Watchdog Group Claims White House Violated Ethics Guidelines By Deleting Fat-Checked Tweet
- November 4, 2022
Michael Morgan, The NY Daily Paper
A right-wing pressure group accused the White House on Friday of violating the public records law by deleting a tweet this week for undermining freedom of information requests.
Officials were forced into an embarrassing Twitter climb on Wednesday when they had to delete a claim that President Joe Biden was responsible for seniors receiving the largest increase in Social Security checks in a decade.
As fact-checkers were quick to point out, the increase was linked to inflation and required by law.
However, on Friday, watchdog Protect the Public’s Trust called for an investigation into whether the removal was a violation of the Presidential Records Act.
“Enforcement of public record laws, such as FOIA, is virtually impossible if data retention policies are not enforced, including social media policies,” said Michael Chamberlain, director of Protect the Public’s Trust.
“If the American public is going to trust its government, these policies must be enforced equally regardless of who is in power, and circumventing the requirements to avoid embarrassment or political backlash should not be seen as legitimate justifications.”