Dan Scavino, social media director and presidential adviser to President Donald Trump, repeatedly utilized social media to smear and attack Trump’s political and media opponents and in one instance violated the Hatch Act, which prevents federal employees from engaging in political activity while in office.
Trump’s social media director is using Twitter to smear Trump’s political and media opponents
Written by Jared Holt
Published
Dan Scavino regularly uses Twitter to attack Trump’s political and media opponents
Scavino shared a supercut video of Brian Williams, claiming that America “hasn’t forgotten” about his “#LyinBrianMoments.”
America hasn't forgotten all of your #LyinBrianMoments @BWilliams.
➡️https://t.co/eCwLwx0rQ0 pic.twitter.com/Ab4ewPaZuy— Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) June 11, 2017
[Twitter.com, 6/11/17]
Scavino criticized London Mayor Sadiq Khan following terror attacks in London.
.@MayorofLondon- refer to below tweet 13 months ago, after you criticized ... now President @realDonaldTrump --- and WAKE UP!!!! https://t.co/RzGOHny37L
— Dan Scavino Jr. (@Scavino45) June 4, 2017
[Twitter.com, 6/4/17]
Scavino called for the “#TrumpTrain” to unseat Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) in the state’s next primary election, calling him “a big liability.”
.@realDonaldTrump is bringing auto plants & jobs back to Michigan. @justinamash is a big liability.#TrumpTrain, defeat him in primary.
— Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) April 1, 2017
[Twitter.com, 4/1/17]
Scavino Threatened Fox’s Megyn Kelly After He Didn’t Like An Interview She Did With Newt Gingrich. After a contentious interview in which former Fox host Megyn Kelly asked former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich about sexual assault allegations against Trump, Scavino wrote on Twitter that Kelly is “not very smart” and also said, “Watch what happens to her after this election is over.” [Mediaite, 10/25/16; Twitter, 10/25/16; Twitter, 10/25/16]
Kelly Later Cited Scavino As A Reason She Received Death Threats For Her Coverage Of Trump. The Guardian reported, “Journalist Megyn Kelly, who is under armed guard after receiving death threats, has accused Donald Trump’s social media director of stirring hatred on the internet.” Kelly said during a December talk in Washington, D.C., “It’s that far corner of the internet that really enjoys nastiness and threats and unfortunately there is a man who works for Donald Trump whose job it is to stir these people up and that man needs to stop doing that. His name is Dan Scavino.” [The Guardian, 12/6/16]
CNN contributor Amanda Carpenter was forced to respond to false allegations she was having an affair with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) after Scavino tweeted a conspiracy video. CNN contributor Amanda Carpenter was forced to respond to a false smear Scavino pushed on Twitter that alleged Carpenter had an affair with then-presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). Scavino retweeted the video, which claimed a photo of Carpenter wearing a suit jacket was evidence that Carpenter was Cruz’s mistress. [Mediaite, 3/29/16]
Along with harassment, Scavino also uses his social media to spread conspiracy theories
Scanivo was hired into the Trump administration after time on the campaign trail pushing conspiracy theories and harassing Trump opponents. Trump’s White House communications team announced that Scavino would be serving as “assistant to the president and director of social media,” in effect rewarding Scavino for his work on the campaign trail repeatedly pushing conspiracy theories, publishing an anti-Semitic “sheriff’s star” tweet, and threatening former Fox News host Megyn Kelly. [Media Matters, 12/22/16]
Office of Special Counsel found one of Scavino's threatening tweets violated the Hatch Act
Politico: Trump social media director Dan Scavino violated Hatch Act laws. Politico reported that “President Donald Trump’s social media director Dan Scavino violated the law” after Scavino used his Twitter account to campaign against a Republican congressman in Michigan. From the June 9 article:
President Donald Trump's social media director Dan Scavino violated the law when he called on Trump's allies to oust a Republican congressman from office in April, according to the Office of Special Counsel.
The agency found that Scavino breached a provision of the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees engaging in some forms of political activity while acting in their official capacity.
“Accordingly, we issued Mr. Scavino a warning letter,” wrote Ana Galindo-Marrone, chief of OSC's Hatch Act Unit. “In addition, we note that Mr. Scavino was recently counseled about the Hatch Act by the Office of the White House Counsel.” [Politico, 6/9/17]