Tag

#White-House

3 incidents

Updated May 1, 2025 Press Freedom
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern Ongoing

Second-Term Press Attacks: AP Banned, Journalists Arrested, Press Pool Restricted

The AP's exclusion from the White House briefing room — a credentialed, nonpartisan wire service that had covered every presidency since 1865 — was triggered by the AP's editorial decision to continue using 'Gulf of Mexico' rather than 'Gulf of America,' the name Trump had issued an executive order to adopt. AP's position was that it followed geographic naming standards and could not adopt a contested renaming while it was politically motivated. The exclusion was condemned by press freedom organizations as the most direct government intervention in editorial content by excluding a news organization from access on the basis of its editorial decisions.

Sources
4
press-freedomAPsecond-termFirst-AmendmentGulf-of-Mexico
Updated November 2, 2020 Rule of Law
Major Abuse of Power

Hatch Act Violations: Using White House and Federal Resources for Campaign Events

The 2020 Republican National Convention featured events staged at the White House — a building owned by the federal government and maintained with taxpayer funds — in ways that previous administrations of both parties had avoided. The OSC, which enforces the Hatch Act prohibiting federal employees from using their official capacity or government resources for political activity, found multiple violations. Secretary Pompeo's Jerusalem speech was the highest-profile Hatch Act referral; the OSC concluded he had violated the act. Other officials investigated included Kellyanne Conway (previously recommended for removal for Hatch Act violations in 2019). The naturalization ceremony conducted by USCIS Director Cuccinelli at the convention for five new citizens was also reviewed.

Sources
4
Hatch-ActWhite-HouseRNCfirst-termPompeo
Updated August 1, 2019 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Major Abuse of Power

NDAs and Employee Silencing: Systematic Use of Non-Disclosure Agreements

Trump's NDA culture predated the presidency. Former Trump Organization employees described comprehensive NDAs covering all aspects of their employment. The campaign NDAs were drafted by Trump's attorneys and covered staffers, volunteers, and contractors. Several current and former employees who spoke to journalists anonymously or were approached by journalists described fear of legal action as the primary reason they declined to speak on the record. Michael Cohen's 'catch and kill' operation with AMI (American Media Inc.) extended the silencing mechanism to women who alleged sexual misconduct. Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former White House employee, claimed she was pressured to sign an NDA after her departure that would have prohibited any public criticism of Trump.

Sources
3
NDAsilencingpre-presidencycorruptionemployees