Shock: The 2-Letter Word Libs Are Using to Attack Ben Carson

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If it seems at times that President Donald Trump’s opponents are growing increasingly desperate in their accusations and criticisms, look no further than the latest attack launched on Dr. Ben Carson, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Following Trump’s Tuesday evening rally in Phoenix, at which Carson was a guest in support of the president, cries erupted from the left that Carson — and of course by extension Trump — had violated a federal law, as reported by The Washington Post.

The law in question? The Hatch Act.

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The announcer introduced Carson by his official title, stating, “The secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Ben Carson,” to wild cheers from the audience as Carson delivered brief remarks ahead of Trump’s speech, as well as Carson’s use of the pronouns “we” and “us” within those remarks.

Critics suggest that the introduction of Carson using his official title and Carson’s use of the inclusive pronouns signified a breach of the Hatch Act, which prohibits executive branch officials — such as cabinet secretaries — from leveraging their positions for political gain, such as appearing in an official capacity for a partisan cause.

Those critics further suggested that both Carson and Trump’s team should have known better than to announce him with his official title, and that Carson should have gone out of his way to ensure that everybody was fully aware that he was at the rally in a personal capacity, not as an official representative of the administration.

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If this seems like a bit of stretch, and a crowd demanding punishment while still in search of a crime, that’s pretty much because it is — at least according to ABC News, which reported that Carson didn’t do anything wrong.

A law professor named Kathleen Clark of the Washington University School of Law explained that the Hatch Act doesn’t prevent executive branch officials from appearing at campaign events, but simply prohibits the use of their position for openly partisan political activity.

An ethics expert named Virginia Canter of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington stated that while the use of Carson’s official title in the introduction wasn’t entirely appropriate, it also likely wasn’t a violation of the law.

“To violate the Hatch Act, a person has to be engaged in political activity while acting in their official capacity,” Canter explained. Carson “would have had to [have] been participating in an event that made statements that expressly advocated for or against Trump’s re-election in 2020. None of his comments did that.”

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Furthermore, Carson’s expenses for the trip to Arizona weren’t paid for by HUD, but were instead covered by Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, further distancing him from a potential violation, as was revealed in a statement put out by the department.

“His travel and lodging were not paid for by the department. He was there in his personal capacity. He didn’t discuss HUD during the speech,” stated HUD spokesman Jerry Brown.

Even if Carson had violated the Hatch Act, as determined by the government watchdog Office of Special Counsel, punishment for such violations would be administered by the president, and it is highly unlikely that Trump would have sanctioned Carson over an introduction and his use of certain pronouns, according to The Daily Caller.

Indeed, under the prior administration of former President Barack Obama, a few of his officials were investigated for potential Hatch Act violations — most notably including former HUD Secretary and potential vice presidential pick Julian Castro, who endorsed failed Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton while in his official role — yet nothing ever came of it, nor did anything come of violations that occurred on the parts of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius or Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

As usual, this is much ado about nothing, as Trump’s critics frantically attempt to seize on virtually anything they think will smear or ultimately bring down their nemesis.

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