Education Dept. Emails Blame Democrats for Shutdown: A Hatch Act Violation
Education Department employees returning from furlough discovered their out-of-office email messages had been altered to include partisan language blaming Democrats for the government shutdown. Several civil servants reported that their pre-approved, nonpartisan messages were replaced with accusatory statements without their consent, and some had the changes revert back even after they corrected them. The altered messages, presented in the first person, stated that the employee was unable to respond due to the actions of Senate Democrats. This action by the Education Department appears to cross a line, pulling civil servants into partisan political statements, with one official defending the messaging by saying, “Where’s the lie?”
John Q. Hosedrinker