专家称，美国国税局和社会保障局发送赞扬特朗普的电子邮件可能违反道德法规在中期选举前几天，美国国税局和社会保障局发送的电子邮件可能违反《哈奇法案》，该法案限制联邦雇员的政治活动。
Federal Agency Emails Praising Trump May Violate Ethics Laws, Experts Say Messages sent by the I.R.S. and the Social Security Administration days before the midterms could violate the Hatch Act, which restricts political activity by federal employees.
社会保障局和美国国税局周四、周五和周六向拥有在线账户的人群发送了群发邮件，赞扬特朗普总统。这一在中期选举前几天采取的不寻常举动，一些专家表示可能违反联邦道德法规。
The Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service praised President Trump in mass emails sent Thursday, Friday and Saturday to people with online accounts, an unusual move days before the midterm elections that some experts said could violate federal ethics laws.
《纽约时报》审阅了其中一封邮件的副本，邮件中，社会保障局局长弗兰克·比西尼亚诺写道：“在唐纳德·J·特朗普总统的领导下，社会保障局（SSA）正在转型为卓越的典范，能够满足并超越客户对快速、准确和安全服务的期望。”
“Under President Donald J. Trump, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is transforming into a model of excellence, one that meets and exceeds customer expectations for fast, accurate and secure service,” Frank Bisignano, the Social Security Agency’s commissioner, wrote in one of the emails, copies of which were reviewed by The New York Times.
比西尼亚诺同时担任美国国税局首席执行官，他在周四由美国国税局发出的类似邮件上签了名，《纽约时报》也审阅了该邮件的副本。
Mr. Bisignano, who also serves as the chief executive of the I.R.S., signed his name on a similar email sent out by the I.R.S. on Thursday, copies of which were also reviewed by The Times.
比西尼亚诺在另一封邮件中写道：“去年，唐纳德·J·特朗普总统签署了《工作家庭减税法案》，这是一项里程碑式的立法，开启了减税新时代，并阻止了美国历史上最大规模的增税生效。”他继续写道：“像您这样的勤劳美国人，因为特朗普总统的历史性减税，能够保留更多自己挣来的钱。”
“Last year, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Working Families Tax Cuts, landmark legislation that ushered in a new era of tax relief and prevented the largest tax increase in American history from taking effect,” Mr. Bisignano wrote in the other email, continuing, “Hardworking Americans like you are keeping more of what they earn because of President Trump’s historic tax cuts.”
美国国税局的邮件称，该邮件“仅供参考，不构成关于纳税人具体情况的沟通”，并补充说，美国国税局“通常不会向纳税人发送电子邮件”。几位法律专家表示，这些邮件赞扬特朗普先生，且发送时间恰逢关键选举前几天，可能违反了《哈奇法案》。这项有87年历史的法律旨在防止行政部门雇员利用其职位影响党派选举结果。
The I.R.S. email says that it is “for informational purposes and does not constitute a communication about a taxpayer’s specific situation,” adding that the I.R.S. “does not generally send e-mails to taxpayers.”Several legal experts said the emails’ praise of Mr. Trump, coupled with their timing just days before a pivotal election, potentially violated the Hatch Act, an 87-year-old law meant to prevent employees of the executive branch from using their positions to influence the results of partisan elections.
圣路易斯华盛顿大学法学教授凯瑟琳·克拉克表示，这些电子邮件似乎更像是“宣传”，而非提供实用信息的公益广告。
Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said the emails seemed to function as “propaganda” rather than as public service announcements providing practical information.
明尼苏达大学法学教授、前总统乔治·W·布什任内白宫道德律师理查德·W·佩恩特周六在电话采访中表示，他们是在选举前夕这样做，旨在说服人们认为特朗普总统工作做得好，并补充说，他认为这些电子邮件不合适。
“They’re doing it just before the election to persuade people that President Trump is doing a good job,” Richard W. Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota and former White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, said in a phone interview on Saturday, adding that he thought the emails were inappropriate.
克拉克女士说，这些信息让人联想到特朗普政府今年秋季的一场电视广告活动，该活动宣传他的总统任期。一些专家表示，该活动可能违反了《哈奇法案》以及禁止使用拨款资金进行宣传或宣传的其他法定禁令。社会保障局和国税局未回应置评请求。
Ms. Clark said the messages were reminiscent of a television ad campaign by the Trump administration this fall that promoted his presidency. Some experts said the campaign could have violated the Hatch Act and additional statutory prohibitions on the use of appropriated funds for publicity or propaganda. The Social Security Administration and the I.R.S. did not respond to requests for comment.