Blackout: White House curbs press, public access as Biden struggles with public demands of job
Visitor logs withheld; tours canceled; petitioning system taken down.
By Daniel Payne
Updated: March 2, 2021 - 10:18pm
Throughout his presidential campaign and continuing since taking the White House, Joe Biden has promised a transparent approach to press and public relations. Yet in recent weeks, his administration has closed off — at least for now — several key avenues via which the press and public have for years gained a modicum of transparency, accessibility and accountability from the White House.
These moves to curb press and public access come as President Joe Biden himself has at times appeared to be struggling with the public demands of his job.
Notably, the White House has said that while it will divulge records of individuals who physically visit the White House, it will not be sharing virtual visitor logs. The Biden administration has relied heavily on virtual meetings out of concerns that COVID-19 might spread in face-to-face gatherings.
An unnamed White House official told Politico this week that the administration's refusal to release virtual meeting logs was in line with "the same way that previous administrations didn't release phone logs."
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki this week acerbically dismissed a reporter's query into the administration's lack of transparency on the issue.
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https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/biden-blackout-white-house-rolls-back-publics-access-president-appears
