Conway acted 'without nefarious motive' in Ivanka Trump plug: White House

The White House has concluded that President Donald Trump's top advisor, Kellyanne Conway, was acting "without nefarious motive" when she plugged Ivanka Trump's products in a TV interview.

A letter from the White House to the Office of Government Ethics said that a White House lawyer met with Conway to review federal rules prohibiting endorsements by government employees. It makes no mention of plans for disciplinary action, reports the CNN.

"Upon completion of our inquiry, we concluded that Ms. Conway acted inadvertently and is highly unlikely to do so again. It is noted that Ms. Conway made the statement in question in a light, off-hand manner while attempting to stand up for a person she believed had been unfairly treated and did so without nefarious motive or intent to benefit personally," said the letter, signed by Stefan C. Passantino, a White House deputy counsel for compliance and ethics.

Conway in a TV interview on February 9 had said: "Go buy Ivanka's stuff", a day after, President Trump had complained on Twitter that Nordstrom had treated Ivanka unfairly by dropping her line of clothes and accessories.

"I own some of it. I fully -- I'm going to just, I'm going to give a free commercial here: Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online," Conway had said.

Federal rules say that public employees may not use their positions "for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity."

The ethics office could still recommend a specific penalty for Conway, like a suspension. But any recommendation would be non-binding.