The Obama White House also maintained the prerogative not to release records of particularly “sensitive” meetings, such as interviews with potential Supreme Court nominees. Obama at times drew criticism for such carve-outs, as well as for other ways for skirting the agreement, including meetings between White House officials and lobbyists at a coffee shop near the White House that didn’t show up in the logs. Despite the voluntary disclosure of visitor logs, the Obama administration maintained that the logs were White House records and therefore not required to be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). With the new policy, the White House officials made clear Friday that they believe Trump is under no legal obligation to disclose visitors to the complex. Some past and present government officials have argued that White House officials should be permitted to conduct meetings outside the public eye as a matter of policy.

Source: thestar April 14, 2017 22:18 UTC