Trump made senior staff sign nondisclosure agreements

[Missouri_Mike]

“This is crazy,” said attorney Debra Katz, who has represented numerous government whistleblowers and negotiated nondisclosure agreements. “The idea of having some kind of economic penalty is an outrageous effort to limit and chill speech. Once again, this president believes employees owe him a personal duty of loyalty, when their duty of loyalty is to the institution.” ibid

Exactly.

One’s loyalty is to the Constitution and country – not to the temporary occupant of the Oval Office.

A non-disclosure agreement limits free speech? Who knew? That Debra Katz is a top notch attorney.

 

[Confounding]

Nothing says honest like "I will fuck you in the ass if you tell anybody anything."

Trump reportedly made White House staffers sign NDAs that last beyond his presidency

President Donald Trump required senior White House staff members to sign nondisclosure agreements that not only threatened stiff financial penalties for violations, but extended far beyond Trump's time in office, Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus reported on Sunday.

 

[HappyJoy]

They’re supposed to last beyond his presidency.

Back in April 2016, when the notion of Donald Trump in the White House still seemed fanciful, The Post’s Robert Costa and Bob Woodward sat down with Trump, and Costa, at one point, raised the subject of the nondisclosure agreements for employees of which the candidate was so fond.

Costa: “One thing I always wondered, are you going to make employees of the federal government sign nondisclosure agreements?”

Trump: “I think they should. . . . And I don’t know, there could be some kind of a law that you can’t do this. But when people are chosen by a man to go into government at high levels and then they leave government and they write a book about a man and say a lot of things that were really guarded and personal, I don’t like that. I mean, I’ll be honest. And people would say, oh, that’s terrible, you’re taking away his right to free speech. Well, he’s going in.”

Reader, it happened. In the early months of the administration, at the behest of now-President Trump, who was furious over leaks from within the White House, senior White House staff members were asked to, and did, sign nondisclosure agreements vowing not to reveal confidential information and exposing them to damages for any violation. Some balked at first but, pressed by then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and the White House Counsel’s Office, ultimately complied, concluding that the agreements would likely not be enforceable in any event.

The nondisclosure agreements, said a person who signed the document, “were meant to be very similar to the ones that some of us signed during the campaign and during the transition. I remember the president saying, ‘Has everybody signed a confidentiality agreement like they did during the campaign or we had at Trump Tower?’ ”

At that time, in February or March of 2017, the source said, “There was lots of leaking, things that just weren’t true, and a lot of things that were true and should have remained confidential. The president’s point was that they [staff] would think twice about that if they were on the hook for some serious damages.”

Moreover, said the source, this confidentiality pledge would extend not only after an aide’s White House service but also beyond the Trump presidency. “It’s not meant to be constrained by the four years or eight years he’s president — or the four months or eight months somebody works there. It is meant to survive that.”

This is extraordinary. Every president inveighs against leakers and bemoans the kiss-and-tell books; no president, to my knowledge, has attempted to impose such a pledge. And while White House staffers have various confidentiality obligations — maintaining the secrecy of classified information or attorney-client privilege, for instance — the notion of imposing a side agreement, supposedly enforceable even after the president leaves office, is not only oppressive but constitutionally repugnant.

Unlike employees of private enterprises such as the Trump Organization or Trump campaign, White House aides have First Amendment rights when it comes to their employer, the federal government. If you have a leaker on your staff, the cure is firing, not suing.

“This is crazy,” said attorney Debra Katz, who has represented numerous government whistleblowers and negotiated nondisclosure agreements. “The idea of having some kind of economic penalty is an outrageous effort to limit and chill speech. Once again, this president believes employees owe him a personal duty of loyalty, when their duty of loyalty is to the institution.”

I haven’t been able to lay hands on the final agreement, but I do have a copy of a draft, and it is a doozy. It would expose violators to penalties of $10 million, payable to the federal government, for each and any unauthorized revelation of “confidential” information, defined as “all nonpublic information I learn of or gain access to in the course of my official duties in the service of the United States Government on White House staff,” including “communications . . . with members of the press” and “with employees of federal, state, and local governments.” The $10 million figure, I suspect, was watered down in the final version, because the people to whom I have spoken do not remember that jaw-dropping sum.

It would prohibit revelation of this confidential information in any form — including, get this, “the publication of works of fiction that contain any mention of the operations of the White House, federal agencies, foreign governments, or other entities interacting with the United States Government that is based on confidential information.”

As outlined in the document, this restriction would cover Trump aides not only during their White House service but also “at all times thereafter.”

More: Trump made senior staff sign nondisclosure agreements. They’re supposed to last beyond his presidency - The Washington Post

Is this even legal? Could it stand up in court? It certainly sounds unconscionable. What do you think?

Yes, we all know the man lacks taste and humility.

So what? He has the job.

Iron clad comeback.

 

[shockedcanadian]

In fairness, the leaks, backstabbing and obsessive opposition to his presidency would drive anyone to do this. With his history in business and experience in legal matters, it was most likely an instinct he had anyways.

It's very unfortunate that so many defy him winning and some would rather see him fail than see America succeed. I will always root for the president of the United States as long as he/she is democratically elected, and the Constitution is defended.

 

[The Original Tree]

I’ve about had enough of your trolling and your constant pursuit of servicing Putin.

You aren’t here for discussion.

You are a propagandist

Congratulations on making my IGNORE list.

Nothing says honest like "I will fuck you in the ass if you tell anybody anything."

Trump reportedly made White House staffers sign NDAs that last beyond his presidency

President Donald Trump required senior White House staff members to sign nondisclosure agreements that not only threatened stiff financial penalties for violations, but extended far beyond Trump's time in office, Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus reported on Sunday.

 

[deanrd]

In fairness, the leaks, backstabbing and obsessive opposition to his presidency would drive anyone to do this. With his history in business and experience in legal matters, it was most likely an instinct he had anyways.

It's very unfortunate that so many defy him winning and some would rather see him fail than see America succeed. I will always root for the president of the United States as long as he/she is democratically elected, and the Constitution is defended.

Did Obama do it?
Bush?
Clinton?
Reagan?
Carter?
You get the picture.

 

[frigidweirdo]

Nothing says honest like "I will fuck you in the ass if you tell anybody anything."

Trump reportedly made White House staffers sign NDAs that last beyond his presidency

President Donald Trump required senior White House staff members to sign nondisclosure agreements that not only threatened stiff financial penalties for violations, but extended far beyond Trump's time in office, Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus reported on Sunday.

Bad bosses will do things like this to hide the fact that they're bad bosses. I've see it.

Once, someone got asked to leave one company I worked for because we would go and have lunch or dinner together a few times a week during break.

The boss was a miserable bitch who couldn't cope with different sections of the small company being friendly with each other, she was worried that we would find out what went on in their meetings.

And she had reason to be worried, because she used those people to spy on us, and to basically bitch about us in those meetings.

 

[Confounding]

I’ve about had enough of your trolling and your constant pursuit of servicing Putin.

You aren’t here for discussion.

You are a propagandist

Congratulations on making my IGNORE list.

Nothing says honest like "I will fuck you in the ass if you tell anybody anything."

Trump reportedly made White House staffers sign NDAs that last beyond his presidency

President Donald Trump required senior White House staff members to sign nondisclosure agreements that not only threatened stiff financial penalties for violations, but extended far beyond Trump's time in office, Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus reported on Sunday.

Прекратить разоблачение меня

 

[Valerie]

Every president inveighs against leakers and bemoans the kiss-and-tell books; no president, to my knowledge, has attempted to impose such a pledge. And while White House staffers have various confidentiality obligations — maintaining the secrecy of classified information or attorney-client privilege, for instance — the notion of imposing a side agreement, supposedly enforceable even after the president leaves office, is not only oppressive but constitutionally repugnant.

Unlike employees of private enterprises such as the Trump Organization or Trump campaign, White House aides have First Amendment rights when it comes to their employer, the federal government. If you have a leaker on your staff, the cure is firing, not suing.

Trump Reportedly Required Senior Staff to Sign Nondisclosure Agreements

 

[Care4all]

unconstitutional imo....

they work for us, the American people, we pay them....

if congress questions them, they must answer, they also have to let us have all of their records from their work.....

Trump's an arse

 

[shockedcanadian]

In fairness, the leaks, backstabbing and obsessive opposition to his presidency would drive anyone to do this. With his history in business and experience in legal matters, it was most likely an instinct he had anyways.

It's very unfortunate that so many defy him winning and some would rather see him fail than see America succeed. I will always root for the president of the United States as long as he/she is democratically elected, and the Constitution is defended.

Did Obama do it?
Bush?
Clinton?
Reagan?
Carter?
You get the picture.

Outside of Reagan, these were all members of the swamp and well lobbied.

 

[whitehall]

Too bad treasonous a-holes in the CIA don't get the same order.

 

[Valerie]

trump is such a coward and a bully...

if it's not classified info, then what does he have to hide from public scrutiny?



get a clue, trumptards... what's going on right now is not a "witch hunt"

it's a hunt for traitors to our country...

the FBI has been doing their JOB as they should.



dear dumbo donny, if you're listening.........

FBI surveillance of Russian operatives is not ABOUT YOU.

that is, until it suddenly was, all thanks to team traitor!

 

[saveliberty]

You guys are just going to have to wait on what hair color Trump uses, sorry.

 

[bodecea]

In fairness, the leaks, backstabbing and obsessive opposition to his presidency would drive anyone to do this. With his history in business and experience in legal matters, it was most likely an instinct he had anyways.

It's very unfortunate that so many defy him winning and some would rather see him fail than see America succeed. I will always root for the president of the United States as long as he/she is democratically elected, and the Constitution is defended.

Not binding....you can't do that with government jobs.

 

[The Original Tree]

Executive privilege already covers this so this is nothing but trolling for responses and The Libtard Cult of Sheep to chime in unison like the Bobbleheaded idiots they are.

 

[The Original Tree]

Do you even use lube when Putin gives it to you up the ass?

unconstitutional imo....

they work for us, the American people, we pay them....

if congress questions them, they must answer, they also have to let us have all of their records from their work.....

Trump's an arse

 

[Valerie]

Mueller Subpoena Of Trump Business Records Isn’t Crossing A Line, It Isn’t Even Surprising
Not that Trump has shown any respect or even basic understanding of the investigative process.

 

[Confounding]

Do you even use lube when Putin gives it to you up the ass?

unconstitutional imo....

they work for us, the American people, we pay them....

if congress questions them, they must answer, they also have to let us have all of their records from their work.....

Trump's an arse

"Everybody that doesn't see it my way is a Russian propagandist."

 

[aaronleland]

In fairness, the leaks, backstabbing and obsessive opposition to his presidency would drive anyone to do this. With his history in business and experience in legal matters, it was most likely an instinct he had anyways.

It's very unfortunate that so many defy him winning and some would rather see him fail than see America succeed. I will always root for the president of the United States as long as he/she is democratically elected, and the Constitution is defended.

Did Obama do it?
Bush?
Clinton?
Reagan?
Carter?
You get the picture.

Outside of Reagan, these were all members of the swamp and well lobbied.

The long time Hollywood political activist, former Governor, and President of the United States was the only person who wasn't a member of the swamp? Weird how time warps facts.