Photos of the South Lawn of the White House covered in flags and enormous "Trump/Pence" campaign signs ahead of the Republican National Convention's final night drew outrage and horror from critics, who see the president's decision to hold a convention speech on the grounds as an appalling ethical violation.
"Trump giving his convention speech on the South Lawn is the clearest conceivable violation of the Hatch Act," tweeted Richard Stengel, a former Obama administration official, citing the law that prohibits federal employees from engaging in certain political activities while on duty. Though President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence aren't subject to the law's civil provisions, White House staffers at the event are; there's a reason why "no modern president has accepted his party's nomination for re-election from the White House," The New York Times reports.
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