The White House is stonewalling information requests from the Government Accountability Office, GAO general counsel Thomas Armstrong said in a May 9 letter to White House counsel Don McGahn. Armstrong's complaints were made public after excerpts of his note were quoted by congressional Democrats in a separate letter asking House Oversight Committee chair Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) to hold a hearing on the Trump administration's informational obstruction.
Armstrong's quotes say the White House has ignored or declined GAO requests for information on "such diverse topics as the role of the [National Security Council] conflict prevention, mitigation, and stabilization efforts abroad; inspector general vacancies; and the cost of presidential travel and related security measures."
This is not the first time the GAO has reported noncooperation from the Trump White House. As the Democrats' letter mentions, the agency had trouble obtaining information for a September, 2017 report on the presidential transition the previous year.
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Gowdy's office has yet to comment on the hearing request.
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