Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, July 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

If an Obama administration Cabinet secretary, one of the highest-ranking positions in the government, doesn’t know the restrictions on federal employees during partisan political campaigns, is the law too complicated for the average fed to follow?

No.

Yet, that’s one question raised by news that Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits feds from using their official positions to influence elections.

Castro managed to violate the law in April even after four briefings on it, the latest in February, since he took office two years ago. During a live broadcast interview with Yahoo News, Katie Couric asked Castro about his endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president.

Castro, considered a potential vice presidential candidate, thought he was following the law by beginning his answer with a stipulation: “Now taking off my HUD hat for a second and just speaking individually, it is very clear that Hillary Clinton is the most experienced, thoughtful, and prepared candidate for president that we have this year.”

He explained his thinking in a letter to the Office of Special Counsel, a small agency with a big stick that protects whistleblowers and enforces the Hatch Act: “I offered my opinion to the interviewer after making it clear that I was articulating my personal view and not an official position. At the time, I believed that this disclaimer was what was required by the Hatch Act.”

But that doesn’t cut it, according to Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner.

Castro did the 18-minute interview, much of it about department programs, from HUD’s broadcast studio in Washington, “with the official HUD seal visible behind him,” according to her report to President Obama. “[T]hat disclaimer could not negate the fact that he was appearing in his official capacity…” the report said.

Based on his Hatch Act training, HUD ethics officials told the special counsel’s office that Castro “should have known that he could not switch from speaking in his official capacity to speaking in his personal capacity at an event or during an interview,” the report said.