In 2019, Donald Trump said, “There has never been, ever before, an administration that’s been so open and transparent.” That claim was rightfully given a ‘pants on fire’ rating by Politifact. Everything with the previous administration was seemingly cloaked with secrecy, which prompted even more scrutiny from watchdog groups. According to a detailed report from the Washington Post, Trump officials created obstacles with at least nine oversight probes. But, everything comes out in the wash, so some of those reports should be released soon.
“Tensions between federal watchdogs and the administration they monitor are not uncommon,” the report states. “But 11 inspectors general or their senior aides who served under Trump, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal government deliberations, said hostility to oversight reached unprecedented levels during his time in office.”
“Across the government, at least nine key oversight investigations were impeded by clashes with the White House or political appointees, people familiar with inspector general offices and public documents show,” the report continues.
“Long-anticipated reports were released only this month on two senior Trump officials. One found evidence that Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao may have misused her position by repeatedly deploying her staff on personal business,” the Washington Post reports. “A second concluded that former White House physician Ronny Jackson bullied his staff and drank on the job.”
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“The timing meant their damaging disclosures emerged only after the former president left office and Jackson, a former Navy rear admiral, was elected to Congress from Texas,” the report states.
The result of hostility with federal watchdog groups, according to the report, was the government hiding wrongdoing from the public. Additionally, important reforms to improve government efficiency were ignored. But now, since Donald Trump is out of office, advocates for government accountability are predicting that other damaging revelations may only now begin to emerge.
Gordon Heddell, a former inspector general at the Defense and Labor departments who served under Republican and Democratic presidents, described how Trump threatened to remove individuals that would reveal “bad things” about the now-former president.
“IGs under Trump faced an angry, account-settling president who had no compunction about removing those who threatened to reveal bad things about him,” Heddell said.
Attorneys for the Trump administration used various maneuvers to hinder oversight, but some overdue reports may be released in the next couple of months. Trump went to unprecedented levels from the onset of his one-term in office to shield himself from any accountability, and that includes from the press.
You can read the full report here.
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery
