The President says he’ll be making his acceptance speech at the White House. From the New York Post:
“I’ll probably be giving my speech at the White House because it is a great place. It’s a place that makes me feel good, it makes the country feel good,” Trump told the Post, saying it would also be easiest for law enforcement and the Secret Service.
“We’d do it possibly outside on one of the lawns, we have various lawns, so we could have it outside in terms of the China virus,” he continued, referring to social distancing guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We could have quite a group of people. It’s very big, a very big lawn. We could have a big group of people,” he said when asked if he’d formally accept the Republican nomination for president with a crowd of supporters.
Trump’s critics have called the move unacceptable. “Whether it’s legally wrong or ethically out of the question, it shouldn’t even have been something that was expressed,” Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell.
Unfortunately for Nan, the Office for Special Council says it’s perfectly legal.
“The president and the vice president are not covered by any provisions of the Hatch Act,” Erica Hamrick, deputy chief of the office’s Hatch Act Unit, said in a letter Wednesday. “Accordingly, the Hatch Act does not prohibit President Trump from delivering his RNC acceptance speech on White House grounds.”
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However, the Hatch Act does cover White House employees, so there could be implications for Mr. Trump’s aides depending on their level of involvement with the speech and their role with the administration.
White House employees, for example, could not assist with the convention event while on duty or in a federal room or building, according to the advisory opinion. They also would be barred from attending the event while on duty.