Ethics Office to White House: Conway Needs to Be Disciplined

The Office of Government Ethics found Kellyanne Conway to be in "clear violation" of federal ethics guidelines when she plugged Ivanka Trump's fashion line, but the White House decided not to punish the top-ranking aide to President Trump. Now, the OGE has sent a letter to the White House rebuking it for that decision, and letting the administration know it is still concerned with Kellyanne Conway's "misuse of position."

"Not taking disciplinary action against a senior official under such circumstances risks undermining the ethics program," the letter states, adding that the office is also concerned with the White House's claim that many OGE regulations don't apply to members of Trump's staff. That is not true, the letter says, but CNN notes that OGE can only recommend penalties, not enforce them. No comment yet from the White House. (More Kellyanne Conway stories.)