Trump Won’t Fire Kellyanne Conway, Disagrees “Entirely” With Fed Chair Powell

President Trump said on Friday that he wouldn’t fire senior aide Kellyanne Conway after a watchdog found she violated a federal law prohibiting political speech in her official capacity.

“No, I’m not going to fire her. I think she’s a terrific person,” Trump told Fox News, adding “I got briefed on it yesterday and it looks to me like they’re trying to take away their right of free speech. And that’s just not fair.”

“She’s got to have the right of responding to questions.”

On Thursday, Special Counsel Henry Kerner (no relation to Mueller’s office) said in a letter that his office had never before found such repeated violations by former presidential aides, and recommended that Trump fire Conway, who erred by “disparaging Democratic presidential candidates while speaking in her official capacity during television interviews and on social media.”

Preliminary autopsy reveals possible cause of death for missing 4-year-old Alabama boy Johnathan Boley

California driver allegedly kills 2 more people while out on bail for previous fatal crash

Picking the right fight: Congressional tensions rise in wake of Minnesota ICE-involved shooting

Thomas Paine Set America Afire with ‘Common Sense’ 250 Years Ago: Pamphlet Made Case for Revolutionary War

USDA immediately suspends all federal funding to Minnesota amid fraud investigation

California projects $3 billion deficit as outside forecasts show bigger shortfall

‘Jeopardy!’ Host Ken Jennings Wants Trump Administration Jailed, Vows to Vote for Candidate Who Will ‘Prosecute’

Trump administration to investigate refugee status of Minnesota residents

Fox News Politics Newsletter: AOC accuses Vance of believing ‘American people should be assassinated’

Hundreds of opposition members still imprisoned as Venezuela plays nice with Trump

Trump wears ‘happy Trump’ pin alongside American flag during White House oil executive meeting

Tim Walz Fumes About ‘Accountability’ in Shooting Death of Renee Good – He Should Start by Looking in a Mirror

New top Democrat on House CCP committee took cash from China-linked donors

DC pipe bomb defendant pleads not guilty to federal charges

Watch: Top Chicago Cop Blasts Dem, Media Narrative on Renee Good Shooting, Comes to Defense of ICE Agents Being Attacked with Cars

“Ms. Conway’s violations, if left unpunished, would send a message to all federal employees that they need not abide by the Hatch Act’s restrictions. Her actions thus erode the principal foundation of our democratic system — the rule of law,” reads the letter.

“If Ms. Conway were any other federal employee, her multiple violations of the law would almost certainly result in her removal from her federal position,” Kerner added. “Never has (the office) had to issue multiple reports to the President concerning Hatch Act violations by the same individual.”

“given that Ms. Conway is a repeat offender and has shown disregard for the law, (the office) recommends that she be removed from federal service,” reads a separate statement from the Office of the Special Counsel alongside the report.

As CNN notes, White House counsel Pat Cipollone pushed back against the report, writing that the special counsel’s office did not give the White House or Conway time to respond to the report, and that her social media statements and media interviews did not constitute violations of the Hatch Act.