Does Steve Bannon’s Private Publicist Violate Federal Law?

The White House is referring media enquiries for strategist Steve Bannon to an outside public relations agent whose firm claims she is working for free, according to the Center for Public Integrity. The arrangement between Bannon and Alexandra Preate, a 46-year-old Republican media strategist, is not only without precedent, according to prominent ethics experts.

It could potentially violate the Antideficiency Act, which states that federal employees “may not accept voluntary services for [the] government or employ personal services exceeding that authorized by law.”