VA defends employee’s anti-Trump tweets, book plugs as ‘freedom of speech’ – Washington Examiner

The Department of Veterans Affairs is dismissing the actions of an employee who has written anti-Trump tweets and is promoting her own books on Twitter as someone who is simply exercising her "freedom of speech."

The VA has also promoted the employee's books on its website, which has some conservatives grumbling that this amounts to taxpayers helping a Trump opponent sell her books.

Kayla Williams is the director of the VA's Center for Women Veterans, and she has made it clear on Twitter that she opposes Trump. Earlier this year, she told Stars and Stripes that she would be attending an anti-Trump rally with her kids, "to show them that people should stand together for what they believe in."

She also retweeted a tweet that said women should get their IUD as soon as possible, "before Trump-Pence reverse the requirement for full contraceptive coverage."

Williams' anti-Trump views haven't stopped her from promoting her two books, or from getting the VA to help her promote them.

Her VA biography notes the two books she's written, and the VA has promoted them on two other occasions: once in a May 3 release announcing her appointment, and again in a December VA blog about a podcast featuring Williams.

The December blog post was written by Tim Lawson, who has also tweeted out several anti-Trump messages. One of those just after the November election said he hasn't "felt this bad since 9/11, and I was in the Pentagon."

Williams has also used her Twitter account to promote her work, and while her Twitter handle doesn't identify her as a VA official, several of these tweets may have been sent during her work hours, which could be another violation.

In just a single week in January, for example, she tweeted several times encouraging people to see her and three other co-authors of a book about veterans at a book event. On Monday, Jan. 23, she tweeted out the invitation at 11:10 a.m., and then tweeted it out at 12:10 p.m. on Wednesday, and again on Friday at 1:10 p.m.

Just after 1 p.m. on Monday, April 10, she tweeted out that one of her books was listed as one of the 10 "must-read" books on military women.

Despite these potential problems, the VA under President Trump has ignored the issue so far. The Washington Examiner asked questions about the matter for the last several weeks without a response.

The House Veterans' Affairs Committee also ignored several requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.

Late last week, the VA dismissed the matter with a three-sentence statement indicating that officials in the agency see anti-Trump messages and the promotion of their own books as "freedom of speech."

"Like other Federal employees, VA employees have a constitutionally protected right to freedom of speech in their private lives, including during non-duty hours (e.g., lunch break)," said Randy Noller, a spokesman for the VA.

"Unless otherwise authorized, such private speech should not be held out as being approved or authorized by VA," he added. "Moreover, employees should not provide information that may restricted by law."

Noller declined to offer more specifics related to whether Williams was tweeting during work hours, or if the VA was looking into the issue to answer more specific questions. On Monday afternoon, however, the VA followed up by saying it would examine some of Williams' tweets to see if any rules were violated.

But sources close to the VA and veterans issues say the VA should immediately stop promoting her books. They also argue that Williams' plugs for her own books could run afoul of ethics rules.

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics says officials cannot use their title or position to "further the employee's own private interests" or the interests of friends, relatives or other closely affiliated people.

Scott Amey, general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, said Williams' tweets could draw ethics complaints against her, depending on whether they were sent when she should have been working.

"If Ms. Williams is promoting her book during work hours, she might have to answer a few questions from an ethics lawyer," he said. "Government officials must be aware that there are bans on conducting certain activities while working for Uncle Sam."

Eric Hannel, former staff director for the House Veterans' Affairs subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations, told the Washington Examiner that while Williams' activities are "not uncommon," they are still a likely violation of those ethics guidelines, and federal law.

"The bottom line is it's against the law for a government employee to use her public office for private gain or for that of persons or organizations with which she is associated personally," he said.

He said at a minimum, Williams could be in trouble for wasting time on the taxpayer's dime, but could also be in violation of laws related to misuse of position, use of an official title, personal use of government property, and use of official time.

The question of Williams' anti-Trump tweets is likely something that will have to be handled politically, and conservatives have urged the White House to crack down on anti-Trump federal employees like Williams, who was appointed by President Obama and re-appointed by Trump.

So far, the White House has made it clear it wants all officials to support Trump. But in its most recent statement to the Washington Examiner, the White House said only that officials "should" back the president, not that they "must."

"Throughout his campaign, President Trump consistently reiterated his commitment to taking care of our veterans and reforming and modernizing the VA," a White House spokesman told the Washington Examiner in February. "Employees of the Trump administration should support President Trump and his agenda to improve the lives of all Americans."

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VA defends employee's anti-Trump tweets, book plugs as 'freedom of speech' - Washington Examiner