{"id":176991,"date":"2026-02-13T20:53:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T20:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/176991\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T20:53:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T20:53:12","slug":"san-francisco-mayor-continues-to-withhold-trump-call-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/176991\/","title":{"rendered":"San Francisco Mayor Continues to Withhold Trump Call Records"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mayor Daniel Lurie\u2019s office continues to resist scrutiny over a call with President Donald Trump in October that the mayor said averted a looming federal immigration enforcement surge. Despite a ruling last month from the San Francisco Sunshine Ordinance Task Force that the mayor\u2019s office improperly withheld records, staff maintain that they are not obligated to share even partially redacted records with the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s office argues that because withheld documents involved lawyers from the city attorney\u2019s office, the mayor could invoke attorney-client privilege. At a Jan. 7 public hearing, the task force found<\/a> that the privilege claim was applied too broadly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The San Francisco Public Press sought records in October related to the mayor\u2019s call with Trump, but his office denied the request in full under a claim of attorney-client privilege. On Jan. 8, the Public Press filed a second request, citing the task force\u2019s ruling that the office must segregate and release non-privileged material. In a Feb. 3 response, the mayor\u2019s office again refused to disclose any additional records.<\/p>\n

At the Jan. 7 hearing, task force members criticized Dexter Darmali, Lurie\u2019s legislative and ethics secretary, for treating the presence of city attorney staff on documents as sufficient grounds to withhold them, rather than separating protected legal advice from factual or administrative material.<\/p>\n

Task force member Dean Schmidt, himself an attorney, said it was \u201cinconceivable\u201d that no non-privileged records existed, even in a redacted form that would allow oversight bodies to see what categories of documents were being withheld. The task force\u2019s determination came as a result of a complaint filed on Oct. 29 by Hazel Williams, a longtime transparency advocate, under the name Rick Sanders. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Darmali responded to the complaint by informing Williams in an email on Nov. 17 that the city attorney\u2019s in-house supervisor of records sided with the mayor\u2019s decision, and urging Williams to \u201cwithdraw your complaint.\u201d That would keep the issue from appearing before the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force at a public meeting. In an interview, Williams said Darmali\u2019s response showed that from the start, City Hall\u2019s approach reflected an effort to close the matter without a public hearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI find that extremely offensive,\u201d Williams said in an interview. \u201cIt really does feel like, in many ways, public records law is there in name only. They\u2019re basically saying, \u2018Our internal decision trumps everything else.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The task force\u2019s compliance committee is expected to review whether the mayor\u2019s office has complied with the panel\u2019s ruling at a meeting that has not been scheduled. If the office fails to comply, the task force can refer the matter to the ethics commission for enforcement.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, public pressure has mounted. The task force has received 100 signatures<\/a> on a form letter circulated by the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter urging members to order full disclosure of all records related to the mayor\u2019s call with Trump, arguing that secrecy around the decision to halt the federal immigration surge undermines public trust.<\/p>\n

\"\"Protesters mustered near Dolores Park for a demonstration calling attention to the ongoing attack on immigrants by federal forces across the country. Credit: Sylvie Sturm \/ San Francisco Public Press<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Sylvie Sturm \/ San Francisco Public Press<\/p>\n

The Trump call is not the only matter the mayor\u2019s office is keeping mum about.<\/p>\n

Documents released through a records request by the Public Press on Feb. 3 show that city and federal officials exchanged emails coordinating an Oct. 23 conversation between Lurie and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. The scheduling emails exist, but the mayor\u2019s office produced no notes, summaries, call logs or follow-up communications from that conversation in response to records requests.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lurie\u00a0also said at an Oct. 23 press conference that he had spoken with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem as federal enforcement decisions were unfolding. The mayor\u2019s office produced no records, scheduling emails, internal memoranda or contemporaneous notes reflecting that exchange either.<\/p>\n

\"\"Mayor Lurie said his October call with President Trump prevented an imminent troop deployment to the city. Credit: SFGOV TV<\/p>\n

Williams said transparency is not an abstract good-government principle, but a goal inseparable from the real-world consequences of raids and surveillance by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know how devastating the ICE raids have been around the country,\u201d she said. \u201cI live in San Francisco. I\u2019ve seen the impacts of it here. The public really deserves to know this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams said public suspicion of back-channel influence and \u201cshadowy politicking\u201d makes transparency even more critical. \u201cWe just have to trust that they know what\u2019s best? That\u2019s very concerning. That\u2019s very oligarchical, not very democratic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The limited disclosure of records has taken on added importance amid reporting that billionaire business leaders\u2019<\/a> conversations with Trump contributed to his decision to call off the enforcement surge.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Julien Ball, an immigrant justice organizer with the Democratic Socialists of America\u2019s local chapter, told the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force at the January meeting that the sequence of events \u2014 outreach from wealthy elites, a mayoral call, the sudden cancellation of federal action, all excluding affected immigrant communities from the conversation \u2014 raises questions about whose voices carry weight in moments of crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo we have a system where our elected officials from federal, state and local governments make decisions based on input from the people, which is the way democracy is supposed to work, or is it based on back-channel discussions between a few billionaires?\u201d\u00a0he said in an interview.<\/p>\n

Business leaders and immigrant advocates share an interest in avoiding aggressive federal crackdowns, he said, noting that agents roaming the streets of San Francisco would be \u201cbad for business.\u201d\u00a0But alignment is not the same as democratic governance. \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t be private,\u201d he said. \u201cImmigrant communities should be at the table.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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