Did Sarah Sanders violate federal ethics with her viral tweet? Dem lawmaker pushes investigation

A former Obama administration official accuses White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders of violating federal ethics regulations when she confirmed via Twitter that she had been kicked out of the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia.

Now, one Democratic lawmaker is calling for an investigation into the alleged violation.

What are the details?

Sanders ignited a firestorm on Saturday when she tweeted about being booted from the Red Hen. Her tweet quickly went viral.

But as many noticed, Sanders tweeted about the incident from her government account, @PressSec, instead of her personal account, @SarahHuckabee.

And according to Walter Shaub, who served as director of the Office of Government Ethics in the Obama administration, this key distinction proves Sanders clearly violated federal ethics regulations.

Shaub accused Sanders of using her public account to apply pressure on the restaurant by instigating public outrage.

Sanders used her official govt account to condemn a private business for personal reasons. Seeks to coerce business by using her office to get public to pressure it. Violates endorsements ban too, which has an obvious corollary for discouraging patronage. Misuse reg covers both.

— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 23, 2018

Opening sentences of 5 CFR 2635.702 cover both; 702(a) gives example of coercion; 702(c) gives example of endorsement. Also 2635.101(b)(8) bars preferential treatment, with obvious corollary for singling out. She can lob attacks on her own time but not using her official position

— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 23, 2018

The section of federal regulation that Shaub accuses Sanders of violating deals with the "use of public office for private gain."

It reads:

An employee 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, including nonprofit organizations of which the employee is an officer or member, and persons with whom the employee has or seeks employment or business relations. The specific prohibitions set forth in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section apply this general standard, but are not intended to be exclusive or to limit the application of this section.

What about an investigation?

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) explained on CNN's "State of the Union" she believes Sanders needs to be investigated over the tweet.

"With regard to Sarah, she used her government account for taking on this private restaurant, a private business. I personally think she should be referred to the Office of Government Ethics," Lee said.

"You think that is unethical?" CNN host Jake Tapper followed up.

"Yeah, if you use a government account to attack a private business on personal time, that’s not right," Lee explained.