The White House is Posting Incorrect Versions of Executive Orders on Its Website

Per reporting from USA Today, officials in the Trump administration have been posting inaccurate and incomplete versions of certain executive orders on the White House website.

Gathering from USA Today’s work, there were at least five cases where the documents posted on the White House site differed from the official versions on the Federal Register page. Orders on that site contain the legally binding language for executive actions, but as USA Today points out, the Federal Register is slower to publish, so both the public and press are forced to take the word of what the White House puts on its website.

For instance, the executive order focusing on “ethical standards” for appointees references section 207 of title 28 of the U.S. Code, which doesn’t exist. On the Federal Register site, all references are to section 207 of title 18 of the U.S. code, which does exist.

Here’s the executive order language:

Executive Order Language.jpg

And the federal register language:

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And not only have non-existent pieces of the U.S. code been referenced, but existing provisions have been conflated. When the executive order banning travel from seven countries came out, it had a requirement for the Secretary of State (Rex Tillerson) to execute a portion of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act that mandates in-person interviews for individuals seeking non-immigrant visas. However, the White House version of the order didn’t reference 8 U.S.C. 1202 but 8 U.S.C. 1222, which dictates that such individuals be given a physical and mental examination.

Executive order language:

Federal register language:

In both cases, as seen in the photos, the incorrect language is still up on the White House website, despite the fact the Federal Register has published more polished versions. White House officials haven’t responded to the situation, which probably comes as little surprise considering how tumultuous the week has been thus far. But the matter does raise more concerns about the vetting of such orders before they’re announced.

To see the full list of President Donald Trump’s executive orders, check out our Trump tracker here.