WASHINGTON -- The decision by the Republican National Convention to feature President Donald Trump conducting official business inside the White House is raising questions about whether an event featured Tuesday night violated federal law.
In a pretaped scene packaged as part of the convention's prime-time programming, Trump took part in a naturalization ceremony for five new citizens as acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf administered the Oath of Allegiance.
"On behalf of everyone here today, I'd like to express my gratitude to you, Mr. President, for hosting this naturalization ceremony here at the White House," Wolf said.
Kathleen Clark, a legal and government ethics professor at the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, said the event appeared to be designed as part of the convention, an action that would violate a criminal provision of the Hatch Act, which bars executive branch employees from participating in politics in their official capacity.
Under the act, federal employees are prohibited from using their authority to influence the election of a presidential candidate, she said, calling Trump and Wolf "breathtaking in their contempt for the law."
A White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the legal basis of the event, said it was part of the president's official schedule that was publicized on a public website.
"The campaign decided to use the publicly available content for campaign purposes," the official said. "There was no violation of law."
The most widely known civil provisions of the Hatch Act do not apply to the president and the vice president. But the law applies to executive branch employees who are involved in planning or executing any political events staged at the White House, including video segments filmed there, experts said.
And while the president and vice president are exempt from the civil provisions of the law, they are subject to two criminal provisions derived from the Hatch Act, Clark said.
"This is a clear violation," said Jordan Libowitz, spokesman for the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
According to the Office of Special Counsel, which enforces the act, White House employees must be off duty to participate in or attend a convention event. The law prohibits federal employees from taking part in political activity while in a government building or while wearing an official uniform or insignia.
During the naturalization ceremony, two Marines in dress uniforms opened the door for the president as he entered the room.
According to the Department of Defense, "military service members and federal employees acting in their official capacity may not engage in activities that associate the [Department of Defense] with any partisan political campaign or elections, candidate, cause or issue," according to an agency directive and the Hatch Act.
In a statement, White House spokesman Judd Deere said that "RNC Convention events will be planned and executed, at whatever the venue, by the Trump Campaign and RNC. Any government employees who may participate will do so in compliance with the Hatch Act."
The White House is figuring as a central backdrop for this week's GOP convention.
On Monday, Trump appeared in two prerecorded videos shot inside the building, one in the East Room and another in the Diplomatic Reception Room.
On Tuesday night, first lady Melania Trump spoke from the Rose Garden. Numerous administration officials appeared to be in attendance, according to video feeds of her speech.
Today, Trump is expected to deliver his official acceptance speech from the South Lawn, which is set to host hundreds of guests.