Staff Reports
The spotlight is back on visitor logs in Washington, and this time, it’s President-elect Donald Trump who’s being urged to shine a light on who’s visiting the White House. Advocates for transparency are making their case for Trump to adopt a more open approach compared to his first term, where visitor logs were about as elusive as a unicorn in a field of corn. This has raised alarms among those who believe knowing who is stepping in and out of the President’s inner sanctum is vital, particularly with the influx of lobbying interests swarming the capital like a flock of hungry seagulls.
During the Obama years, transparency was all the rage (at least in theory), with visitor logs being released roughly three months after a visit. Enter Joe Biden, who has since decided to revive this transparency fairy tale, ensuring that visitor logs are issued monthly. One might ask why they’re so interested in records of who meets with whom in the White House. Well, according to transparency advocates, revealing these logs would expose who’s pulling the strings behind the curtain and who might be scoring exclusive access to the halls of power. Of course, with the visitor logs being protected under the Presidential Records Act, they aren’t required to be disclosed immediately, leaving the average citizen stuck waiting five years for a glimpse at what was happening during the show—by which time, the big top has likely changed.
Conservative and progressive watchdogs call on Trump to release White House visitor logs this time around @dcexaminer https://t.co/UYTTvsvEg2
— Gabe Kaminsky (@gekaminsky) November 22, 2024
Watchdog groups are now holding their collective breath, hoping Trump will heed their call to transparency. They argue that when the White House avoids sharing visitor information, it undermines accountability and can lead to shady dealings behind closed doors. The watchdogs don’t exactly have a soft spot for Biden either, as his administration is already under scrutiny for inviting various left-leaning billionaires and policy influencers to chat with the President on the regular. There’s a reasonable concern that with so much pressure from influential funds, transparency isn’t merely a buzzword—it’s a necessity.
The Trump team remains tight-lipped about the possibility of releasing visitor logs this time around, which could be a real kicker considering the ambitious plans Trump has laid out for his new administration. With big names like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy teaming up to tackle wasteful government spending, Trump really might want to take a page out of the “accountability” book if he’s serious about draining the swamp. Imagine the irony if a new Department of Government Efficiency got underway, while the visitor logs remain cloaked in shadows and mystery, feeding the cynics who see government as more of a game of backroom deals than a democracy at work.
In an amusing plot twist, the Biden administration had its own fair share of questionable visitors. Financially tied to the political elite, figures like Alex Soros and various operatives from organizations pushing hard for leftist policies have mingled with the Biden administration, prompting some to wonder if the White House is more of a social club for billionaires than a place of public service. Those who are quick to pounce on the implications of such gatherings have not hesitated to point out the connections between these meetings and the decisions that come from the Oval Office, suggesting a not-so-subtle dance between influence and policymaking.
Of course, the hypocrisy of transparency advocates can’t be ignored. The fervor to see details from the Trump administration starkly contrasts the silence over Biden’s inconsistent record on releasing logs, especially concerning his own Delaware residence where classified documents were housed—no logs available there, apparently. The Biden administration has taken the stance that they don’t even keep logs of who’s visiting his home, which ought to raise a flag or two about their commitment to transparency. As individuals bay for the release of these records in the name of democratic accountability, they’d do well to remember that transparency can’t be a one-sided affair.
