[...]Trump’s administration has methodically concealed information from Congress, the media and the public. There are fewer news briefings, fewer routine disclosures from government agencies, fewer releases under the Freedom of Information Act.
His White House removed its visitor logs from public view, so citizens can’t find out when lobbyists are coming in the door. The chiefs of his regulatory agencies have been caught, over and over, hiding their meetings with corporate moguls.
Trump stopped the reporting of CIA drone strikes against suspected terrorists. The Pentagon stopped reporting how many nuclear weapons the United States maintains.
The White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, has held only two news briefings this year; they were once a daily ritual. The State and Defense Departments have all but given up regular briefings about foreign policy, military operations around the globe, and the spending of hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars.
Reporters still seek information but their requests are often ignored. (Google “the White House did not respond,” and you’ll see what I mean.)[...]
Trump began his 2016 campaign by falsely claiming he couldn’t release his tax returns because he was under audit. No rule forbids him from releasing his returns, audit or no.
Before his inauguration, he said he was turning control of his business over to his sons, but refused to release the trust agreements governing the arrangement.[...]