It’s clear that White House press secretary Jen Psaki has been too closely involved in the Virginia governor’s race after a bipartisan watchdog group filed an ethics complaint against her. The watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, says they filed the complaint against a comment she made regarding Virginia candidate Terry McAuliffe.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics said Psaki violated the ‘Hatch Act,’ which prevents federal employees from engaging in political work. A reporter asked Psaki during a press conference about the Nov. 2 election in Virginia, to which she replied that they were going to do “everything they can” to help former Gov. Auliffe and the agenda he’s representing. Right before making the comment, Psaki said she needed to be careful about how much “political analysis” she offers in her official capacity.
After the filed complaint, Psaki shared that she would no longer comment on the Virginia race. When a reporter asked if the president was surprised by how “close” the race is, Psaki said she can only confirm the president’s trip to Arlington later in the evening.
“I’ve learned my lesson. I’m not going to do any politics from here or political analysis,” Psaki told reporters.
She went on to say that “beyond the scheduling details” she will leave all political analysis to her friends at the Democratic National Committee. The race has been tighter than ever, with Terry McAuliffe and Glenn Youngkin toughed at roughly 45% each.
Biden will campaign for McAuliffe in Arlington, Virginia, along with Vice President Kamala Harris, against Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin in the final weeks of the campaign.
Many debates that have led voters to lean towards Youngkin over McAuliffe has been his stance over the role parents should play in schools. Youngkin has repeatedly criticized McAuliffe for vetoing a bill that would notify parents when books with sexually explicit materials are introduced to their children. McAuliffe has tried to claim that the bill would let parents ban books and accused Youngkin of supporting a ban on books, which a Washington Post fact-checker claimed was a ‘mischaracterization.’
Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler wrote that the bill would not let parents ‘veto books’ or ‘take them off the shelves,’ adding how it has nothing to do with the books but with concerning parents on instructional materials. The Youngkin campaign has responded to the attacks by arguing that they are not trying to let parents “veto books” but simply give them a say in what materials they are exposed to at school.
“The bipartisan bills McAuliffe vetoed would simply have notified parents of sexually explicit reading assignments and given them the choice of having their own child receive an alternative. McAuliffe continues to confirm every day that he wants to silence parents because he doesn’t believe they should have a say in their child’s education,” Youngkin’s campaign said.
Psaki and the rest of the Biden Administration have continued to endorse a candidate who panders fear and throws outright lies in the hopes that the uninformed will continue voting for them. It’s always typical of Democrats to blame others for what they themselves are guilty of. In one of the tightest races, the Biden Administration decides they want to campaign illegally.
