Third Set of Health Care Emails Again Shows Trump Administration Effort to Hide Negotiations

The third and final set of health care documents that a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to release to American Oversight again showed a concerted effort to hide the details of negotiations through the use of excessive redactions.

“After its disastrous legislative failure, the Trump administration continues to engage in legal gymnastics to avoid telling the whole truth about their health care efforts,” said American Oversight Executive Director, Austin Evers. “The lengths to which they are willing to to to avoid transparency is clear evidence that they have something to hide. American Oversight looks forward to fighting the administration’s meritless position in court later this month. We are confident the court will recognize the administration’s legerdemain for what it is: unlawful.”

The documents, released on September 5, contain communications between officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Management and Budget and members of Congress regarding health care reform efforts. American Oversight had sued the Trump administration in May to force the release of the health care communications – and a federal judge ordered the government to produce the documents in three batches.

All three sets of documents contain heavy redactions – many of which obscure information that the government is required to release under FOIA. American Oversight intends to challenge these redactions, and the court has set a deadline of September 19 for the Justice Department to submit its initial arguments.

HHS Records Received Sept. 5, 2027

OMB Records Received Sept. 5, 2017