Jonathan Easley

The director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) says White House counselor Kellyanne Conway misused her official position by hawking Ivanka Trump’s product line on TV and is recommending that the White House discipline her for it. “Under the present circumstances, there is strong reason to believe that Ms. Conway has violated the Standards of Conduct Act and that disciplinary action is warranted,” OGE director Walter Schaub wrote in a Feb 14 letter to White House legal counselor Stefan Passantino. Schaub asked the White House to respond by Feb. 28 with the results of its investigation and any disciplinary action it may decide to take.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is steeling himself for a protracted battle against an increasingly hostile press, adding the media to the list of establishment institutions he intends to crush on his way to the White House.

Trump’s stunning move to make Breitbart News Executive Chairman Steve Bannon his campaign’s CEO was a decision to shake up his faltering campaign, but it was also a clear response to the complaints about the coverage of his candidacy. Under Bannon’s leadership, Breitbart has championed Trump’s rise while adopting a provocative and combative tone toward the press, the GOP’s congressional leadership and others who have criticized or questioned the nominee. Bringing Bannon into the Trump tent will almost certainly lead to a new chapter in the fight between Trump and the media, which is already engaged in a fierce debate over how to cover the GOP nominee.