My former boss—Robert S. Taylor, who served as Acting General Counsel at Department of Defense—with a strong warning to federal employees across departments and agencies.

Two federal laws that could punish #ElectionInterference.

#2020Election

<thread> https://www.justsecurity.org/73083/federal-employees-liability-risks-for-following-illegal-directives-to-interfere-in-2020-election/">https://www.justsecurity.org/73083/fed...

2. Two laws — Hatch Act and Antideficiency Act — can impose stiff penalties (including prison time) for federal employees who illegally undermine the election.

The latter could apply to federal actions that use funds that have not been appropriated by Congress for that purpose.

3. "Every federal employee should assume that if he or she carries out an activity intended to impair or impede the election... their conduct will be judged by people deeply upset over the effort to entrench a President viewed as a threat to the very foundations of our democracy"

4. "There may well be congressional investigations — especially after the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3 – with a strong reason to look into any efforts to interfere with the 2020 election. Committees and individual members could make criminal referrals to the" Justice Dept.

5/5.

This is a warning that applies to #DHS #USPS #DOJ #DOS #NSC #DOD and beyond.

#ProtectTheVote #Democracy