It Sure Sounds Like Kellyanne Conway Broke a Major Federal Law

Kellyanne Conway defines what's true or false — and is apparently also oblivious to federal ethics laws.

The counselor to the president serves the United States government, therefore she is not permitted to use her public office (though unelected) for private gain, according to federal law. But when Conway plugged Ivanka Trump's clothing line in response to the retailers who have dropped the brand on a Thursday morning interview with Fox & Friends, she appeared to do just that.

As the interview wrapped up, Conway encouraged viewers to "go buy Ivanka's stuff" after expressing her admiration for the president's daughter's clothing brand. "It's a wonderful line," Conway said. "I fully — I'm going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online."

While Conway herself would see no financial gain from the publicity, Trump and his family would. The language of the ethics law specifies that as well: "An employee shall not use his public office for his own private gain, for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives . . ."

House representatives have already reacted to this apparent violation of the federal ethics law, with House Oversight and Government Committee ranking member Elijah Cummings leading the charge. (Normally, as Politico points out, the White House counsel would pursue an investigation.)

In an open letter to the committee chairman, Republican Jason Chaffetz, Cummings wrote, "This appears to be a textbook violation of government ethics laws and regulations enacted to prevent the abuse of an employee's government position."

Given Trump's own promotion of Ivanka's clothing line on Twitter, it's unclear whether Conway will be reprimanded for her negligence. There is at least one civilian complaint against Conway: Politico reports that Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a grievance with the Government Ethics Office.