IN HER DEFENSE...:

This came just a day after ethics experts questioned whether it was appropriate for the President of the United States and his press secretary to be condemning the retailing giant Nordstrom for its decision to drop Ivanka's line of clothing.

Conway's actions were much more of a clear-cut problem, according to government ethics experts. Even those friendly to the administration, including Peter Schweizer, who has worked with senior White House adviser Steve Bannon, were worried about the incident.

"They've crossed a very, very important bright line, and it's not good," he told The Washington Post. "To encourage Americans to buy goods from companies owned by the first family is totally out of bounds and needs to stop."

Federal ethics rules dictate that an employee of the executive branch "shall not use his public office for his own private gain, for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity."

Conway made a clear endorsement, Richard Painter, former chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, told The Daily Beast.

"It is a violation of federal ethics regulations prohibiting use of public office for private gain for any government employee in an official speech, an official capacity TV interview or any similar communication to promote the products or services of a particular private business belonging to the employee's own family, the President's family, a friend, a campaign contributor or anyone else," Painter said in an email. "That was strictly forbidden in the Bush administration because it is illegal." [...]

[T]he White House's hand may be forced soon.

Jason Chaffetz, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said in a statement on Thursday that Conway's promotion of Ivanka Trump's clothing line was "unacceptable" and "clearly over the line." An aide to Representative Elijah Cummings, a ranking member on the committee, then confirmed to The Daily Beast that Cummings and Chaffetz are drafting a letter to send to the White House and the Office of Government Ethics.

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