Democrats ask Office of Special Counsel to review if Kushner violated the Hatch Act

Two House Democrats on Monday asked a federal watchdog to investigate whether Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump and one of his senior advisers, violated the Hatch Act, a law which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities in their official duties.

Reps. Don Beyer of Virginia and Ted Lieu of California asked the independent Office of Special Counsel (OSC), a federal watchdog agency not to be confused with the now-defunct office of special counsel, to launch an investigation to determine if Kushner violated the statute in the wake of news reports that claimed he has been engaging in campaign fundraising activities from the White House.

The lawmakers cited a report published in the New York Times that claimed Kushner recently organized a meeting at the White House with Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and “a group of big donors” to discuss the fundraising strategy for 2020. They also pointed to a Yahoo News report that alleged Kushner is “the campaign’s key liaison in the West Wing” and has “multiple daily conversations” with Parscale.

View the complete June 18 article by Shira Tarlo from Salon on the AlterNet website here.

‘Lock him up!’: Calls grow for Mnuchin to be jailed for interfering with the release of Trump’s taxes

The laws are clear, according to legal experts who say the IRS “shall” hand over the tax returns of any person in the U.S. if requested by the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. The law also says any federal employee who does not properly execute tax laws can be jailed.

The Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee gave the IRS a deadline of Wednesday to hand over six years of President Donald Trump’s tax returns. The Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Mnuchin, intervened. His response: We’re talking with the DOJ and we’ll get back to you.

Americans, the vast majority of whom want to see Trump’s tax returns, won’t under this law, but clearly they want the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee to see them.

View the complete April 12 article by David Badash of The New Civil Rights Movement on the AlterNet website here.