Union asks court to remove restrictions on federal employees discussing impeachment
A federal judge is preparing to hear arguments about whether federal employees should be limited in discussing the ongoing impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
A major federal employees union filed last week for a preliminary injunction against government-wide guidance issued in 2018 that prohibits federal employees from sharing their opinions about the President’s impeachment.
A federal judge has scheduled a telephone conference Wednesday morning to set a schedule for the union and government to file documents and make their arguments.
The American Federation of Government Employees argued the Office of Special Counsel’s “policy is unconstitutionally overbroad and viewpoint discriminatory.”
It said the restrictions extend beyond the limits of the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from discussing candidates in an upcoming election while on the job, and have not been enforced “against numerous Administration officials who have brazenly violated it by advocating against the President’s impeachment, or by denigrating the ‘resistance.'” The union also said some of the restrictions appear to apply when employees are off the clock.
The Office of Special Counsel, an ethics office that enforces the Hatch Act and is not related to the Mueller investigation, has not yet responded to the union’s motion. Zachary Kurz, a spokesman for the office, told CNN they do “not comment on pending litigation.”
The office wrote in November 2018 that its guidance is “not intended to prevent all discussions of impeachment in the federal workplace.” Federal workers, it said, may discuss impeachment “without advocating for or against its use against such a candidate.”
“For example, two employees may discuss whether reported conduct by the president warrants impeachment and express an opinion about whether the president should be impeached without engaging in political activity,” it said.
The Office of Special Counsel’s guidance broadly warns federal employees “they may not engage in activity directed toward the success or failure of President Trump’s reelection campaign.” It expressly prohibited using phrases like “Make America Great Again” or “the Resistance.”
The union initially filed its lawsuit in August, claiming that guidance was “unprecedented” and censors “the constitutionally protected speech of federal employees on matters of the utmost public concern.”
The Office of Special Counsel has has found multiple White House employees have violated the law, including Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, whom the office recommended be removed from her post after numerous violations. The decision to remove Conway is up to Trump, who has made no indication he plans to do so.
