White House officials made to sign non-disclosure agreements - Washington Post

[Thakkar]

2 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

WH staff are hired by The Administration and serve at The Presidents pleasure. Full stop (it has always been this way).

 

So he can fire them. But he doesn’t own them, or what they can and cannot say, as long as classified info is not involved. 

[BobBKK]

Just now, Thakkar said:

 

So he can fire them. But he doesn’t own them, or what they can and cannot say, as long as classified info is not involved. 

 

Thakkar he owns their work, their loyalty and their allegiance whilst they serve him.  I don't like Trump but this principal has to be supported or chaos ensues every time an individual feels aggrieved.  The press/senate/congress etc. are the 'check and balance'  not individuals with a chip on their shoulder.

[Thakkar]

11 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

 

Thakkar he owns their work, their loyalty and their allegiance whilst they serve him.  I don't like Trump but this principal has to be supported or chaos ensues every time an individual feels aggrieved.  The press/senate/congress etc. are the 'check and balance'  not individuals with a chip on their shoulder.

“He Owns their work”

No, he doesn’t. The American People own the staff’s work.

Their allegiance is to The Constitution, and the people, not Trump. When taking their jobs, they pledge loyalty to The Constitution.

The only person with a chip on their shoulder is Trump.

[downtowneddie]

23 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

WH staff are hired by The Administration and serve at The Presidents pleasure. Full stop (it has always been this way).

I read somewhere that making staff sign these agreements is actually a violation of statutary law in respect to bribery. In effect, Donald Trump is asking for something of value, the silence of people who work for the government, in exchange for getting a job. Their silence is of value since anything they say might detrimentally affect the value of the Trump brand. 

[Credo]

2 hours ago, BobBKK said:

 

Thakkar he owns their work, their loyalty and their allegiance whilst they serve him.  I don't like Trump but this principal has to be supported or chaos ensues every time an individual feels aggrieved.  The press/senate/congress etc. are the 'check and balance'  not individuals with a chip on their shoulder.

I say the  White House is already in chaos.   There might be more order if there was at least the threat of someone talking about things.

[BobBKK]

On 3/23/2018 at 10:34 AM, Thakkar said:

“He Owns their work”

No, he doesn’t. The American People own the staff’s work.

Their allegiance is to The Constitution, and the people, not Trump. When taking their jobs, they pledge loyalty to The Constitution.

The only person with a chip on their shoulder is Trump.

That's just not true. They serve at the President's Pleasure and should be utterly loyal or leave.

[BobBKK]

On 3/23/2018 at 10:39 AM, downtowneddie said:

I read somewhere that making staff sign these agreements is actually a violation of statutary law in respect to bribery. In effect, Donald Trump is asking for something of value, the silence of people who work for the government, in exchange for getting a job. Their silence is of value since anything they say might detrimentally affect the value of the Trump brand. 

I have signed many NDA's over the years as do millions of other staff. You don't want someone in Microsoft telling a competitor information. Standard practice which some are spinning into something 'unusual' for political reasons.

[downtowneddie]

3 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

I have signed many NDA's over the years as do millions of other staff. You don't want someone in Microsoft telling a competitor information. Standard practice which some are spinning into something 'unusual' for political reasons.

It's common in private industry. There you are signing the contract with Microsoft, not with Bill Gates or whoever is in charge of Microsoft. But in this case you are not signing the contract with the US government but with Donald Trump. That's a crucial difference.

[BobBKK]

Just now, downtowneddie said:

It's common in private industry. There you are signing the contract with Microsoft, not with Bill Gates or whoever is in charge of Microsoft. But in this case you are not signing the contract with the US government but with Donald Trump. That's a crucial difference.

I'm not sure that's right. We have not seen the NDA and I would assume that it is on behalf of the 'Administration' which would include POTUS. Would be interesting to see one.  BTW I am not defending the megalomaniac Trump but the principle i would say the same for any of the POTUS's.

[downtowneddie]

Just now, BobBKK said:

I'm not sure that's right. We have not seen the NDA and I would assume that it is on behalf of the 'Administration' which would include POTUS. Would be interesting to see one.  BTW I am not defending the megalomaniac Trump but the principle i would say the same for any of the POTUS's.

Such a contract signed on behalf of the governement  would be invalid. Whistleblower laws alone would make it so. And Trump refuses to release the text of his NDAs. That alone should tell you something.

[lannarebirth]

Good Law Blog article on the subject of leaks, associated laws pertaining to leaks, and NDA's

 

https://www.lawfareblog.com/law-leaks

[BobBKK]

5 hours ago, downtowneddie said:

Such a contract signed on behalf of the governement  would be invalid. Whistleblower laws alone would make it so. And Trump refuses to release the text of his NDAs. That alone should tell you something.

 

But they aren't his to release or not as they are the Administrations. But, this aside,  I'm not a fan of the 'stab you in the back' culture in fact I'm not a fan, and have lost respect for, the USA in general (not the people) but the culture which is divisive, nasty and full of lies at every turn.

[downtowneddie]

2 hours ago, BobBKK said:

 

But they aren't his to release or not as they are the Administrations. But, this aside,  I'm not a fan of the 'stab you in the back' culture in fact I'm not a fan, and have lost respect for, the USA in general (not the people) but the culture which is divisive, nasty and full of lies at every turn.

Neither President Trump nor any other president has the right to make signing an NDA a condition of employment. So, in each and every case, the first offense is his.

[BobBKK]

14 hours ago, downtowneddie said:

Neither President Trump nor any other president has the right to make signing an NDA a condition of employment. So, in each and every case, the first offense is his.

 

Why?  they can ask what they want and if you don't like it don't work there.  What a world it is becoming where people will sign, promise and vow to keep stuff confidential then break that word for politics. Your comments are based on your bias not ethics.

[lannarebirth]

16 hours ago, BobBKK said:

 

But they aren't his to release or not as they are the Administrations. But, this aside,  I'm not a fan of the 'stab you in the back' culture in fact I'm not a fan, and have lost respect for, the USA in general (not the people) but the culture which is divisive, nasty and full of lies at every turn.

 

No, it's the people.

[Thakkar]

22 hours ago, BobBKK said:

That's just not true. They serve at the President's Pleasure and should be utterly loyal or leave.

It’s sad that you think those are the only two choices.

[stevenl]

1 hour ago, BobBKK said:

 

Why?  they can ask what they want and if you don't like it don't work there.  What a world it is becoming where people will sign, promise and vow to keep stuff confidential then break that word for politics. Your comments are based on your bias not ethics.

Because it is the law.

 

Illegal, no matter how many objections you come up with.

[mikebike]

On 3/24/2018 at 5:18 PM, BobBKK said:

 

But they aren't his to release or not as they are the Administrations. But, this aside,  I'm not a fan of the 'stab you in the back' culture in fact I'm not a fan, and have lost respect for, the USA in general (not the people) but the culture which is divisive, nasty and full of lies at every turn.

 

On 3/25/2018 at 9:45 AM, BobBKK said:

 

Why?  they can ask what they want and if you don't like it don't work there.  What a world it is becoming where people will sign, promise and vow to keep stuff confidential then break that word for politics. Your comments are based on your bias not ethics.

I don't know why you keep drilling on about stabbing in the back, or breaking their word for politics, or loyalty or leave... The simple thing about NDAs are that they are meant to protect an entity from loosing secrets and valuable proprietary information. They are not meant to stop employees from reporting illegal or possibly illegal actions by said entity. That is ethics.

 

Why you continue to see this as a "loyalty" issue rather than a do-the-right-thing issue is baffling.

[BobBKK]

21 hours ago, mikebike said:

 

I don't know why you keep drilling on about stabbing in the back, or breaking their word for politics, or loyalty or leave... The simple thing about NDAs are that they are meant to protect an entity from loosing secrets and valuable proprietary information. They are not meant to stop employees from reporting illegal or possibly illegal actions by said entity. That is ethics.

 

Why you continue to see this as a "loyalty" issue rather than a do-the-right-thing issue is baffling.

Non-Disclosure is what it says on the box.  Why you think today's culture of 'tell-all' and chuck everyone under the bus is ok baffles me to.  If something is illegal go to the Police but most of the leaks are not about 'illegal activity' they are about politics.

[BobBKK]

On 3/25/2018 at 11:22 AM, stevenl said:

Because it is the law.

 

Illegal, no matter how many objections you come up with.

 

Mr. Bumble was right about a lot of law

[Thakkar]

30 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

 

Mr. Bumble was right about a lot of law

 

So your argument is that if you and the president (someone who has pledged in his swearing-in to uphold the law) think a law is stupid, it’s Ok to break that law.

 

To quote an old hippie: “are you for real, man?”

[mikebike]

1 hour ago, BobBKK said:

Non-Disclosure is what it says on the box.  Why you think today's culture of 'tell-all' and chuck everyone under the bus is ok baffles me to.  If something is illegal go to the Police but most of the leaks are not about 'illegal activity' they are about politics.

I do not, and have not said, that I advocate a tell-all culture. I do however advocate a full understanding of the purpose and limitations on NDAs. Leaks will never be controlled by NDAs. To control leaks you need to have the trust and respect of your staff.

Edited March 27, 2018 by mikebike
spelling

[BobBKK]

6 hours ago, Thakkar said:

 

So your argument is that if you and the president (someone who has pledged in his swearing-in to uphold the law) think a law is stupid, it’s Ok to break that law.

 

To quote an old hippie: “are you for real, man?”

No that's not my argument  

[BobBKK]

6 hours ago, mikebike said:

I do not, and have not said, that I advocate a tell-all culture. I do however advocate a full understanding of the purpose and limitations on NDAs. Leaks will never be controlled by NDAs. To control leaks you need to have the trust and respect of your staff.

 

Good news. Leaks will never be controlled, period, and we can agree on that but I still advocate a tight culture of respecting the NDA once signed but I realize many people just do not care, these days, about keeping ones word, promises or loyalty. 

[stevenl]

14 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

 

Good news. Leaks will never be controlled, period, and we can agree on that but I still advocate a tight culture of respecting the NDA once signed but I realize many people just do not care, these days, about keeping ones word, promises or loyalty. 

Sad post with respect to the NDA's we're talking about here. The workers there have a duty towards the public to inform them about abuses.

[Opl]

On ‎24‎/‎03‎/‎2018 at 5:15 AM, BobBKK said:

That's just not true. They serve at the President's Pleasure and should be utterly loyal or leave.

Are you posting from Pyongyang?