Tag: lack of transparency

What does Trump have to hide? Secretive White House unapologetic about clawing back transparency

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch was posted on the Washington Post website April 17, 2017:

THE BIG IDEA: Donald Trump appears to have made a cynical calculation that he will not pay a high political price for being the most secretive president since Richard Nixon.

All the leaks about infighting among senior staff and the president’s proclivity for tweeting have created a false sense that the public knows what is happening inside his White House. In fact, the administration has gone to great lengths to conceal pertinent information from the American people.

After dodging questions on the subject for weeks, the administration waited until the afternoon of Good Friday to dump the news that it will not follow former president Barack Obama’s policy of voluntarily disclosing the names of most visitors to the White House complex. The president’s communications director cited “grave national security risks” as a justification, even though Obama had made an exception for national security. Continue reading “What does Trump have to hide? Secretive White House unapologetic about clawing back transparency”

With Trump Appointees, a Raft of Potential Conflicts and ‘No Transparency’

The following article by Erik Lipton, Ben Protess and Andrew W. Lehren was posted on the New York Times Website April 15, 2017:

D. J. Gribbin, an infrastructure specialist on the White House’s National Economic Council, with President Trump this month. Mr. Gribbin used to work for Macquarie, a bank that specializes in infrastructure and stands to gain from such undertakings. Credit Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump is populating the White House and federal agencies with former lobbyists, lawyers and consultants who in many cases are helping to craft new policies for the same industries in which they recently earned a paycheck.

The potential conflicts are arising across the executive branch, according to an analysis of recently released financial disclosures, lobbying records and interviews with current and former ethics officials by The New York Times in collaboration with ProPublica.

In at least two cases, the appointments may have already led to violations of the administration’s own ethics rules. But evaluating if and when such violations have occurred has become almost impossible because the Trump administration is secretly issuing waivers to the rules. Continue reading “With Trump Appointees, a Raft of Potential Conflicts and ‘No Transparency’”

Trump to discontinue Obama policy of voluntarily releasing White House visitor logs

The following article by John Wagner was posted on the Washington Post website April 14, 2017:

The Trump administration announced Friday that it would discontinue former president Barack Obama’s policy of voluntarily disclosing the names of most visitors to the White House complex, citing “grave national security risks and privacy concerns.”

Instead, the Trump administration said it would release information only under far more limited circumstances: for those visiting components of the White House classified under the law as separate agencies, such as the Office of Management and Budget. Under the new policy, it will be up to the White House to decide whether to release names of visitors coming to meet with the president, vice president and their senior staff. Continue reading “Trump to discontinue Obama policy of voluntarily releasing White House visitor logs”