TRUMP REQUIRED UNCONSTITUTIONAL NON-DISCLOSURES FROM WHITE HOUSE AIDES

…Trump continues to act like an authoritarian dictator

 

Trump doesn’t understand that White House aides don’t owe loyalty to him.

 

We all are aware that inside Trump’s private companies, he has asked for and he has the right to ask for non-disclosures agreements from his employees.  That’s no problem. 

 

However, during his presidential campaign and during the transition, to prevent leaks, Trump asked everyone inside his group to sign a non-disclosure.  This is also legal.

 

But in Trump’s own word to The Post’s reporter, Robert Costa, and to Bob Woodward, they had sat down with Trump, and Costa, at one point, raised the subject of the non-disclosure agreements for Trump’s employees of which the candidate was so fond.

 

Per Costa: “One thing I always wondered, are you going to make employees of the federal government sign non-disclosure agreements?”

 

Trump answered: “I think they should. . . . And I don’t know, there could be some kind of a law that you can’t do this. But 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. I mean, I’ll be honest. And people would say, oh, that’s terrible, you’re taking away his right to free speech. Well, that’s too bad.”

 

Well, it happened in the early months of the administration, at the request of now-President Trump, who was furious over leaks from within the White House, senior White House staff members were asked to, and did, sign nondisclosure agreements vowing not to reveal confidential information.  It also exposed them to damages for any violation. Some had said no at first, but when pressed by the then-Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus and the White House Counsel’s Office, they ultimately complied.

 

But what Trump and his novice team didn’t seem to understand is that unlike employees of private enterprises such as the Trump companies or even the Trump campaign, White House aides have First Amendment rights when it comes to their employer, the federal government.  If you have a leaker on your staff, the cure is to fire them, not to sue them due to a non-disclosure agreement.  But then, Trump has always been a suit-happy business owner.

 

As usual, with this not-so-smart president, the White House non-disclosure agreements would not be enforceable in any event

 

Every US president hates government leakers and they always moan about any administration’s kiss-and-tell books.  But no president has ever attempted to impose such a pledge. And while White House staffers have various confidentiality obligations such as maintaining the secrecy of classified information or attorney-client privilege, the idea of imposing an unenforceable side agreement after the president leaves office, is not only disgusting, but it’s constitutionally repugnant.

 

“This is crazy,” said Washington attorney Debra Katz, who has represented any number of government whistleblowers and negotiated non-disclosure agreements. “The idea of having some kind of economic penalty is an outrageous effort to limit free speech. Once again, just as this president believes employees owe him personal loyalty, he doesn’t seem to understand that their duty of loyalty is only to the institution.”

 

Former FBI Director James Comey learned that the hard way, and the current Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, who’s loyalty is supposed to be to the “Law of the Land”, Trump is still expecting for Session to act as his personal lawyer.

 

A draft of the agreement that the White House Employees were asked to sign was found by one of The Post’s reporters, and it is amazing.

 

The agreement would expose violators to penalties of $10 million, payable to the federal government, for each unauthorized revelation of “confidential” information, defined as “all nonpublic information I learn of or gain access to in the course of my official duties in the service of the United States Government on White House staff”.  It included any: “communications . . . with members of the press” and “with employees of federal, state, and local governments.”

It appears that the White House agreement was just an abridged version that the porn star, Stormy Danial’s had to sign after she had sexual relations with private citizen Trump.

 

As outlined in the document, the restrictions would not only cover Trump aides during their White House service but also “at all times thereafter.”  That's not enforceable.

 

I’m afraid that other than classified information, the First Amendment makes this last item totally moot.

 

The document also stated : “I understand that the United States Government or, upon completion of the term(s) of Mr. Donald J. Trump, an authorized representative of Mr. Trump, may seek any remedy available to enforce this Agreement including, but not limited to, application for a court order prohibiting disclosure of information in breach of this Agreement.”

 

This is ridiculously and laughably unconstitutional, and I would doubted that anything like this kind of request has ever been attempted in any White House.

 

Just as if Trump says that there was nothing that ever occurred between him, or his campaign, in dealing with Russia, why does he get so upset with the Special Counselor, Robert Mueller whenever Russia is mentioned...? 

 

This also raises the obvious question: “Why is Trump so consistently frantic to make sure that no one knows what goes on behind White House closed doors?”  The White House is the "People's House", not part of Trump Towers.

 

Copyright G.Ater  2018