Democrats Push For Trump Visitor Logs

In an official letter, a group of Senate Democrats expressed concerns to President Trump that a "cloak of secrecy seems to be falling over more and more parts of your administration." The senators are asking that the Trump administration continue to publicly report White House visitor logs, a voluntary policy started by President Obama. The Democrats are also requesting that the policy extend to President Trump’s “Winter White House,” his private Florida country club Mar-A-Lago, where he has been working on most weekends.

The senators who signed the letter are Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tom Carper (D-DE), Tom Udall (D-NM), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

The eight Senate Democrats also signed a similar letter to Secret Service Deputy Director William Callahan, requesting that official visitor logs be kept at Trump Tower in New York City and other private properties where he may conduct official government business.

"It would be a significant setback to efforts to give the public insight into who influences the White House if this policy were to be discontinued or limited," the senators said in the letter.

Many presidents have spent time working on private properties. What makes Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort different, the senators wrote, is the fact that it is a country club, and paying members could get access to the president that other citizens do not have.

"President Trump’s conduct of official business on private property to which some members of the public have access appears to be unprecedented in recent times," the senators wrote.

If the Trump administration plans to continue the Obama-era policy for the White House then the senators stated that they would expect logs to be published by April 20th. They noted that Sens. Whitehouse and Udall requested in an earlier letter that the Mar-A-Lago membership lists and visitor logs be made public, and have received no response.

Senators have asked for responses from President Trump and Deputy Director Callahan by March 15th.

Should the Trump administration continue the practice of publicly disclosing White House visitor logs and extend that policy to Trump’s private properties where he conducts official business? Tell your representatives what you think!

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-- Andrea Seabrook & Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons)