Trump and the White House made a giant mistake by responding to request from the House Oversight Committee for a formal letter denying the existence of tapes with a pasting to Trump’s tweets into a letter. This means that Trump’s tweets are now official presidential statements and can be used in the criminal case against him.
In response to a request from the House Oversight Committee, the White House sent this letter:
As with everything this administration does, there have conflicting explanations as to whether or not Trump’s tweets are official statements. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that they are, but White House Adviser Kellyanne Conway has downplayed the importance of the tweets.
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It seems that we have our answer, and by foolishly using the tweets as a response to an investigation, the White House has now opened the door to all of Trump’s tweets being examined for potential evidence in the obstruction of justice investigation, and the Russia investigations.
The White House should have drafted a formal letter. By getting cute, they just opened up Trump to a ton of potential legal trouble as all of his rants on Twitter may soon come back to haunt him.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association