Hatch Act complaint filed against Don Benton, former Trump campaign chair in Washington

Selective Service System Director Don Benton — the former Washington state senator and 2016 Northwest campaign chairman for Donald Trump — has been accused in a new complaint of misusing his government position for partisan political ends during a recent Republican fundraiser in Hawaii. The Campaign Legal Center (CLC), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit ethics watchdog group, filed a complaint this week with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, alleging Benton violated the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that restricts political activities by federal employees.

The complaint, first reported by the Washington Examiner, says Benton violated the Hatch Act when he spoke Sept. 21 at the Hawaii Republican Party’s Constitution Day Dinner, a political fundraiser that cost between $200 and $10,000 to attend.

Benton was introduced by his official title at the event and was described as a spokesman for the Trump administration. As he spoke, his title, “Director, Selective Service” was projected on a screen behind him, according to the complaint.

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