The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) on Thursday filed a complaint with the Office of Government Ethics and the White House Counsel’s Office charging that Kellyanne Conway broke the law by urging Fox News viewers to buy Ivanka Trump products.
“The law is clear that public officials should not use their offices for their own private gain or the private gain of others,” CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said in a statement announcing the complaint. “It’s hard to find a clearer case of that kind of misuse of office than we saw today.”
The liberal government watchdog group alleged that Conway violated regulations that bar federal employees from endorsing products, in addition to breaking a law that bars the use of federal funds for non-official purposes.
During an interview on Fox News Thursday morning, Conway urged viewers to buy Ivanka Trump’s products as she defended President Donald Trump’s tweet slamming Nordstrom for its decision to stop carrying his daughter’s clothing and accessories line.
“Go buy Ivanka’s stuff is what I would tell you,” Conway said. “I hate shopping, I will go get some myself today.”
“This is just a wonderful line,” she added. “I own some of it. I fully—I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody, you can find it online.”
Read CREW’s full complaint below:
