White House to keep visitor logs secret

Privacy, security concerns cited by administration.

WASHINGTON — The White House said Friday that lists of visitors to the building will be kept secret, breaking with the practice of President Donald Trump’s predecessor.

The Trump administration cited privacy and national security concerns for the decision, which angered government watchdog groups who accused Trump of reneging on his promise to “drain the swamp” in Washington. The groups see the visitor logs as important tools for monitoring which individuals or groups may be trying to influence White House policy. Trump also has been widely criticized for a lack of openness in refusing to release his tax returns, breaking with decades of precedent.

Senior White House officials argued that the decision to keep the logs secret is in line with what previous administrations have done, except for President Barack Obama’s, and that continuing Obama’s practice of voluntarily releasing the records could interfere with policy development.

White House communications director Michael Dubke said Trump has taken steps to improve the ethical climate in Washington, such as imposing new restrictions on lobbying by departing administration officials and opening the White House press briefing room to news outlets that previously didn’t have access.

He said the decision was based on the “grave national security risks and privacy concerns of the hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.”

But Judicial Watch, a conservative legal advocacy group which has sued administrations of both parties over the visitor records and other matters, argued that Trump should allow the Secret Service to release the logs under the Freedom of Information Act, which would allow sensitive details to remain private. The White House says the records are exempt from the law.

“This new secrecy policy undermines the rule of law and suggests this White House doesn’t want to be accountable to the American people,” said Tom Fitton, the group’s president.

The Obama administration fought attempts by Congress and several groups to obtain visitor records. But after being sued, it voluntarily began disclosing the logs in December 2009, posting records quarterly. It continued to release the records even though a federal appeals court ruled in 2013 that the logs could be withheld under presidential executive privilege.