Trump transition team members sign non-disclosure agreements
Trump transition team members had to sign a code of ethics with a pretty significant lobbying ban, but they’ve also had to sign a non-disclosure agreement to make certain they keep all of their work confidential, according to a copy obtained by POLITICO.
The agreement legally bars transition staffers from disclosing info about major portions of the transition work, like policy briefings, personnel material, donor info, fundraising goals, budgets, contracts, or any draft research papers. It also demands that if anyone on the team suspects a colleague of leaking material, he or she must tell transition team leadership. And it gives the Trump team grounds to tell those who run afoul of the rules: “You’re fired.”
If anyone is caught giving away info about the transition, he or so could face a court order to force them to stop, the Trump transition NDA says. Paid staffers, consultants, and volunteers all had to sign the document, one source close to the transition said. A Trump spokesperson and incoming White House Counsel, Don McGahn, did not respond to requests for comment.
This practice of using a non-disclosure agreement dates back to the Trump campaign and even his businesses. The campaign non-disclosure form differed slightly, according to past news reports, because it also included a “disparagement” clause which prevented campaign staffers from saying anything demeaning about Trump. The same went for the agreement for those who worked for Trump’s businesses. The transition non-disclosure that POLITICO obtained does not include a so-called disparagement clause.
One former Romney transition official says he does not remember signing an NDA in the days leading up to the 2012 election. “I do recall being told we had to go radio-silent — no tweets, Facebook posts, op-eds, interviews, media appearances, unless authorized, of course, for the duration of our service,” the aide said.
Good government experts have raised concerns about the way Trump’s prolific use of non-disclosure agreements in business and the campaign could hurt government transparencyif the pattern continued. Administrations before President Barack Obama took office did not require transition-related documents to be subject to FOIA laws, but the left-leaning, advocacy group, Public Citizen, notes that the Trump transition’s application page indicates: “One should assume that all of the information provided during this process is ultimately subject to public disclosure, if requested under the Freedom of Information Act.”
Back in April, Trump told The Washington Post that he intended to make high-ranking government officials sign such agreements. “When people are chosen by a man to go into government at high levels and then they leave government and they write a book about a man and say a lot of things that were really guarded and personal, I don’t like that,” Trump said.
Trump transition team members had to sign a code of ethics with a pretty significant lobbying ban, but they’ve also had to sign a non-disclosure agreement to make certain they keep all of their work confidential, according to a copy obtained by POLITICO.
The agreement legally bars transition staffers from disclosing info about major portions of the transition work, like policy briefings, personnel material, donor info, fundraising goals, budgets, contracts, or any draft research papers. It also demands that if anyone on the team suspects a colleague of leaking material, he or she must tell transition team leadership. And it gives the Trump team grounds to tell those who run afoul of the rules: “You’re fired.”
If anyone is caught giving away info about the transition, he or so could face a court order to force them to stop, the Trump transition NDA says. Paid staffers, consultants, and volunteers all had to sign the document, one source close to the transition said. A Trump spokesperson and incoming White House Counsel, Don McGahn, did not respond to requests for comment.
This practice of using a non-disclosure agreement dates back to the Trump campaign and even his businesses. The campaign non-disclosure form differed slightly, according to past news reports, because it also included a “disparagement” clause which prevented campaign staffers from saying anything demeaning about Trump. The same went for the agreement for those who worked for Trump’s businesses. The transition non-disclosure that POLITICO obtained does not include a so-called disparagement clause.
One former Romney transition official says he does not remember signing an NDA in the days leading up to the 2012 election. “I do recall being told we had to go radio-silent — no tweets, Facebook posts, op-eds, interviews, media appearances, unless authorized, of course, for the duration of our service,” the aide said.
Good government experts have raised concerns about the way Trump’s prolific use of non-disclosure agreements in business and the campaign could hurt government transparencyif the pattern continued. Administrations before President Barack Obama took office did not require transition-related documents to be subject to FOIA laws, but the left-leaning, advocacy group, Public Citizen, notes that the Trump transition’s application page indicates: “One should assume that all of the information provided during this process is ultimately subject to public disclosure, if requested under the Freedom of Information Act.”
Back in April, Trump told The Washington Post that he intended to make high-ranking government officials sign such agreements. “When people are chosen by a man to go into government at high levels and then they leave government and they write a book about a man and say a lot of things that were really guarded and personal, I don’t like that,” Trump said.
