No. of Recommendations: 13
Don't know, and don't care. I could "reorganize" their departments and eliminate their jobs.
Could you? If one of those folks is now working at State, and you "reorganize" their department and eliminate just their job, you probably wouldn't be able to make that stick. Not only would it be a violation of the Civil Service laws, but it's probably a First Amendment violation as well. Government workers are allowed to speak their minds on things outside of the workplace without being penalized for it.
What they did directly interfered with an election (a partisan act and implicit violation of the Hatch Act) and abused the trust the public puts in people in these positions.
Did it? They didn't "interfere" with an election in the sense of trying to impede or stop the conduct of the balloting or the tabulation of votes. They sought to change public perception on a matter of public concern, to be sure - which could have an impact on the outcome of an election. But not interfering with an election.
Nor is it in any way a violation of the Hatch Act. That Act prohibits federal workers from engaging in specific defined campaign activities. It in no way prevents them from making public statements on matters of public concern. Public workers can't work a phone bank or appear at a campaign event - but they can write an op-ed talking various issues and advocating certain viewpoints on those issues, even if the impact of people being persuaded by those views might end up affecting their voting decisions. Officials do it all the time - they're constantly making the rounds on the Sunday shows and giving speeches about matters within their expertise.
It's very simple. If you can't trust them to report honestly on what they know, you can't trust them, period. That means they're liabilities in the intel world.
Why? How do you know they didn't genuinely believe what they wrote? Even if you believe that, could you prove it? And if they turned out to be wrong, does that mean you pull their security clearances? Is being wrong about an issue like that grounds for having your security clearance revoked? Or having a counterparty break an otherwise legally binding contract?
Look, it's one thing to call for retribution - but generally it's really, really hard for the government to impose sanctions against anyone without following due process and having a legal basis for doing it.
