Trump aide accused of federal ethics violation over threatening tweet

Ethics attorneys say White House director of social media and senior adviser to President Donald Trump Dan Scavino Jr. strayed into questionable territory on Saturday when he fired a hostile tweet at Freedom Caucus member Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI).

Politico reported that Scavino may be in violation of the Hatch Act, a 1932 federal ban on electioneering by government officials.

On Saturday morning, Pres. Trump tweeted his latest attack on the far-right Freedom Caucus in the House of Representatives. Still smarting from last week's failure of his healthcare bill, Trump is blaming the Freedom Caucus for not supporting him.

In his tweet, the president pledged to "fight" members of the caucus with primary challengers in 2018.

Scavino singled out Michigan libertarian Congressman Amash in a tweet, calling him a "liability" to his district.

Former George W. Bush administration ethics lawyer Richard Painter responded with alarm, writing, "Look at the official photo on this page. Read the Hatch Act and fire this man NOW. Someone call OSC."

The Office of the Special Council (OSC) is an independent federal ethics watchdog agency.