The White House said that it has counseled adviser Kellyanne Conway after she appeared to promote Ivanka Trump’s clothing line.
“Kellyanne has been counseled, and that’s all we’re gonna go with. She’s been counseled on that subject, and that’s it,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said during Thursday’s press briefing after taking a question from a Fox reporter.
Questions were raised about Conway crossing an ethical line when she encouraged viewers to purchase Ivanka Trump’s products on Fox News on Thursday morning.
“Go buy Ivanka’s stuff, is what I would tell you,” Conway said on Fox. “It’s a wonderful line. I own some of it. I fully—I’m going to just, I’m going to give a free commercial here: Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online.”
Democrats are now calling for an investigation into her statements, and they have referred their complaints to Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the chair of the House Oversight Committee. Rep. Elijah Cummings told him: “This appears to be a textbook violation of government ethics laws and regulations enacted to prevent the abuse of an employee’s government position.”
Federal ethics rules ban executive branch employees from making profits from their positions, but that statute exempts the president.
Conway suggested that retailers are dropping Ivanka’s line over politics.
“They’re using her, who’s been a champion for women in power and women in the workplace, to get to him. I think people can see through that,” Conway said.
Friends Read Free