Members of the Trump administration were considering ways to share confidential responses with law enforcement officials, effectively weaponizing the constitutionally-required census against respondents.
A Washington Post exclusive report Monday evening reveals “Justice Department officials appeared to be considering ways to circumvent the confidentiality of census responses.”
DOJ attorney Ben Aguinaga in a June 12 email to acting assistant attorney general John Gore suggested not saying “too much” in response to a question about the confidentiality of the survey, The Post adds.
The Census Bureau, which is run by the Commerce Dept., is not allowed to share any confidential information with any other government agency.
The Trump administration has been under scrutiny after trying to add a citizenship question to the census. Not completing the census is a violation of federal law.
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