Trump adviser gives Ivanka Trump's clothing line "free commercial" on Fox News

Kellyanne Conway, one of President Trump’s top advisers, may have violated federal ethics rules on Thursday by urging people to buy fashion products marketed by Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, legal experts said.

“Go buy Ivanka’s stuff is what I would say,” Ms. Conway, whose title is counselor to the president, said in an interview with Fox News. “I’m going to give a free commercial here: Go buy it today everybody, you can find it online.”

Federal ethics rules state that an employee of the government’s executive branch “shall not use his public office for his own private gain, for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity.” Legal experts said Ms. Conway appeared to have violated those rules.

“You couldn’t think of a clearer example of violating the ban of using your government position as kind of a walking billboard for products or services offered by a private individual,” said Laurence Tribe, a professor of constitutional law at Harvard. “She is attempting quite crudely to enrich Ivanka and therefore the president’s family.”

Ms. Conway’s comments came a day after Mr. Trump used his personal and White House Twitter accounts to lash out at Nordstrom, the department store chain, for dropping his daughter’s line, saying that the company had treated her “so unfairly.” The comments raised the latest in a series of ethical questions about potential conflicts between his official role and his family’s business interests.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Public Citizen, a nonprofit advocacy groups, asked the Office of Government Ethics to investigate whether Ms. Conway’s comments went over the line.

eddie wrote:You'd think that the people in charge of America would know what constitutes the law, wouldn't you?

Ben Reilly wrote:

eddie wrote:You'd think that the people in charge of America would know what constitutes the law, wouldn't you?

I wouldn't think these particular people would know, actually - that's one reason I voted for Clinton

Legal experts agree. “This is jaw-dropping to me,” former general counsel Don Fox told The Washington Post. “Ms Conway’s encouragement to buy Ivanka’s stuff would seem to be a clear violation of rules prohibiting misuse of public office for anyone’s private gain.”

“This was strictly forbidden in the Bush administration, because it was illegal,” Richard Painter, the chief ethics lawyer in George W. Bush’s government, told CNN.

The White House’s response has been limited. At his daily briefing, Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Ms Conway “has been counselled on that subject, and that’s it”.

So, what happens next? Thankfully for Ms Conway, probably not much, because the White House is responsible for disciplining her. Congress’s Office of Government Ethics can investigate the matter and advise the president, but ultimately, the power lies with Mr Trump.

And given his own behaviour over the last day or so, it’s unlikely the president will take any action. This whole controversy began when Mr Trump attacked Nordstrom on Twitter, raising some ethical questions of his own in the process.

RETAIL giant Sears Holdings has become the latest big name to drop Ivanka Trump’s eponymous collection.

The move by the parent company of Sears and Kmart comes just days after fellow retail giant Nordstrom announced it was dropping the collection, sparking a furious response by Donald Trump.

Nordstrom announced last week the move was based on the sales performance of the Ivanka Trump products.

The next day, luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group also announced it had stopped selling Ivanka Trump’s jewellery line on its website and a store in New Jersey.

Belk Inc also said it will no longer carry Ivanka Trump items on its website, and QVC said it no longer sells her merchandise.

A social media campaign called #GrabYourWallet urged a boycott of stores that stock Ivanka Trump or Donald Trump products, which include Dillard’s, Lord & Taylor and Amazon.

In a statement given to ABC News, a spokesman for Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based Sears Holdings confirmed that it was dropping Trump Home items.