Legal experts say SSA and IRS emails praising Trump may violate Hatch Act
Emails from the Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service praising Donald Trump may violate the Hatch Act, legal experts say, days before Tuesday’s midterms. The SSA email included a message from Frank Bisignano, SSA commissioner and IRS chief executive. University of Minnesota law professor Richard Painter said its timing could persuade people Trump was doing a good job.
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Emails from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) praising Donald Trump may violate the Hatch Act, legal experts said, days before Tuesday’s midterm elections. The 1939 law restricts certain political activity by federal employees. The New York Times reported that the SSA sent an email to people with online accounts on Friday and Saturday under the name of Frank Bisignano, the SSA commissioner and IRS chief executive. In the message, Bisignano wrote that, under Trump, the SSA was “transforming into a model of excellence” that meets and exceeds customer expectations for fast, accurate and secure service. Richard Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, told the Times the timing was intended to persuade people that Trump was doing a good job.
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The Hill reports that experts say praise of Trump in SSA and IRS emails may violate the Hatch Act. Raw Story separately reports the same concern about the SSA email, while UA.News attributes its account to The Hill.