Some sources have reported (link 1, link 2) that Trump wants to expand the scope of presidential privilege for communications that would allow him to keep secret a broader swath of his activities while in office. One report frames the new effort as Trump building a shield to protect himself from congressional investigations ahead of the 2026 mid-term elections. He obviously doesn’t want Dems investigating him if they get control of the House or Senate.
Trump claims that executive privilege (1) should be expanded to include communications with private, nongovernment advisers, and (2) limits imposed by the Presidential Records Act on what can be kept secret should be loosened or eliminated. The inherent importance of this is high. If a president can keep secret most or all of his dealings in office, Congress would have little to no ability to investigate presidential misconduct and crimes. The public record available after an administration ends would be pretty all that is flattering and little to nothing that isn’t.
Trump says expanded executive privilege is needed so presidents can receive candid, expert advice on decision-making from trusted private advisers without those conversations or the advisers’ identities being exposed through subpoenas or investigations. That raises the question of why now pursue sweeping formal opinion immediately before anticipated oversight fights with Dems? Trump’s timing here strongly supports the inference that the administration is preparing defenses against anticipated scrutiny.
Of course, if everything is kept secret, there is no way for the public, researchers, congress, law enforcement or the courts to determine if a meeting to get “expert advice on decision-making” is for the purpose of decision-making or how much the “expert” needs to pay Trump to get what they or their employers want. Secrecy hides criminality and treason just as well as it hides honest, good faith governance.
A fair and reasonable analysis
Given his track record, it is rational to believe that Trump wants to build a legal shield to (1) hide his corruption, (2) hide his betrayals of public trust and America’s interests, (3) protect his cronies, enablers, and donors, and (4) keep the public from seeing who and what is really influencing government policy and its goal of service to rich and powerful elites and their special interests before service to the public interest.
What Trump is trying to get is not normal executive privilege. It is an intentional strategy to erase records, hide private advisers, hide major donors, and make corruption harder or impossible to find and expose. When a president tries to destroy the paper trail and cloak private operators in secrecy, the point is not “candor.” The point is impunity.
So, we see the continuing Trump effort to build and protect his dictatorship and kleptocracy. Fewer records, means more secrecy, more corruption and loyalist power over federal institutions, and less to no accountability for the people who profit from power gained by corruption, In essence, Trump is trying to turn the presidency into a private protection racket for his benefit and the benefit of allied elites, corporations and major donors. Here, Trump is openly trying to use his power to corruptly enrich elites at the expense of the public interest using secrecy to hide and protect it what he is doing.
Q1: Is the main reason Trump wants expanded executive privilege now due mostly to (1) the prospect of the Dems taking control of the House after the 2026 midterm elections and investigating him for what he has done, or (2) since confidentiality for outside advisers has always been so indispensable for presidents, what the heck, why not expand privilege right, with the 2026 elections being just an innocent coincidence?
Q2: Do you mostly Trust Trump or not, and if so, on what evidence do you base your trust, e.g., he is going to make America great again, we won the war against Iran, or he tamed inflation and America is great again!?
Info sources:
Trump executive privilege memo could hamper Democrats if they win Congress
Trump Administration Claims Executive Privilege Over White House Conversations With Private Advisers
Applicability of Executive Privilege to Presidential Communications with Private Advisers — Executive privilege can apply to presidential communications with private advisers so long as the communications relate to official presidential decision-making, involve or reflect communications with the President or his direct advisers, and are confidential. (The DOJ, Trump’s personal legal defense team 
, definitely supports lots more secrecy)
No comments:
Post a Comment