Last week, after bombing Syria with Tomahawk missiles, years-old tweets by President Trump were used to point out the President’s hypocrisy. It was only the latest example of Trump behaving in a way he had previously, publicly criticized former President Obama. Since there is always a tweet to be mined after Trump makes a decision, it didn’t take long for one to surface after the White House announced that the logs of those visiting the White House will not be made public.
Here is the tweet in question:
Why does Obama believe he shouldn't comply with record releases that his predecessors did of their own volition? Hiding something?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2012
According to Time, White House officials say the President needs this policy in place in order to “preserve the ability of the president to seek advice from whomever he wants, “with some discretion.” As the administration is running a bare bones operation, perhaps they’re right. The logs will be kept secret for at least five years after Trump leaves office.
Despite the tweet, the Trump administration says it’s merely following in his predecessor’s steps:
The Obama Administration, for instance, took a wide-ranging view of what were considered personal events hosted by the Obamas, leaving off celebrity sightings and meetings with top donors. It also maintained the right to leave off those brought in for sensitive meetings, like interviews for federal judicial nominations. Obama-era officials took other steps to circumvent the logs, scheduling meetings with lobbyists and others at nearby coffee shops.
The policy directive comes after Congressional Democrats introduced the MAR-A-LARGO Act which requires Trump to reveal the names of visitors to places he “regularly conducts official business” within 90 days.
This tweet seems relevant now…
"@chirofrenzy: Am flabbergasted your name was brought up in visiting White House in the same sentence as Al Sharpton like Gold & poop"
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 10, 2015
In response to the directive, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released a statement announcing their intention to sue and expressing their disappointment in the President who promised to “drain the swamp” as the directive will hide who information about who is “seeking to influence the president.”
CREW stmt on WH visitor logs—“man who promised to ‘drain the swamp’ just took a massive step away from transparency…we’ll see them in court” pic.twitter.com/yOOmpBe21y
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) April 14, 2017
(Via Time & Donald Trump on Twitter)