The White House. (Courtesy: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(David Jackson & Donovan Slack, USA Today) – The Trump administration said Friday that records of visitors to the White House will stay secret until at least five years after Trump leaves office, a reversal of policy quickly denounced by advocates of transparent government.
“Given the grave national security risks and privacy concerns of the hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, 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,” Trump communications director Mike Dubke said in a statement.
That federal court ruling said White House visitor logs are “presidential records” not subject to the Freedom of Information Act — though the Obama administration voluntarily released more than 6 million records of visitor during its eight years in office, a policy that Trump is reversing.
The Trump team’s decision came days after three groups filed suit against the administration demanding release of visitor records to the White House, Trump Tower in New York, and the president’s Mar-A-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.
