President Trump and the Executive Office of the President are being sued over the handling of presidential communications.
President Trump and the Executive Office of the President are being sued over the handling of official communications, reports Politico.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday by two watchdog groups--the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, and the National Security Archive--cites the President Records Act and other statutes in accusing Trump and his staff of “seek[ing] to evade transparency and government accountability.”
One of their main arguments claims that the White House’s “communications practices...knowingly prevent the proper preservation of records…”
According to the brief, these inappropriate actions include the use of “certain email messaging applications that destroy the contents of messages as soon as they are read, without regard to whether the messages are presidential records.”
The group also points to some of Trump’s tweets which have been deleted and at least one report which claimed that White House aides may have wiped their phones of information pertinent to ongoing government investigations.
As CREW’s Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said in a press release, “The American people not only deserve to know how their government is making important decisions, it’s the law. By deleting these records, the White House is destroying essential historical records.”
However, an unnamed White House official denied the claims, telling Newsweek, “The White House doesn't permit the use of apps such as this and works diligently to ensure all staff comply with The Presidential Records Act.”
The other primary argument in the brief involves the consolidation of power within the White House, with the plaintiffs contending that “Executive Orders are cloaked in secrecy, preventing federal agencies from complying with their statutory duties under the Federal Records Act...the Administrative Procedure Act...and the Freedom of Information Act…”
The group is asking the court to validate the claims being made and force Trump and his office to comply with the rules.
President Trump and the Executive Office of the President are being sued over the handling of official communications, reports Politico.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday by two watchdog groups--the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, and the National Security Archive--cites the President Records Act and other statutes in accusing Trump and his staff of “seek[ing] to evade transparency and government accountability.”
One of their main arguments claims that the White House’s “communications practices...knowingly prevent the proper preservation of records…”
According to the brief, these inappropriate actions include the use of “certain email messaging applications that destroy the contents of messages as soon as they are read, without regard to whether the messages are presidential records.”
The group also points to some of Trump’s tweets which have been deleted and at least one report which claimed that White House aides may have wiped their phones of information pertinent to ongoing government investigations.
As CREW’s Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said in a press release, “The American people not only deserve to know how their government is making important decisions, it’s the law. By deleting these records, the White House is destroying essential historical records.”
However, an unnamed White House official denied the claims, telling Newsweek, “The White House doesn't permit the use of apps such as this and works diligently to ensure all staff comply with The Presidential Records Act.”
The other primary argument in the brief involves the consolidation of power within the White House, with the plaintiffs contending that “Executive Orders are cloaked in secrecy, preventing federal agencies from complying with their statutory duties under the Federal Records Act...the Administrative Procedure Act...and the Freedom of Information Act…”
The group is asking the court to validate the claims being made and force Trump and his office to comply with the rules.
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