Research Briefing

The Obama Administration Is Playing Politics With The Freedom Of Information Act

President Obama: "My Administration Is Committed To Creating An Unprecedented Level Of Openness In Government." (President Barack Obama, "Memorandum For The Heads Of Executive Departments And Agencies: Transparency and Open Government," Press Release, 1/21/09) 

THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION SUBJECTS FOIA REQUESTS TO “SECRETIVE” AND “MEDDLING” POLITICAL REVIEWS

Freedom Of Information Act Requests Are Subjected To “Secretive Reviews” By The Obama Administration’s Political Advisors. “The Homeland Security Department official in charge of submitting sensitive government files to political advisers for secretive reviews before they could be released to citizens, journalists and watchdog groups complained in emails that the unusual scrutiny was ‘crazy’ and hoped someone outside the Obama administration would discover the practice, The Associated Press has learned.” (“Gov’t Emails: Political Reviews Over Requests For US Records ‘Meddling,’ ‘Crazy’ And ‘Bananas,’” The Associated Press, 3/28/11)

Obama-Appointed Political Staffers Demanded To Know Who Asked For Records, Where They Lived, Where They Worked, And If They Were Reporters. “But at the Homeland Security Department, since July 2009, career employees were ordered to provide political staffers with information about the people who asked for records — such as where they lived and whether they were private citizens or reporters — and about the organizations where they worked.” (“Gov’t Emails: Political Reviews Over Requests For US Records ‘Meddling,’ ‘Crazy’ And ‘Bananas,’” The Associated Press, 3/28/11)

• “If A Member Of Congress Sought Such Documents, Employees Were Told To Specify Democrat Or Republican.” (“Gov’t Emails: Political Reviews Over Requests For US Records ‘Meddling,’ ‘Crazy’ And ‘Bananas,’” The Associated Press, 3/28/11)

The Emails Show “Deep Unease” About The Political Reviews And Allege That Senior Political Advisors Might Be Hiding Embarrassing Details From The Public. “Together with other confidential emails obtained by the AP for the first time, the files reflect deep unease about the reviews and included allegations that Napolitano’s senior political advisers might have hidden embarrassing or sensitive emails that journalists and watchdog groups had requested. The government said this didn’t happen.” (“Gov’t Emails: Political Reviews Over Requests For US Records ‘Meddling,’ ‘Crazy’ And ‘Bananas,’” The Associated Press, 3/28/11)

DHS’s Chief Privacy Officer Said The Obama Administration’s Political Vetting Process Was “Burdensome” And The Department Could Be Sued Over The Delays. “Chief Privacy Officer Mary Ellen Callahan, who was appointed by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, complained in late 2009 that the vetting process was burdensome and said she wanted to change it, according to uncensored emails newly obtained by the AP. In the emails, she warned that the Homeland Security Department might be sued over delays the political reviews were causing, and she hinted that a reporter might find out about the vetting.” (“Gov’t Emails: Political Reviews Over Requests For US Records ‘Meddling,’ ‘Crazy’ And ‘Bananas,’” The Associated Press, 3/28/11)

• “This Level Of Attention Is CRAZY.” ‘This level of attention is CRAZY,’ Callahan wrote in December 2009 to her then-deputy, Catherine Papoi. Callahan said she hoped someone outside the Obama administration would discover details of the political reviews, possibly by asking for evidence of them under the Freedom of Information Act itself: ‘I really really want someone to FOIA this whole damn process,’ Callahan wrote.” (“Gov’t Emails: Political Reviews Over Requests For US Records ‘Meddling,’ ‘Crazy’ And ‘Bananas,’” The Associated Press, 3/28/11)

The “Unusual Political Vetting” Process Was Described As “Meddling,” And “Nuts.” “The newly obtained versions of the same internal emails are not censored. They show that insiders described the unusual political vetting as ‘meddling,’ ‘nuts’ and ‘bananas!’” (“Gov’t Emails: Political Reviews Over Requests For US Records ‘Meddling,’ ‘Crazy’ And ‘Bananas,’” The Associated Press, 3/28/11)

The Emails Raise The Question – Were Prior FOIA Releases “Properly Censored?” “The emails also raise doubts about whether the emails previously released to the AP were properly censored.” (“Gov’t Emails: Political Reviews Over Requests For US Records ‘Meddling,’ ‘Crazy’ And ‘Bananas,’” The Associated Press, 3/28/11)

AND THAT’S WHEN THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION BOTHERS TO RESPOND TO FOIA REQUESTS AT ALL

The Associated Press: “Promises, Promises: Little Transparency Progress.” (“Promises, Promises: Little Transparency Progress,” The Associated Press, 3/14/11)

“The Government's Responsiveness Under The Freedom Of Information Act Is Widely Considered A Barometer Of How Transparent Federal Offices Are.” (“Promises, Promises: Little Transparency Progress,” The Associated Press, 3/14/11)

The Obama Administration Responded To Fewer FOIA Requests Than Last Year, Despite More Inquiries. “Two years into its pledge to improve government transparency, the Obama administration took action on fewer requests for federal records from citizens, journalists, companies and others last year even as significantly more people asked for information.” (“Promises, Promises: Little Transparency Progress,” The Associated Press, 3/14/11)

• The Obama Administration Replied To Over 12,000 Fewer Requests Despite A 41,000 Jump In Requests. “People requested information 544,360 times last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act from the 35 largest agencies, up nearly 41,000 more than the previous year, according to an analysis by The Associated Press of new federal data. But the government responded to nearly 12,400 fewer requests.” (“Promises, Promises: Little Transparency Progress,” The Associated Press, 3/14/11)

The Obama Administration “Refused More Often To Quickly Consider Information Requests About Subjects Described As Urgent Or Especially Newsworthy.” (“Promises, Promises: Little Transparency Progress,” The Associated Press, 3/14/11)

• These Refusals Were More Routine Than In The Past. “Agencies refused more routinely last year to quickly consider information requests deemed especially urgent or newsworthy, agreeing to conduct a speedy review about 1-in-5 times they were asked. The State Department granted only 1 out of 98 such reviews; the Homeland Security Department granted 27 out of 1,476. The previous year the government overall granted more than 1-in-4 such speedy reviews.” (“Promises, Promises: Little Transparency Progress,” The Associated Press, 3/14/11)

Obama Even Censored Emails About His Open Government Directive. “The Obama administration censored 194 pages of internal e-mails about its Open Government Directive that the AP requested more than one year ago. The December 2009 directive requires every agency to take immediate, specific steps to open their operations up to the public. But the White House Office of Management and Budget blacked-out entire pages of some e-mails between federal employees discussing how to apply the new openness rules, and it blacked-out one e-mail discussing how to respond to AP's request for information about the transparency directive.” (“Promises, Promises: Little Transparency Progress,” The Associated Press, 3/14/11)

WHILE AT THE SAME TIME, OBAMA HAS PURSUED A “VERY DESTRUCTIVE AND DAMAGING” CAMPAIGN TO SILENCE GOVERNMENT WHISTLEBLOWERS 

Obama Pursues “An Unexpectedly Aggressive Legal Offense” Against Leaks. “The Obama administration, which famously pledged to be the most transparent in American history, is pursuing an unexpectedly aggressive legal offensive against federal workers who leak secret information to expose wrongdoing, highlight national security threats or pursue a personal agenda.” (Josh Gerstein, “Despite Openness Pledge, President Obama Pursues Leakers,” Politico, 3/7/11)

The Obama Administration Has Filed Criminal Charges In 5 Cases In 2 Years, Versus 3 Cases In The Previous 40 Years. “In just over two years since President Barack Obama took office, prosecutors have filed criminal charges in five separate cases involving unauthorized distribution of classified national security information to the media. And the government is now mulling what would be the most high-profile case of them all - prosecuting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. That’s a sharp break from recent history, when the U.S. government brought such cases on three occasions in roughly 40 years.” (Josh Gerstein, “Despite Openness Pledge, President Obama Pursues Leakers,” Politico, 3/7/11)

Obama’s Prosecutions May Be Having “A Chilling Effect” On Government Whistleblowers. “But legal experts and good-government advocates say the hard-line approach to leaks has a chilling effect on whistleblowers, who fear harsh legal reprisals if they dare to speak up.” (Josh Gerstein, “Despite Openness Pledge, President Obama Pursues Leakers,” Politico, 3/7/11)

Good-Government Activists Say Obama’s Leak Policy Does Not Follow Obama’s Pledges Of Openness And Transparency. “Not only that, these advocates say, it runs counter to Obama’s pledges of openness by making it a crime to shine a light on the inner workings of government – especially when there are measures that could protect the nation’s interests without hauling journalists into court and government officials off to jail.” (Josh Gerstein, “Despite Openness Pledge, President Obama Pursues Leakers,” Politico, 3/7/11)

• It’s Not A Good Sign. “’It is not to me a good sign when government chooses to go after leakers using the full force of criminal law when there are other ways to handle these situations,’ said Jane Kirtley, a University of Minnesota law professor and former executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.” (Josh Gerstein, “Despite Openness Pledge, President Obama Pursues Leakers,” Politico, 3/7/11)

• “Jesselyn Radack, A Former Justice Department Attorney Now With The Government Accountability Project, Said It’s ‘Very Destructive And Damaging To Be Going After People For Leaks That Embarrass The Government.’” (Josh Gerstein, “Despite Openness Pledge, President Obama Pursues Leakers,” Politico, 3/7/11)

“The Campaign Here Against Whistleblowers Is Actually Unprecedented In Legal Terms.” “‘Still, leak prosecutions brought under Obama amount to ‘almost twice as many as all previous presidents put together,’’ noted Daniel Ellsberg, who changed history and helped set a legal precedent when he handed the Pentagon’s top-secret assessment of the Vietnam War to New York Times reporters four decades ago. ‘The campaign here against whistleblowers is actually unprecedented in legal terms.’” (Josh Gerstein, “Despite Openness Pledge, President Obama Pursues Leakers,” Politico, 3/7/11)