The White House has ordered federal health officials to treat top-level coronavirus meetings as classified, an unusual step that has restricted information and hampered the U.S. government’s response to the contagion, according to four Trump administration officials.
The officials said that dozens of classified discussions about such topics as the scope of infections, quarantines and travel restrictions have been held since mid-January in a high-security meeting room at the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), a key player in the fight against the coronavirus.
Staffers without security clearances, including government experts, were excluded from the interagency meetings, which included video conference calls, the sources said.
“We had some very critical people who did not have security clearances who could not go,” one official said. “These should not be classified meetings. It was unnecessary.”
The sources said the National Security Council (NSC), which advises the president on security issues, ordered the classification.”This came directly from the White House,” one official said.
emphasis mine
This is a major, what the fuck issue. Granted, the spread of COVID-19 in the United States is a threat to national security. But there is absolutely no reason that anything being discussed by our federal government about the treatment and attempts to prevent the spread of the disease should be ‘secret’. Despite the president’s assurances that his regime is doing everything possible to protect Americans…it would seem that once again…his lips moving means he is lying to us.
It would appear that the Trump Regime is actually putting the health of Americans at risk…and for what ends? Because it might make him look bad going into the 2020 elections? Well you know what? This really makes him look bad. The absolutely one time that the White House needs to be open and transparent about an issue affecting potentially millions of Americans…they hide in the basement in a secret room and don’t even have access to the experts who can provide the hard data needed to make decisions. And this has been going on for two months already. Is it any wonder the the United States is ill prepared and behind the curve in preventing the spread of COVID-19?
How many people have to die before the nation accepts that President Donald Trump is not only unfit for office but negligent in his duties as well…simply because his only interest…is looking out for Donald Trump?
One of the administration officials suggested the security clearances for meetings at HHS were imposed not to protect national security but to keep the information within a tight circle, to prevent leaks.
How about Vos/Fitzgerald calling back all our elected dim-wits who are sitting at home for the rest of the year and finally confirming Palm. Don’t we deserve a Sec. of Public Health in our state? It’s time to call them out on this. Then vote them out.
trump looks like someone punched him in his eye. Did Polosie finally nail him?
Pelosi
Travel bans! Great. That screws the Dells big time. J-1’s are here to work every summer. Forget going to any waterparks folks.
The travel restrictions are for 30 days. How would that restrict the inflow of J-1’s that work here every Summer?
do you really believe it will only be for 30 days?
I don’t know if it will be extended or not, but for now the plain language of the restriction is 30 days. That will have little or no effect on the inflow of J-1’s. Do you really think that the restrictions will be pushed into June?