The Trump Administration has announced that it will no longer make its White House visitor logs accessible to the public, citing "national security risks and privacy concerns," according to Time. The announcement breaks a tradition of transparency upheld by the Obama Administration, which voluntarily disclosed the names of over 6 million visitors, as well as other details of their business at the White House, from 2009 to 2016. Under the new policy, records will be kept private for at least five years after Trump leaves the White House.
Trump officials were quick to point out that the any information from the Obama Administration's visitor records was subject to redaction for any reason by the White House Counsel's office. Celebrity visitors and top donors were frequently left off the rolls, along with anyone arriving for so called "personal events." “It did create more of a façade of transparency rather than complete transparency,” a White House official said.
The visitor records since Trump took office in January have been removed from their previous home on Open.gov, a site maintained by the Obama Administration that also hosted staff financial information and appointments. A Trump official said that shutting down Open.gov would save the administration $70,000 over the next four years.