A disgrace...

Chad Wolf says he didn’t know naturalization ceremony would be seen at convention

Viewers of the Republican National Convention saw 5 new citizens sworn in.

By ALLIE BICE

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said Sunday that he did not know a video in which he participated in a naturalization ceremony would be broadcast during the Republican National Convention.

Wolf went on defense when asked about the video’s use at the RNC, noting that the department does “hundreds, if not, thousands” of ceremonies like it every year.

“It was uploaded to a public YouTube channel,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.” “Anyone, any individual, organization or political party can pull down that video and do with it as they wish.”

But Jonathan Karl, the program’s co-anchor and ABC’s chief Washington correspondent, doubled down on the question — asking Wolf whether he knew it would be used at the GOP convention.

“No,” Wolf replied, adding, “We had a number of USCIS employees there, as they do every naturalization ceremony, making sure that that ceremony goes off without a hitch. They were giving that oath of allegiance to those individuals there. And again, we’ll continue to do that, because that's our mission at the department.”

On Tuesday, viewers of the convention saw a ceremony filmed at the White House that featured Trump observing the swearing-in of five new U.S. citizens and congratulating the participants. Subsequent news reports indicated that the new citizens didn’t know their ceremony would be used as part of the convention.

Wolf’s comments came after DHS employees received an email Thursday reminding them not to engage in “partisan political activity.”

The email was to serve as a reminder of the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that prohibits most employees of the executive branch from participating in political activities. A department spokesperson said such reminders are sent out frequently to employees during election season.

Democrats called for an investigation into Wolf’s potential violation of the Hatch Act.

House Homeland Security Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) wrote in a letter to the Office of Special Counsel that the broadcast was “an unprecedented politicization of the naturalization ceremony — an official function of the Department of Homeland Security.”

“Mr. Wolf's participation appears to constitute engaging in political activity while acting in an official capacity,” the letter read.