Ex-FEMA worker who directed staff to avoid homes with Trump signs violated Hatch Act, agency says

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal agency is seeking disciplinary action against a former Federal Emergency Management Agency worker who directed workers helping hurricane survivors to avoid homes with yard signs supporting President Donald Trump, according to a complaint filed Tuesday.

The complaint with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board was filed by the Office of Special Counsel, whose leader was fired last week by Trump and reinstated by a federal judge on Monday after he sued the Republican president.

The Office of Special Counsel found the former FEMA worker, Marn'i Washington, violated the Hatch Act, which restricts the partisan political activities of government workers, through her actions while in Florida in October helping survivors of Hurricane Milton. The special counsel accused Washington of engaging in political activity while on duty and “using her official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the results" of the election.

“A federal employee clearly violates the Hatch Act by engaging in explicit partisan political bias or activity when on the job,” special counsel Hampton Dellinger said in an emailed statement. Possible penalties include a civil penalty or a ban on federal employment for a certain time period.

Phone numbers listed in public records for Washington were not in service or went to voicemails that were not set up. An email listed for her bounced back, and it was not immediately clear if she had an attorney to comment on her behalf.

Washington, who was fired in November, has said she did nothing wrong. She told NewsNation that she was being “framed," saying: “There’s no violation of the Hatch Act. I was simply following orders.” She said the directive was the result of “hostile” encounters her team had experienced at homes with Trump signs.

Dellinger, who was confirmed by the Senate last year to lead the Office of Special Counsel, was abruptly fired by Trump on Friday as part of the president's sweeping overhaul of the federal government. Dellinger sued Trump on Monday, saying he was firing was illegal.

A federal judge in Washington late Monday ordered that Dellinger be reinstated as special counsel through at least midnight on Thursday while the court fight continues over his job. The Trump administration has appealed the judge's order, arguing the president has the authority to terminate him.

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