While the Obama administration’s hostility to transparency is well known, its latest scheme would break new ground in government secrecy. The administration’s proposed changes to the Freedom of Information Act guidelines would allow the Department of Justice to deny the existence of documents and prevent judicial oversight.
The ACLU says the rule changes would “dramatically undermine government integrity,” and the Sunlight Foundation, in a post that lays out fifteen ways the new rules would undermine transparency, notes that while most coverage has “focused on the DOJ’s desire to lie about the existence of records… DOJ’s efforts to undermine FOIA go well beyond dishonest requests.” Today’s Washington Examiner editorial explains what is so harmful about the changes:
First, by not citing a specific exemption allowed under the FOIA as grounds for denying a request, the proposal would cut off a requestor from appealing to the courts. By thus creating an area of federal activity that is completely exempt from judicial review, the proposal undercuts due process and other constitutional protections. Second, by creating a justification for government lying to FOIA requestors in one area, a legal precedent is created that sooner or later will be asserted by the government in other areas as well.
The Department of Justice can already deny the release of documents on national security grounds by issuing what is known as a Glomar denial, which doesn’t officially deny the existence of the records and is open to appeal, thus preserving judicial oversight. The Obama administration wants to put an end to transparency and accountability. President Obama has taken to touting his administration’s record on transparency, but it has been clear from the beginning that the president intends to operate as much in the dark as possible. As the Wall Street Journal reported in May:
The administration promised in 2009 to release visitor logs to the White House. According to a report by the Center for Public Integrity, to date only 1% of 500,000 meetings from the president’s first eight months have been released, and thousands of known visitors (including lobbyists) are missing from the lists.
Mr. Sterns also cited news stories that explain how administration officials purposely met with lobbyists at a nearby coffee shop to avoid official records of meetings. The C-Span recordings [of the health care bill negotiations] never happened, of course, and the White House has also hid much of its work behind its “czars.”
The Sunlight Foundation, clearly fed up with three years of empty promises, observes, “Presidential rhetoric doesn’t get FOIA requests filled.” And the Obama administration wants to keep it that way.
Most transparent presidency…evah!
You forgot 'open' as well.
Anonymous and Wikileaks have proven that one does not need the cooperation of government for the truth to come out. Is that the system government really wants to set up? It will just make it even more damning when the truth eventually does surface.
Here enters the world of LIBERAL HYPOCRISY !! n nHad this been suggested during the BUSH years, the liberals would be pooping their pants daily over this. nThis is an abomination and must not be allowed to go through. n nC'mon Democrats, grow a set an stop this
Matthew W, the ACLU are a pack of….liberals, so at least some are complaining, as well they should. What i want to see is, will the liberal press, who frequently invoke FOIA to gain access to docs, will raise a stink. n nIf not, they will once again reveal themselves as whores.
Hey! Cut Barry some slack, at least he didn't lie about skyrocketing our energy, banking and healthcare costs, or redistributing our income until we resembled Eurostan. nSoon the Marching Moochers of Wall Street will be partying just like Greece.
no, he just continues to blame Bush for everything, including Obamas own failed policies
Does anyone but me get tired of so-called "journalists" like Seth here, writing an article and not educating? Is this rule final? Does DOJ have the authority to make a rule like this? Can Congress countermand it? Is ACLU filing suit? What can we do about it? He doesnt have to be an activist, but a little more information would sure put this in the proper perspective.
What congress, the DICTATOR is ruling without Congress.
Stop whining and complaining. You are watching history in the making. what you should be doing is writing down every day attacks on the Constitution, weekly Executive Orders, weekly billion dollar corruption scandals, weekly smokescreens by the mainslime media, DOJ law suits against States and minor individuals.Combine that with attempts to foil the FOIA (Feedom of Infomation Act), Document all the crony capitalist thievery that is being "winked at" by Wall Street and congress and the W.H.. Follow that up with U/S. open border policies, presidential shout-outs to 'occupy' mobs, Write it all in a diary so that one day you'll be able to tell your grand children what happened to the country that the people wanted to come to for freedom and a chance to "make it big" in America..Bring it back in 2012……..anybody but BHO and his czars. NO RINO's Please.
ACLU: Obama u201cAuthorizing Agencies to Lieu201dr nr nIt’s called taqiyya.