Organization submits complaint alleging Chief of Staff Mark Meadows Hatch Act violations

The government watchdog group CREW filed a complaint Wednesday to the Office of Special Counsel asked for an investigation on whether White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows had violated the Hatch Act,  which prohibits executive branch workers from utilizing their official influence in order to impact an election.

In its complaint, the nonprofit, nonpartisan group, formally known as Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, alleges that Meadows violated the Hatch Act during two television interviews in which he appeared in his official capacity and made comments about President Trump and his 2020 presidential rival Joe Biden.

"The interesting thing is this president will do more in the next four weeks than Joe Biden and his team did in the last 40 years," Meadows said outside of the White House during a Fox News interview. 

In one of the interviews, Meadows also made remarks about a North Carolina congressional candidate.

When asked about the contest to fill his former congressional seat, Meadows during that same interview made positive comments about Republican candidate Madison Cawthorn and indicated that Cawthorn would win the race.

Meadows said of Cawthorn that "he’ll be a great member of Congress."  

"The people of western North Carolina have rallied behind him, will continue to do so, and in November, we will keep that seat – but not only that seat, we will pick up additional seats because it’s time that Congress starts getting things done and helping this president instead of being an obstructionist," Meadows said.

CREW also alleges that Meadows violated the Hatch Act in a separate interview with Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity.

"You mentioned the speech there at Mt. Rushmore, not only was it a historic speech but he laid out really the difference: Are we going to be for anarchy or are we going to be for the rule of law and making sure that American citizens feel safe once again in their home," Meadows said. "This president is willing to do that. Where is Joe Biden? In his basement. You know, it’s amazing. We’ve seen Joe Biden for 40 years talk a good game but we've seen no results, no results," Meadows said during part of the interview.