Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice. Send tips | Subscribe here| Email Alex | Email Eli | Email Lauren Does President JOE BIDEN have any advice for JON FETTERMAN as he recovers from a stroke? The White House can’t answer that. Will Biden travel to more battleground states? Can’t answer that either. How did he feel when Sen. RAPHAEL WARNOCK declined to say whether he would support Biden in 2024? Again… can’t answer. For months, White House press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE has declined reporters’ briefing room questions on a wide range of subjects by offering the same explanation: The Hatch Act, she says, bars her from commenting. It’s a notable fidelity to the federal law passed in 1939, which prohibits executive branch employees from engaging in political activities while on the job, and which was routinely ignored and even ridiculed by the Trump administration. But, increasingly, members of the media are privately grumbling that Jean-Pierre is applying an overly broad definition of Hatch Act restrictions to the topics they’re asking. On Tuesday, Jean-Pierre cited the Hatch Act when she declined to answer questions from AP’s ZEKE MILLER about whether Biden would return campaign donations from disgraced FTX founder SAM BANKMAN-FRIED. When Miller rephrased the question to ask about Biden’s personal opinion on the issue, Jean-Pierre responded: “I am covered by the Hatch Act, which I’m happy to say over and over again, because we believe in the rule of law here.” Earlier this month, Twitter CEO ELON MUSK revealed internal company deliberations in the lead up to the 2020 election about how to handle an article related to HUNTER BIDEN’s leaked laptop files. When asked, Jean-Pierre said the Hatch Act prevented her from answering whether then-candidate Biden’s team had been in contact with Twitter about its decision to block users from sharing the news story. Reporters say Jean-Pierre is turning the Hatch Act into an escape hatch. They note she can be quick to shut down their questions — yet talk freely from the podium about Democrats’ stronger than expected midterms or use political language like “mega MAGA Republicans.” “I think reporters get the feeling that it’s a way to avoid having to answer some delicate questions,” one White House journalist told West Wing Playbook. “You can almost feel the entire briefing room rolling their eyes when they hear the Hatch Act drop.” “It’s pretty obvious it’s become her latest verbal crutch when she’s trying to avoid a question that’s even remotely campaign-related,” another White House reporter said. “She’s extremely cautious about stuff but this has become a tactic to avoid even the simplest questions.” Several other White House reporters echoed that assessment. But some said they also understood why the Biden White House was so cautious about the law, after the Trump administration's constant Hatch Act violations and broad indifference to institutional norms. “This White House believes in the Rule of Law and we’ll continue to provide information to members of the media while working within the bounds of federal statutes,” said ROBYN PATTERSON, a White House spokesperson. “If reporters have an issue with the Hatch Act, they have every right to petition their members of Congress to push for changes to the law.” Ethics experts, meanwhile, say Jean-Pierre’s caution is understandable, especially when considering that her predecessor, JEN PSAKI, was hit with a Hatch Act violation last year for saying in a briefing the White House was “going to do everything we can to help former Gov. [TERRY] MCAULIFFE” ahead of the Virginia gubernatorial election. “It does not surprise me at all that her successor wants to stay as far from that line as she can, because it’s a bad look for the Biden administration and you don’t want to be the second person in a position to break the same rule,” said JORDAN LIBOWITZ , a spokesperson for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the organization that filed the ethics complaint against Psaki. “I know that the press corps would prefer answers to whatever they asked, but I think public officials also have in mind that we’re also watching and we’ll file things if they do cross the line.” Still, some reporters and ethics experts say there are ways for Jean-Pierre to engage with journalists without becoming overtly political — noting CREW and other watchdog groups usually file complaints with the Office of Special Counsel only when there is a clear Hatch Act violation. “Many things can be on or approaching the line,” said DELANEY MARSCO, the legal counsel for ethics at the Campaign Legal Center. “Typically we would want officials to err on the side of caution, but not so much that they are intentionally misusing the Hatch Act as a cover to not answer legitimate questions.” MESSAGE US — Are you White House research associate AREEB AKBARI? We want to hear from you! And we’ll keep you anonymous. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com.
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