It turns out that nobody cares about ethics in government.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Wednesday dismissed accusations that Trump administration officials violated federal law by speaking at the Republican National Convention, arguing that critics have overstretched the bounds of the Hatch Act.

…

“Nobody outside of the Beltway really cares. They expect that Donald Trump is going to promote Republican values and they would expect that Barack Obama, when he was in office, that he would do the same for Democrats,” he continued. “So listen, this is a lot of hoopla that’s being made about things, mainly because the convention has been so unbelievably successful.”

The issue isn’t “promoting political values.” The issue is exploiting a government job to promote a party candidate.

Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Economic Director Larry Kudlow and counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway, have come under scrutiny for accepting speaking roles at the RNC, positions which critics claim violate federal law banning most executive branch employees from political activity. The White House has largely ignored those concerns.

Because the White House is in the hands of Trump who is an outright criminal as well as a dedicated sleaze.

Pompeo’s speech, delivered from Jerusalem during an official trip to the Middle East by the secretary, has been the subject of particular criticism. Pompeo has insisted that his speech was delivered in his personal capacity and on his own time, away from his official duties as the nation’s top diplomat. But critics have complained that the secretary’s speech came while he was on taxpayer-funded official travel and that it broke with State Department guidance barring employees from publicly backing political candidates.

The claim is ludicrous, insultingly so. He wasn’t there on his own time and away from professional duties. He was there as Secretary of State, on our dime. He can make the “timeout” sign with his hands all he wants, he’s still there as Secretary of State and on our dime.

Meadows echoed Pompeo’s reasoning and also defended the president’s decision to deliver his RNC speech from the White House, a step that breaks with decades of precedent dictating that the trappings of the executive mansion are reserved for official government business, not politics.

Rules and precedents are for the little people, not for Giants of Sleaze.