Spicer On Visitor Logs: Obama Administration Made 'Faux Attempt' At Transparency
- 7 years ago
During a press briefing on Monday, Sean Spicer defended the current administration's decision to not release visitor logs.
The Trump administration has faced backlash after announcing Friday that White House visitor logs would no longer be made public.
According to the New York Times, security concerns were cited as the reason behind the move, but critics have pointed out that it reverses former President Obama’s policy of promoting transparency and appears to be an effort “to shield [Trump’s] activities from scrutiny.”
However, White House press secretary Sean Spicer has defended the move, telling reporters at a briefing on Monday, “...we're following the same policy that every administration from the beginning of time has used with respect to visitor logs.”
When pressed about the issue, he stated, “...it's the same policy that every administration had up until the Obama administration, and, frankly, the faux attempt that the Obama administration put out, where they would scrub what they didn’t want put out, didn’t serve anyone well.”
According to Time, “The Obama-era process allowed the White House Counsel’s office to unilaterally redact records of those visiting the complex for any reason.”
This reportedly often included the names of celebrities and donors.
That said, when Spicer was asked why the Trump administration didn’t then try to become more transparent than the Obama White House, he responded by saying, “...we recognize that there's a privacy aspect to allowing citizens to come express their views.”
The Trump administration has faced backlash after announcing Friday that White House visitor logs would no longer be made public.
According to the New York Times, security concerns were cited as the reason behind the move, but critics have pointed out that it reverses former President Obama’s policy of promoting transparency and appears to be an effort “to shield [Trump’s] activities from scrutiny.”
However, White House press secretary Sean Spicer has defended the move, telling reporters at a briefing on Monday, “...we're following the same policy that every administration from the beginning of time has used with respect to visitor logs.”
When pressed about the issue, he stated, “...it's the same policy that every administration had up until the Obama administration, and, frankly, the faux attempt that the Obama administration put out, where they would scrub what they didn’t want put out, didn’t serve anyone well.”
According to Time, “The Obama-era process allowed the White House Counsel’s office to unilaterally redact records of those visiting the complex for any reason.”
This reportedly often included the names of celebrities and donors.
That said, when Spicer was asked why the Trump administration didn’t then try to become more transparent than the Obama White House, he responded by saying, “...we recognize that there's a privacy aspect to allowing citizens to come express their views.”