Height of Duplicity: Trump to Make America Transparent Again
Members of the public will be able to make requests through an online portal and receive access to the public financial disclosure reports of officials.
By Rakesh Raman
This is the height of duplicity. While mystery continues to shroud his own dealings with enemy country Russia and others, President Donald Trump wants full transparency in the White House.
Acoording to a White House statement released Wednesday, President Trump wants to fulfill his commitment to ensure an ethical and transparent government.
Meanwhile, Congress has expressed its inability to get Trump’s tax information. After demanding his secret tax returns for nearly 2 years, the politicians have finally decided not to press the powerful President on this issue.
A congressional tax oversight committee has decided that it will not ask for Trump’s tax returns despite doubts about his shady business deals with multiple countries including Russia.
The House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee’s Republican chairman Kevin Brady said that President Trump need not release his tax information.
[ So It’s Official, Guys. Trump Won’t Show You His Tax Returns ]
But Trump expects others to be fully honest. On March 31, the White House will be making the U.S. Office of Government Ethics Form 278 financial disclosure reports filed by high-level officials in the White House Office available to the public.
Additionally, in the future, members of the public will be able to make requests through an online portal and receive access to the public financial disclosure reports of officials who have filed their form at least 30 days prior to the date of the request.
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As per the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 and the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, high-level officials in the White House are required to file public financial disclosure reports.
These reports are reviewed by the White House and are used to identify and prevent potential financial conflicts of interest.
The reports of the highest-level officials are also independently reviewed by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. Under section 105 of the Ethics in Government Act, these reports are available to the public upon request.
To ensure timely response and maximum public disclosure, the White House may release some reports prior to their certification by the White House or the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
According to the statement, uncertified reports are still considered to be under review, and are subject to change based on the robust review process of the Office of White House Counsel.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a government’s National award-winning journalist and runs free school for deserving children under his NGO – RMN Foundation.
