FBI post featuring El-Sayed runs afoul of Hatch Act, say experts

A new video from the FBI has spurred complaints the bureau has violated the Hatch Act by labeling Democrats – including current Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed – as part of the “defund the police crowd.”

The video does not mention the election outright and also credits FBI Director Kash Patel with arresting violent criminals and seizing fentanyl.

But experts say it clearly runs afoul of electioneering laws that prohibit federal employees from making such statements in a government capacity.

“Although the video does not direct viewers to vote for or against a candidate, its message that the candidates’ policies ‘failed’ and ‘Americans were left exposed’ is advocacy against their election that violates the Hatch Act,” Donald Sherman, president and CEO of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington wrote on X.

“The video’s mention of El-Sayed as ‘Progressive Democrat, Senate Nominee’ clearly invokes the election. He is not a current gov’t official & his inclusion has no other purpose than to advocate for success or failure of a partisan candidate – a clear Hatch Act violation.”

The video, shared by the FBI’s rapid response account on X on Tuesday, is over two minutes long and features the faces of a number of prominent Democrats, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (Minn.), as well as former Missouri Rep. Cori Bush.

“The DEFUND THE POLICE crowd wanted America to ‘reimagine safety.’ Translation: Let criminals run wild while cops take a backseat,” the FBI wrote in the tweet.

“They sold slogans. We delivered handcuffs. CRIMINALS FEAR RESULTS, NOT HASHTAGS.”

The video is backed by the beat to Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” and also features several clips of Patel on the job, including a scene of him walking away from a helicopter alongside Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“Talking about ‘defund the police’ isn’t necessarily what makes this ad problematic. However, when you start kind of bringing in the political party language and specific candidates for parties in political office, then the government messaging becomes problematic – a potential violation of the Hatch Act,” said Delaney Marsco, director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center.

“If you are referencing political parties in a gratuitous way, in an inflammatory way, if it’s made close to an election, if it’s framed as an attack on a political party, that’s going to be political activity, and you need to be aware of how that’s going to run afoul of the Hatch Act,” she added.

“It shouldn’t shock anyone that this is not compliant with the Hatch Act.”

The video came shortly after Patel made an appearance on Fox News suggesting to the public how they should vote in the midterms.

“You may want to vote for people who back the blue, who fund law enforcement, who put terrorists and rapists and drug dealers in prison where they belong, and who manhunt people who wish to harm our way of life around the world, like this FBI does, thanks to President Trump,” he said late last month.

The FBI did not respond to request for comment for this story.

The FBI’s video has already generated a complaint from CREW.

“Although the video does not expressly mention the upcoming election or direct viewers to vote for or against a particular candidate, its message that the named candidates’ policies ‘failed’ and ‘Americans were left exposed’ reflects advocacy against their election and falls within the Hatch Act’s clear definition of prohibited political activity by covered members of the executive branch,” the group wrote in its filing to the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which investigates Hatch Act violations.

“The video’s explicit identification of Mr. El-Sayed, one of several current candidates within it, as ‘Progressive Democrat, Senate Nominee’ is a clear invocation of the upcoming election. Mr. El-Sayed is not a current government office holder and is not engaged in policy-making with the FBI; certainly his inclusion appears to have no other purpose than to advocate for the success or failure of a political candidate.”

El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to request for comment.

His campaign page does not comment on defunding the police but does advocate for abolishing ICE – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In a recent interview with Politico, El-Sayed said he did not feel that “defund the police” describes how he would approach policing issues, saying he would like to give local police departments more funding to recruit quality candidates.

“Look, it’s a pretty dumb and unnuanced slogan, which is why I understand Republicans really want to tie it to me now. But also, that was the conversation that was happening in every discussion I had about it. I took time to debate and define what I meant,” he said, including reform for cash bail, describing it as “discriminating against poverty” and having menta health professionals and other specialists on hand to respond to certain situations.

Beyond the FBI post, the White House has come under fire recently for other politicized messages broadcast using government resources.

That includes an ad campaign featuring Trump, showing images of the president overlaid with recent comments from speeches while featuring the song “Love Me.”

Trump and the White House were sued Wednesday by the Democratic National Committee for using Department of Homeland Security funds to pay for the ad, something they say violates various appropriations laws.

“The Trump Administration’s illegal use of taxpayer dollars for campaign-style advertisements deprives the DNC of a fair electoral process by adding public funds to the resources available to support Republican candidates,” the DNC wrote.