White House

WH Ethics Office: Kellyanne Conway ‘Inadvertently' Plugged Ivanka Trump's Clothes

In a letter released Wednesday, the office said that the statement was made without "nefarious motive or intent to benefit personally"

Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, did nothing "nefarious" when she promoted Ivanka Trump's fashion line on television, the White House ethics office said in a letter made public Wednesday, NBC News reported.

Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, did nothing "nefarious" when she promoted Ivanka Trump's fashion line on television, the White House ethics office said in a letter made public Wednesday, NBC News reported.

In a letter to the government's top ethics official, Walter Shaub, White House Deputy Counsel Stefan Passantino wrote that Conway acted inadvertently, and that the statement was made in a "light, off-hand manner," without “nefarious motive or intent to benefit personally.” Conway wasn't seeking to profit from the endorsement, Passantino added.

Following Conway’s plug for Ivanka Trump on television, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, a separate and independent executive branch agency, said it has "strong reason" to believe that Conway had violated ethics rules.

Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said Wednesday that the president’s choice to not discipline Conway was a "bad sign."

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