conway not to appear before Congress for testimony.

Cummings denied that a subpoena of Conway implicates privileged material. “We’re not asking about any conversations she had with the president or advice she gave,” he said. “Here we have a clear-cut case of a federal employee violating federal law over and over and over and over again. … This is the opposite of accountability and is contrary to our fundamental system of laws. Nobody is above the law. Not even Ms. Conway.”

Defending the report before the committee this morning, OSC special counsel Henry Kerner rejected assertions that he was politically motivated.

Himself a Trump appointee, Kerner noted that that Conway’s conduct sets her apart from other Trump administration officials whose speech has invited regular public scrutiny.

Kerner pointed to former White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders specifically, noting how she “deftly pivoted” from press corps questions about election issues to avoid potential violations while in her official capacity.

“Conway’s comments, by contrast, were indistinguishable from the partisan attacks a campaign official would make,” Kerner said.

Ultimately, it is the president’s prerogative on what punishment to impose on Conway, if any.

“That’s his choice and that’s consistent with the statute,” he said.

But in the history of OSC, Kerner noted, there had “never been a repeat offender” like Conway, nor had there ever been a situation where so many violations stacked up.

“And she made a comment to suggest she didn’t feel bound by it,” Kerner said. “There’s no way to stay in federal employment while she feels she is not obligated to abide by the law.”

Apart from Representative Justin Amash of Michigan, who broke party lines to support the subpoena vote, several Republicans on the committee refused to back down.

With Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina insisting that the subpoena sets a “dangerous precedent,” Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio argued that members of the Obama administration had not been held to the same standards for Hatch Act violations. 

In reality, however, two Obama administration officials Kathleen Sebelius and Julian Castro both expressed remorse when the OSC found them in violation of the Hatch Act. In the case of Sebelius, who had been secretary of Health and Human Services, a fine was also levied for the violation.

Representative Harley Rouda, an Ohio Democrat, said the difference between the administrations is clear cut.

“Today we have one person here who has 11 violations,” Rouda said.  

After an intense exchange with Meadows, Chairman Cummings sternly warned the lawmakers they were verging on bullying as they insinuated Kerner was lying under oath.

Specifically, Meadows took issue with reports that Kerner spoke to a small group of people inside OSC about his frustration with Conway when she refused to come into compliance.

A self-professed conservative Republican, Kerner admitted he expressed frustration, and that he believed the OSC had been “poked in the eye” by Conway’s refusals. Denying that there was any impropriety, however, he noted that the entire OSC report was written prior to any of his comments.

“We felt that since we had the report, and there was no way for her to come into compliance, it was time to release the report,” Kerner said. “It wasn’t done because she hurt my feelings, though I was disappointed she said these things because I hoped we could reach an agreement with her. Whatever feelings I had were unrelated to the release of the report.”

The White House did not immediately respond to request for comment.

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