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Government Social Networks Communications Republicans The Internet Twitter Politics

'COVFEFE Act' Would Make Social Media a Presidential Record (thehill.com) 322

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Hill: Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) introduced legislation Monday to classify presidential social media posts -- including President Trump's much-discussed tweets -- as presidential records. The Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically for Engagement (COVFEFE) Act, which has the same acronym as an infamous Trump Twitter typo last month, would amend the Presidential Records Act to include "social media." Presidential records must be preserved, according to the Presidential Records Act, which would make it potentially illegal for the president to delete tweets. "President Trump's frequent, unfiltered use of his personal Twitter account as a means of official communication is unprecedented. If the President is going to take to social media to make sudden public policy proclamations, we must ensure that these statements are documented and preserved for future reference. Tweets are powerful, and the President must be held accountable for every post," said Quigley in a statement. Most people took the "covfefe" tweet to be a typo, although press secretary Sean Spicer told the media that the term was used intentionally. "The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant," he said.
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'COVFEFE Act' Would Make Social Media a Presidential Record

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  • by JoshuaZ ( 1134087 ) on Monday June 12, 2017 @05:32PM (#54605525) Homepage
    I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding is that the current record keeping rules are very broad and would include this, especially given Spicer's other comment that they consider Trump's tweets to be official Presidential announcements. So this seems unnecessary and more grandstanding than anything else (which is reinforced by the name chosen).
  • by Anonymous Coward

    All internal political party emails and communication will be released for public viewing to ensure no shenanigans are taking place.

    Word verification: thefts

  • by Crashmarik ( 635988 ) on Monday June 12, 2017 @05:32PM (#54605529)

    Twitter FB etc would be legally barred from deleting posts from government employees ?

    How interesting.

  • by Lisandro ( 799651 ) on Monday June 12, 2017 @05:34PM (#54605557)

    Not only because such a bill seems to be necessary, but because it was named about the most annoying non-story of 2017 so far.

  • Snapchat next? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by kiviQr ( 3443687 ) on Monday June 12, 2017 @05:34PM (#54605559)
    I'd love to see how Snapchat would handle deletion ban of POTUS posts.
  • by ebcdic ( 39948 ) on Monday June 12, 2017 @05:36PM (#54605581)

    "The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant." The small group are his Russian handlers.

    • by rastos1 ( 601318 )

      The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant.

      Let me give you a hint: what do you think is a group of random letters, forming a word that is not in a dictionary, that have a specific meaning to the POTUS and a small group of people around him?

      I just hope they changed it in the meantime. And also put in some digits and non-alphanumeric characters.

  • What's the problem - you want to record Trump's tweets then record them, they're openly available. Ffs there's even a JavaScript API for Twitter you can use to do it automatically.
    • The problem is that HE's supposed to record them. That you don't understand that it what makes you ignorant. By law the president is supposed to record everything he does, all his notes, basically the entire record of his governance and then he's supposed to build a library and put all that information in this public library for the public to use after he leave office.

      Do you think he's made official record of all the tweets he deleted? Because if he didn't he violated the presidential records act. The point

  • by Tablizer ( 95088 ) on Monday June 12, 2017 @06:14PM (#54605841) Journal

    Sean Spicer told the media that the term was used intentionally. "The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant," he said.

    It's Orangenian for "Rosebud".

  • Certainly, something that should be preserved as a presidential record.
  • by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Monday June 12, 2017 @07:07PM (#54606089)

    I love that sitcom about the aging wannabe-celebrity becoming US president. It's a bit unrealistic, I admit that, but it's a hoot and a half, every episode a new surprise and you never know what's gonna happen next.

    Some say it's formulaic, but I can only say I'm entertained. And isn't that the most important aspect?

    • by Kergan ( 780543 )

      I'm not so sure anyone will laugh if he ends up dragging the US in a major war though.

    • by T.E.D. ( 34228 )

      I love that sitcom about the aging wannabe-celebrity becoming US president.

      The original back in the 1980's was better. The current reboot kind of sucks.

  • President Trump's frequent, unfiltered use of his personal Twitter account as a means of official communication is unprecedented.

    Why are his tweets deemed official? They're from the President, and many of them are tactless, Jimmy Kimmel fodder. But, he's not using Twitter to issue instructions to his cabinet. This is his personal account, and it's no more official than any other Twitter account.

  • by WolfgangVL ( 3494585 ) on Monday June 12, 2017 @11:07PM (#54606987)

    Today, the Department of Common Sense" (DoCS) Finally struck down one of the most frivolous and wasteful government resolutions yet. On the 20th anniversary of its inception, the the Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically for Engagement (COVFEFE) Act was finally struck down.

    For years, the American taxpayer has been footing the bill to replicate the childish and nonsensical social media tweets of every sitting leader since the controversial and infamous Donald Trump (45). Those opposing this bill have been fighting for the past 20 years to make lawmakers understand that nothing posted on the internet ever really goes away, and the bill, by its very nature, is a terrible waste of taxpayer money in its current form.

    One could speculate that this may be a direct result of the actions of one Rep. Qike Muigley III(D-Ill.) When his tweet "Underware sux haha!" began circulating attached to a picture of the Muigley with a conspicuous brown stain on his rear.

    President Comancho's reaction to news?

    "wut? lol OMG"

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