Government ethics website hits big bumps after 'extraordinary' number of requests from public

In a series of tweets posted Thursday afternoon, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) said that its website, email and phone systems were hung up due to "an extraordinary volume of contacts from citizens about recent events."

While none of the tweets specifically named President Trump or any of his associates involved in stories surrounding questionable ethics this week -- including wife Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka Trump, and White House aide Kellyanne Conway -- the timing of the flood of inquiries implies a connection to recent controversies. As do additional statements made in tweets by the office.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The OGE's follow-up tweets didn't elaborate on the nature of the crash but did give insight into the office's role, noting it doesn't have the authority to investigate claims of ethical violations.

At 10:30 a.m. ET Thursday morning, the OGE's website was still active, as Mashable had accessed it in an attempt to track down more information from the office about Conway's comments. Not long after, though, the website started experiencing issues.

Calls to several officials at the office on Thursday afternoon all went to voicemail, understandable as their hands are probably full. A spokesperson for the OGE later confirmed that users were having trouble accessing the website as it was at full capacity.

On Thursday, White House aide Kellyanne Conway made an unprecedented sales pitch while appearing on Fox News, encouraging viewers to buy items from Ivanka's fashion line in the wake of it being discontinued from Nordstrom and other retailers.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Conway's cavalier sales pitch appeared to be in violation of federal regulations intended to prevent such shenanigans.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

It also, apparently, sent ethics-minded people scrambling to the OGE for answers as to whether or not a rule was broken. Progressive group Public Citizen immediately called for the OGE "to investigate whether Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, violated federal regulations addressing the use of public office for private gain and to take appropriate enforcement actions if she did."

House Oversight chairman Jason Chaffetz, meanwhile, said that her promotion of Ivanka's brand was "clearly over the line, unacceptable," the Associated Press reported. And, at his daily White House press briefing, Press Secretary Sean Spicer said, "Kellyanne has been counseled" and refused to elaborate.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Thursday's drama was just the latest in an epic week of activity that didn't just blur the lines of ethics but threw them in a blender and turned up the dial.

President Trump himself targeted Nordstrom in a tweet over their dropping of Ivanka's fashion line even though several other stores had also done so. And, in perhaps his most outrageous Twitter moment yet, Trump even used the official @POTUS account to amplify his own outrage.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

First Lady Melania Trump, meanwhile, refiled a lawsuit against the Daily Mail, claiming an erroneous story about her being an escort cost her the chance to leverage her high-profile role as First Lady into big bucks.