The following article was posted on the TrumpAccountable.org website April 15, 2017:
President Trump reversed course on a major policy on Friday. In a dramatic shift from the Obama White House policy, the Trump White House will not release the names of visitors citing national security and privacy concerns.
Judicial Watch, a government watch dog group, blasted the decision in a statement on Friday: “Judicial Watch is disappointed with the Trump White House decision to keep secret the names of White House visitors. Unfortunately, this move is perfectly in line with the policy of the Obama White House to prevent these visitors logs from being processed and released under the Freedom of Information Act. President Trump should simply allow the Secret Service to apply FOIA to its White House visitor logs. The Secret Service can protect the personal privacy of some visitors while upholding the rule of law. This new secrecy policy undermines the rule of law and suggests this White House doesn’t want to be accountable to the American people.”
Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to “drain the swamp” claiming that special interests have become entrenched in the operation of the federal government and that they work tirelessly to sustain their own interests over the interests of the American people.
This decision is fundamentally at odds with draining the swamp.
As a candidate Donald Trump falsely claimed that Barack Obama was the least transparent president.
We want to believe that the Trump White House is acting in the best interest of the American people. But without sufficient transparency, and with a track record of stretching the truth and making outlandish claims, it’s very difficult to give them the benefit of the doubt.