Is President Trump Being Transparently Hypocritical?
In a break from his predecessor, President Trump has decided he will not reveal the logs of visitors to the White House until leaving office, White House officials announced Friday.
The new policy, which was first reported at Time Magazine, is an about-face from the Obama administration, which — despite its infamous lack of transparency — regularly published White House visitor logs for public consumption.
“By instituting historic restrictions on lobbying to close the revolving door, expanding and elevating ethics within the White House Counsel’s office, and opening the White House press briefing room to media outlets that otherwise cannot gain access, the Trump administration has broken new ground in ensuring our government is both ethical and accessible to the American people,” reads a statement about the decision from White House Communications Director Michael Dubke.
“Given the grave national security risks and privacy concerns of the hundreds of thousands of visitors annually,” it continues, “the White House office will disclose Secret Service logs as outlined under the Freedom of Information Act, a position the Obama White House successfully defended in federal court.”
Under the new policy, logs of those entering the White House complex will be kept secret until at least five years after Trump leaves office — only then will they be made available to the public.
A WhiteHouse.gov page that previously held the public rolls of who had visited the executive mansion has been blank since the transition to a new administration.
The change is from the same president who, as a private citizen years ago, openly criticized Obama for not being transparent enough about his records on a number of issues.
Why is @BarackObama spending millions to try and hide his records? He is the least transparent President–ever–and he ran on transparency.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2012
For the sake of transparency, @BarackObama should release all his college applications and transcripts–both from Occidental and Columbia.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 17, 2012
Since @BarackObama is on such a "transparency" kick–how about releasing Fast & Furious info to Brian Terry's family?https://t.co/dAFnZBvA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2012
In the spirit of transparency, Obama should immediately release the 9.11 tape of Tyrone Woods pleading for military support in Benghazi.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2012
A lot of undecided and independent voters have had enough with Obama’s lack of transparency. I don't blame them.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2012
Friday’s news come in the wake of reports that first daughter Ivanka Trump has been meeting privately with groups like Planned Parenthood in order to find “common ground.” Meanwhile, reports from inside the West Wing indicate that Ivanka’s husband Jared Kushner and Goldman Sachs CEO have been gaining more hold over the president’s ear.
As evidence for the Oval Office’s new ideological trajectory, some have cited the high number of flip-flops from the administration this week on key campaign promises, including declaring China a “currency manipulator” and avowing strong support for NATO – an organization he called “obsolete” during the campaign.
So the question remains, is this decision to defend the privacy of White House visitors or the meetings of ambassadors for a leftist agenda that appears to continually pushing President Trump leftward? (For more from the author of “Is President Trump Being Transparently Hypocritical?” please click HERE)
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