Riley’s work looks at the lack of documents that have come out of the White House since the 1970’s, due largely to the numerous EO (executive orders) that have been implemented in the last four decades. Whereas many former presidents would donate documents to the National archives (within reason, of course, some things have to remain classified for various reasons), many historians/reporters/political scientists must now rely on public speeches or appearances in order to have some notion of what is occurring in the White House. These speeches/appearances are very limited as compared to what is actually occurring in the executive branch (and change or are updated frequently), they do allow historians/ political scientists to see what is occurring. Memoirs are helpful for looking at an event/president and can contain a mixture of presidential knowledge but also the general notes on the time.
For those who get their information elsewhere, including WH/ house reps/ etc., it can often be a tricky situation regarding the ultimate authenticity of them. While some leaked news is false due to rumors, other leaked news may be totally true but officials may step in and claim it as unauthentic which makes it hard to have a genuine discussion about it until it is proven otherwise.