Experts were left scratching their heads Thursday when the White House press office claimed it could not respond to questions of whether the cocaine found in the West Wing area of the White House could have belonged to President Joe Biden or his son, Hunter.
A reporter asked White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates during a press gaggle for a response to former President Donald Trump's recent statement that "the cocaine found in the White House had belonged to either the president or his son. Are you willing to say that that's not the case?"
Bates responded, "I don't have a response to that because we have to be careful about the Hatch Act." He then added, "What I will say is that I have noticed there does seem to be some increasing frustration coming from that corner in general, and I think it is probably rooted in the contrast between their substantive policy records."
RNC Research posted quotes and an audio clip of the exchange, leading a number of conservative experts and pundits to wonder what the Hatch Act, which prevents civil service employees in the executive branch from participating in certain political activities, had to do with answering a question about Trump's comment.
"Odd that Bates pivots to the Hatch Act and doesn't deny the question ...," conservative commentator Steve Guest tweeted in response.
"That famous Hatch Act provision which doesn't allow you to say White House cocaine doesn't belong to the president or his son," author Jerry Dunleavy noted wryly.
Attorney Bradley P. Moss told Fox News he is "candidly at a loss as to why Mr. Bates believes the Hatch Act is relevant with respect to addressing that question."
"I could envision other legitimate bases for declining to respond, such as respecting the integrity of the ongoing investigation, but references to the Hatch Act seem misplaced," Moss added.
Richard Painter, former Bush administration ethics chief told Fox that he has "given lectures at the White House" and published articles on the Hatch Act, but the bill "does not cover snorting cocaine."
Bates, contacted by Fox News, said his answer would come under the Hatch Act because Trump's comments were a direct "comment from a declared candidate."
The White House has seen Hatch Act allegations, most recently by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre who last month repeatedly referred to "MAGA Republican officials who don't believe in the rule of law."