The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) slammed President Trump on Monday following reports that he made White House staffers sign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) forbidding them from discussing their time in the administration.
The Washington Post reported Sunday that Trump required his staff to sign the agreements, which extend past his presidency.
Ben Wizner, the director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, ripped the report on Sunday.
{mosads}“Public employees can’t be gagged by private agreements. These so-called NDAs are unconstitutional and unenforceable,” Wizner said in a statement.
The agreements were similar to those signed by staffers during Trump’s presidential campaign and transition.
Some staffers were reportedly hesitant to sign, but were pressured to do so by then-chief of staff Reince Priebus and the White House counsel.
A draft of the original agreement penalized staffers with a $10 million fine, to be paid to the federal government, if they shared confidential information.
But that original figure was most likely lowered, according to the Post.