'No one gets punished': RNC utilizes White House for speeches and surprises despite ethics concerns

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/26/politics/donald-trump-rnc-speech-ethics/index.html

 President Donald Trump is slated to accept the 2020 Republican presidential nomination on Thursday with a speech from the White House lawn -- an act ruled permissible by a federal agency. Yet even with the legal sign-off, the Republican convention's use of the White House this week is as norm-busting as anything in the Trump presidency and has gone far beyond his predecessors' actions.

First lady Melania Trump held her speech in a newly renovated Rose Garden. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a pre-recorded his speech from Jerusalem during an official foreign trip, though the administration maintains his remarks were made in a personal capacity. 

 

The President's use of the White House as a convention speaking venue garnered criticism from ethics experts, but the US Office of Special Counsel -- an independent agency tasked with enforcing the law -- said Trump could deliver his Republican National Convention speech from the White House.

The office told members of Congress in a letter that because the President and vice president are exempt from the Hatch Act, they can deliver remarks for the RNC from the White House grounds.

"The President and Vice President are not covered by any of the provisions of the Hatch Act. Accordingly, the Hatch Act does not prohibit President Trump from delivering his RNC acceptance speech on White House grounds," a letter explaining the determination said.