September 21, 2020
SENT VIA E-MAIL: hotline@hudoig.gov ; ContactOGE@oge.gov
The Honorable Henry J. Kerner
Special Counsel
U.S. Office of Special Counsel
1730 M Street, N.W., Suite 218
Washington, D.C. 20036
The Honorable Rae Oliver Davis
Inspector General
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, S.W., Room 8274
Washington, D.C. 20410
The Honorable Emory A. Rounds III
Director
U.S. Office of Government Ethics
1201 New York Avenue, N.W., Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20005
Re: Violation of the Hatch Act and OGE Regulations by Lynne Patton
Dear Special Counsel Kerner, Inspector General Davis and Director Rounds:
Campaign for Accountability (“CfA”), a non-partisan, nonprofit ethics watchdog,
respectfully requests that the Office of Special Counsel (“OSC”), the Inspector General of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) and the Office of Government Ethics
(“OGE”) investigate whether HUD Regional Administrator for Region II Lynne Patton violated
the Hatch Act and applicable federal regulations by using the authority and resources of her
office to solicit political activity from persons who had business before her office. The OSC has
determined that Ms. Patton violated the Hatch Act on two prior occasions and warned her that
any additional Hatch Act violations would be considered willful and knowing. 1 Accordingly, if
you determine that Ms. Patton has committed a third and more egregious violation of the Hatch
Act, it would be appropriate to remove her from federal service.
Factual Background
1

Letter from Erica S. Hamrick, Deputy Chief, Hatch Act Unit, Office of Special Counsel to Noah Bookbinder,
Executive Director, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (September 18, 2019) (available at
https://s3.amazonaws.com/storage.citizensforethics.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/18154856/Ltr-to-CREW-rePatton.pdfi),

611 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. #337 • Washington, D.C. 20003 • (202) 780-5750
campaignforaccountability.org

 The Honorable Henry J. Kerner
The Honorable Rae Oliver Davis
The Honorable Emory A. Rounds III
September 21, 2020
Page 2
Lynne Patton is the Regional Administrator for HUD Region II, which has jurisdiction
over all HUD programs in New York and New Jersey.2 HUD Region II oversees all HUD
programs involving the New York City Housing Authority (“NYCHA”). NYCHA is the largest
public housing authority in North America with over three hundred public housing developments
across all five boroughs of New York City. Tenants in NYCHA public housing properties pay a
maximum rent equal to thirty percent of the household’s income with the remainder subsidized
by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 3 Accordingly, NYCHA tenants are the
ultimate beneficiaries of HUD grants to NYCHA.
In mid-August, Regional Administrator Patton, using the authority and resources of her
office, recruited four NYCHA tenants to appear in a video praising President Donald J. Trump’s
record on public housing (“the NYCHA video”).4 At the time that Regional Administrator
Patton solicited the NYCHA tenants to appear in the video, they were told that the purpose of the
video was to document the conditions in NYCHA’s buildings. 5 In fact, Regional Administrator
Patton knew at the time that she solicited the tenants’ participation in the video that the video
was being produced by a video production company for Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
(“the Trump campaign”) and that the true purpose of the video was to show it at the upcoming
Republican National Convention to support the re-election of President Trump. 6
Regional Administrator Patton interviewed the four NYCHA tenants herself and the
video contained three still photographs of Regional Administrator Patton in the process of
carrying out her official duties overseeing NYCHA.7 It was only after the interviews had been
filmed that three of the four NYCHA tenants were told that the interviews were for the
Republican Party.8 They were never told the video would be shown at the Republican National
Convention to support the re-election of President Trump.9 In an interview with the Fox News
TV affiliate in New York City after the convention, Regional Administrator Patton admitted the
video had been produced by Jamestown Associates, a video production company for the Trump
campaign.10
2

See, e.g., U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Regional Administrator Serving New
York and New Jersey (available at https://www.hud.gov/states/shared/working/r2/fpm/contacts).
3
New York City Housing Authority, NYCHA 2020 Fact Sheet (March 2020) (available at
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nycha/downloads/pdf/NYCHA-Fact-Sheet_2020_Final.pdfi).
4
Matthew Haag, N.Y.C. Tenants Say They Were Tricked Into Appearing in R.N.C. Video, New York Times (Aug.
28, 2020)(hereinafter “NYT HUD/RNC article”)(available at http://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/nyregion/nyctenants-rnc-video-trump.html).
5
Id.
6
Id.
7
Republican National Convention-Night 4, Republican National Convention (Aug. 27, 2020)(available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cfL6UbItDk).
8
NYT HUD/RNC article.
9
Id.
10
Lynne Patton reacts to NYCHA video played at RNC (Aug. 31, 2020)(available at
https://www.fox5ny.com/video/845797). See also Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., FEC Form 3P (Aug. 20,
2020)(online at https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00580100/1434701/sb/23/4).

 The Honorable Henry J. Kerner
The Honorable Rae Oliver Davis
The Honorable Emory A. Rounds III
September 21, 2020
Page 3
Potential Violations
The Hatch Act – 5 U.S.C. §§ 7321-26
One of the purposes of the Hatch Act was to prevent federal employees from using the
implied threat of the denial of benefits to coerce recipients of public assistance into engaging in
political activity.11 “Political activity” is defined broadly to include any “activity directed toward
the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan political office, or partisan
political group.”12 Accordingly, the Office of Special Counsel advises federal employees that
the Hatch Act prohibits them from “knowingly solicit[ing] . . . the participation in any political
activity of anyone who has business before their employing office.” 13 This broad prohibition
applies specifically to soliciting political activity from individuals who are the beneficiaries of
federal grants.14
There can be no doubt that Regional Administrator Patton solicited NYCHA tenants to
engage in political activity. At the time she solicited their participation in the NYCHA video,
Regional Administrator Patton knew the production of the video was going to be paid for by the
Trump campaign and would be aired during the Republican National Convention. There scarcely
could be a clearer example of an activity directed toward the success of a political party or
candidate.
Nor is there any doubt that the NYCHA tenants who were solicited by Regional
Administrator Patton to appear in the NYCHA video are members of a class of individuals who
are intended to be protected from political coercion by the Hatch Act. All of the NYCHA
tenants who appeared in the video are residents of NYCHA public housing developments. 15
NYCHA uses grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to subsidize the

11

5 U.S.C. § 7323(a)(4)(A); 5 C.F.R. § 734.305(a). Indeed, the Hatch Act makes it a crime for a HUD official to
use her official authority to coerce tenants in HUD-subsidized properties to engage in political activity to support the
nomination or election of a candidate for President. Any “person employed in any administrative position by the
United States, or by any department or agency thereof, . . . in connection with any activity which is financed in
whole or in part by loans or grants made by the United States, or any department or agency thereof, uses [her]
official authority for the purpose of interfering with, or affecting, the nomination or the election of any candidate for
the office of President . . . shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.” 18 U.S.C. §
595. It is also a crime for a HUD official to solicit tenants in HUD-subsidized properties for contributions, including
in-kind contributions, for any political purpose. “Whoever solicits . . . or is in any manner concerned in soliciting . .
. any contribution for any political purpose from any person known by [her] to be entitled to, or receiving [any]
benefit provided for or made possible by any Act of Congress appropriating funds for . . . relief purposes, shall be
fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.” 18 U.S.C. § 604.
12
5 C.F.R. § 734.101.
13
U.S. Office of Special Counsel, A Guide to the Hatch Act for Federal Employees (Sept. 2014)(available
athttps://osc.gov/Documents/Outreach%20and%20Training/Handouts/A%20Guide%20to%20the%20Hatch%20Act
%20for%20Federal%20Employees.pdf).
14
5 U.S.C. §7323(a)(4)(A); 5 C.F.R. § 734.305(a).
15
NYT HUD/RNC article

 The Honorable Henry J. Kerner
The Honorable Rae Oliver Davis
The Honorable Emory A. Rounds III
September 21, 2020
Page 4
rent paid by these tenants. 16 At any one time, NYCHA has numerous grant applications pending
before Region II. Accordingly, it appears Regional Administrator Patton violated the Hatch Act
by soliciting political activity from individuals who had business pending before her office. 17
Misuse of Position – 5 C.F.R. § 2635 Subpart G
Office of Government Ethics regulations govern a federal employee’s use of her authority
as well as the information and resources to which she has access because of her federal
employment.18 A federal employee is prohibited from using her public office for the private gain
of friends, relatives or persons with whom the federal employee is affiliated in a
nongovernmental capacity. 19 In particular, a federal employee is prohibited from using her
government position or any authority associated with her public office in a manner “that is
intended to coerce or induce another person . . . to provide any benefit, financial or otherwise, to
. . . friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental
capacity.”20 In addition, a federal employee may not allow the improper use of nonpublic
information to further the private interest of another person.21 “Nonpublic information” in this
context is information the federal employee “gains by reason of Federal employment” and which
she knows has not been made available to the general public. 22
Regional Administrator Patton is a close personal friend of President Trump and other
members of his immediate family. She was an employee of the Trump Organization for over a
decade, served as the vice president of the Eric Trump Foundation, and planned Eric Trump’s
wedding.23 As previously discussed, she used her authority as Regional Administrator for
Region II to “coerce and induce” NYCHA tenants to appear in a video she knew was being paid
16

New York City Housing Authority, NYCHA 2020 Fact Sheet (March 2020) (available at
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nycha/downloads/pdf/NYCHA-Fact-Sheet_2020_Final.pdfi).
17
5 U.S.C. §7323(a)(4)(A); 5 C.F.R. § 734.305(a).
18
5 C.F.R. § 2635.701.
19
5 C.F.R. § 2635.702.
20
5 C.F.R. § 2635.702(a).
21
5 C.F.R. § 2635.703(a). See, e.g., U.S. Department of State, Memorandum re: Rules on Political Activities from
the Office of the Legal Advisor to All Presidential Appointees and All Political Appointees (Dec. 3, 2019)
(available at https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000174-227a-d006-a7f4-e27fc5690000). Moreover, it is a crime
under the Hatch Act for a HUD official to share the names of tenants in a HUD-subsidized property with a candidate
for President or his campaign committee for political purposes. “Whoever, for political purposes, furnishes or
discloses any list or names of persons receiving . . . benefits provided or made possible by any Act of Congress
appropriating, or authorizing the appropriation of funds for . . . relief purposes, to a political candidate, committee,
campaign manager . . . and [w]hoever receives any such list or names for political purposes [s]hall be fined under
this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.” 18 U.S.C. § 605. Accordingly, Regional Administrator
Patton may have committed a criminal violation by providing the Trump campaign with the names of the tenants
who appeared in the NYCHA video and the Trump campaign may have committed a criminal violation by
accepting that information.
22
5 C.F.R. § 2635.703(b).
23
Yamiche Alcindor, “Give Me A Chance,” Trump Associate-Turned-Housing-Official Says, New York Times,
June 26, 2017 (“I am close to the Trump family. I am loyal to the Trump family . . . .”)(available at
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/26/us/politics/lynne-patton-hud.html).

 The Honorable Henry J. Kerner
The Honorable Rae Oliver Davis
The Honorable Emory A. Rounds III
September 21, 2020
Page 5
for by the Trump campaign and would be shown at the Republican National Convention for the
private benefit of her personal friend Donald Trump. OGE regulations prohibit a federal
employee from using her authority to provide any benefit, “financial or otherwise,” to a personal
friend.24
Finally, Regional Administrator Patton misused her position by using information she
would not have possessed but for her federal employment to further the private interests of
Donald Trump. The four NYCHA tenants that Regional Administrator Patton solicited and
induced to appear in the NYCHA video were all officers of tenant associations at different
NYCHA public housing developments.25 Regional Administrator Patton would not have known
these individuals but for her employment at HUD. Moreover, Regional Administrator Patton
would not have had the personal contact information for these individuals but for her federal
employment. Regional Administrator Patton misused information she obtained in the course of
her federal employment to further the private interests of Donald Trump by soliciting and
inducing these individuals to appear in the NYCHA video to support his re-election.26
Appropriate Disciplinary Action
Unfortunately, this is not Regional Administrator Patton’s first violation of the Hatch Act
– far from it. The Office of Special Counsel has previously determined Regional Administrator
Patton violated the Hatch Act on two separate occasions. The OSC determined Regional
Administrator Patton violated the Hatch Act by using her official Twitter account,
“@LynnePattonHUD,” to engage in political activity, liking tweets that advocated for and
against partisan political candidates and that originated with a political party. 27 The OSC
determined that Regional Administrator Patton committed a second violation of the Hatch Act by
displaying a Trump campaign hat in her HUD office. 28 The OSC warned Regional Administrator
Patton at the time of her second violation that “if in the future she engages in prohibited political
activity while employed in a position covered by the Hatch Act, we will consider such activity to
be a willful and knowing violation of the law, which could result in further action.” 29
The time for such action is now. Like other Trump Administration officials, Regional
Administrator Patton has demonstrated contempt for the Hatch Act and other government ethics
regulations. Moreover, her repeated Hatch Act violations have grown progressively more
egregious. The actions described here, which took place well after she had been warned by the

24

5 C.F.R. § 2635.702(a).
NYT HUD/RNC article.
26
5 C.F.R. § 2635.703(a).
27
Letter from Erica S. Hamrick, Deputy Chief, Hatch Act Unit, Office of Special Counsel to Noah Bookbinder,
Executive Director, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (September 18, 2019) (available at
https://s3.amazonaws.com/storage.citizensforethics.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/18154856/Ltr-to-CREW-rePatton.pdf).
28
Id.
29
Id.
25

 The Honorable Henry J. Kerner
The Honorable Rae Oliver Davis
The Honorable Emory A. Rounds III
September 21, 2020
Page 6
Office of Special Counsel that any further violations would be regarded as willful and knowing,
are deserving of the harshest possible sanction – removal from federal service.
There is ample precedent for such a sanction. The Merit System Protection Board, which
adjudicates Hatch Act violations, has repeatedly held that removal is the appropriate sanction
when federal employees were warned before engaging in prohibited political activity.30
Indeed, the Office of Special Counsel just last year recommended that Regional
Administrator Patton’s colleague and fellow Hatch Act recidivist Kellyanne Conway be removed
from federal service.31 Like Ms. Conway, Regional Administrator Patton’s violations of the
Hatch Act have been egregious, notorious and ongoing.32 Regional Administrator Patton was
given a clear warning and had clear knowledge of the Hatch Act well before she engaged in her
most recent violations, yet she continues to disregard the law.33 Removal from federal service is
clearly warranted.
Conclusion
The Hatch Act is intended to prevent federal employees from using their authority and
the resources of their office to engage in partisan political activity. Regional Administrator
Patton has repeatedly violated the Hatch Act and she has continued to do so even after being
specifically warned about the consequences of any further violations. The Office of Special
Counsel, the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the
Office of Government Ethics should commence an immediate investigation of Regional
Administrator Patton and take or recommend all appropriate disciplinary action, up to and
including removal from federal service. Finally, should your investigation reveal that Regional
Administrator Patton likely committed criminal violations of the Hatch Act, please refer this
matter to the Department of Justice for further action.
Sincerely,

Michelle J. Kuppersmith
Executive Director
30

See, e.g., Special Counsel v. Lewis, 121 M.S.P.R. 109 (2014); Special Counsel v. Ware, 114 M.S.P.R. 128 (2010);
Special Counsel v. Briggs, 110 M.S.P.R. 1 (2008); Special Counsel v. Acconcia, 107 M.S.P.R. 60 (2007); Special
Counsel v. Eisinger, 103 M.S.P.R. 252; and Special Counsel v. Simmons, 90 M.S.P.R. 83 (2001).
31
U.S. Office of Special Counsel, Report of Prohibited Activity Under the Hatch Act OSC File Nos. HA-19-0631 &
HA-19-3395 (Kellyanne Conway)(May 30, 2019)(available at
https://osc.gov/Documents/Hatch%20Act/Reports/Report%20of%20Prohibited%20Political%20Activity,%20Kellya
nne%20Conway%20(HA-19-0631%20&%20HA-19-3395).pdf).
32
Id.
33
Id.