White House Says Kellyanne Conway Was ‘Without Nefarious Motive’ While Endorsing Ivanka Trump Line

The White House responded to a letter from the Office of Government Ethics with a letter of their own stating that Kellyanne Conway’s endorsement of Ivanka Trump’s products was done “without nefarious motive.”

The endorsement took place after Nordstrom chose to pull Ivanka Trump’s line citing poor performance. Her father, President Donald Trump, said the decision was unfair on Twitter, and Conway followed up in a Fox News interview on Feb. 9, saying, “It’s a wonderful line…I’m going to give a free commercial here: Go buy it today, everybody.”

The Office of Government Ethics said there was “strong reason to believe” the statement violated rules that forbid public employees from endorsing “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.”

But the White House seems disinclined to take disciplinary action, according to its letter. “Upon completion of our inquiry, we concluded that Ms. Conway acted inadvertently and is highly unlikely to do so again,” White House deputy counsel Stefan C. Passantino wrote in the new letter, obtained by CNN Money. “It is noted that Ms. Conway made the statement in question in a light, off-hand manner while attempting to stand up for a person she believed had been unfairly treated and did so without nefarious motive or intent to benefit personally.”

[CNN Money]