The White House has concluded that presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway acted “without nefarious motive or intent to benefit personally” when she endorsed Ivanka Trump’s fashion line last month.
On Tuesday, the White House sent a letter to the Office of Government Ethics that said Conway “acted inadvertently and is highly unlikely to do so again,” according to a copy obtained by CNN Money. Stefan Passantino, White House deputy counsel for compliance and ethics, signed the letter, which also stated a White House lawyer met with Conway to go over the federal rules that bar endorsements from government employees.
“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,” Passantino wrote.
After Conway plugged President Trump’s daughter’s clothing line during a Fox & Friends segment, lawmakers and pundits to pointed to an ethics law that prohibits executive branch employees from endorsing products. Conway endorsed the line amid a slew of retailers — including Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus — removing it from their shelves.
A White House official told CNN the day after the segment that Conway apologized to Trump over the endorsement. Conway then tweeted a story from AP that reported Trump
