White House website posts inaccurate versions of Trump's executive orders

The White House website posted inaccurate texts of President Donald Trump's executive orders, according to an analysis.

USA Today found at least five cases where documents posted on the White House website didn't match the official version sent to the Federal Register, which the newspaper reported raises questions about the Trump administration's thoroughness in drafting its actions.

The differences spotted by reporter Gregory Korte include minor grammatical changes, missing words and paragraph renumbering — but also two instances where the official document refers to inaccurate or nonexistent provisions of law.

The Federal Register version is, by law, the legally controlling document.

But those documents can often take several days to be published, which means an inaccurate version posted online is all the public can see during that delay.

The discrepancies raise unnecessary questions about the president's orders and suggest the Trump administration should pay closer attention to detail, say transparency advocates.

But an official with the Federal Register insists the documents that are officially filed match the executive orders signed by Trump -- which usually takes place in a public ceremony.

"We would never correct something that the president signs," said Jim Hemphill, a spokesman for the Federal Register. "Once the president's signature is on that, that's a legal document that we would never change."