The federal watchdog that called for White House aide Kellyanne Conway to be fired for her series of Hatch Act violations has slammed Trump administration pressure to retract the request as wholly inappropriate.

A statement from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel issued Thursday also appeared to raise the specter of obstruction of justice by the administration. It said that pressure from White House lawyer Pat Cipollone introduces a serious perception of undue influence in the OSCs independent investigation.

Last week, the OSC recommended that Conway be fired for her egregious, notorious and ongoing violations of the Hatch Act , which prohibits most federal employees from using their official position to influence an election.

Instead of firing Conway, whom President Donald Trump on Friday defended as a wonderful person , the White House attacked the OSC and Special Counsel Henry Kerner.

Kerner, a Trump appointee, said in a letter to the president that allowing Conway to break the Hatch Act with impunity erodes the principal foundation of the democratic system namely, the rule of law.

White House deputy press secretary Steven Groves responded by accusing the OSC of weaponizing the Hatch Act by enforcing it and violating Conways constitutional rights. Trump himself characterized the call to fire Conway for campaigning for him on a taxpayer salary as a free speech thing .

Cipollone sent an 11-page letter to Kerner, attacking the watchdog reports flawed conclusions and calling on Kerner to withdraw and retract the report. Cipollone also demanded the entire investigation files related to the report.

The OSC statement responded that such requests ... are wholly inappropriate . It added:

These requests represent a significant encroachment on OSCs independence. This attempt by the Counsels [Cipollone] office to oversee our investigative and enforcement authority introduces a serious perception of undue influence in an apparent effort to bias the outcome of OSCs independent investigation.

Conway has repeatedly bashed Democratic presidential candidates in her official capacity to groups of reporters and on national TV. In her first Hatch Act violation in 2017, she plugged Ivanka Trumps products on TV during an interview.

Neither Trump nor Conway has denied that Conway violated the Hatch Act. The president has indicated the law is unconstitutional, though it was held up by the Supreme Court twice in 80 years. When Conway was recently challenged by a reporter about her Hatch Act violations, she responded: Blah, blah, blah ... Let me know when the jail sentence starts .

Walter Shaub , former ethics chief for Trump and the Obama administration, said in a recent series of tweets that he feared Trump would fire Kerner in retaliation. He later deleted his tweets, saying he didnt want to risk baiting a thug to take action against someone.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee will hold a hearing later this month with Kerner to discuss Conways alleged Hatch Act violations .

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is currently gathering signatures on a petition calling for Conways ouster.

The violations, and her expressed disdain for the law, make clear that her removal is necessary to preserve the rule of law, said the legal advocacy group that targets corruption in Washington. Conway must resign or be fired immediately.

The petition had more than 21,000 signatures as of Monday morning.