Debunking Obama’s Myths: Toughest Transparency Rules

Obama May Claim That His Administration Is Transparent, But The Facts Prove Otherwise

OBAMA CLAIMED THAT HIS ADMINISTRATION HAS THE “TOUGHEST TRANSPARENCY RULES OF ANY ADMINISTRATION IN HISTORY”

Obama: “I won’t stop fighting to open up government.  … [I] can tell you we have put in place the toughest ethics laws and toughest transparency rules of any administration in history. In history.” (Pres. Barack Obama,  Remarks At A Town Hall Meeting, Elyria, OH, 1/22/10)

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney: “This administration has taken extraordinary actions to be transparent.” (Press Briefing By Jay Carney, James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, 2/24/11)

BUT OBAMA’S WHITE HOUSE HAS BEEN ANYTHING BUT TRANSPARENT 

The Visitor Logs Are Full Of “Critical Gaps” 

Obama: “By the way, this is the first administration since the founding of the country where all of you can find out who visits the White House.  First time in history.  And that’s just one example of how we’re trying to constantly open the process.”  (Pres. Barack Obama,  Remarks At A Town Hall Meeting, Elyria, OH, 1/22/10) 

But The White House Logs Are “Missing The Names Of Thousands Of Visitors To The White House, Including Lobbyists,” And Donors. “Similarly, the logs are missing the names of thousands of other visitors to the White House, including lobbyists, government employees, campaign donors, policy experts and friends of the first family, according to an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity.” (Viveca Novak and Fred Schulte, “White House Visitor Logs Leave Out Many,” Politico, 4/13/11)

The Logs “Routinely Omit Or Cloud Key Details” Of The Visitors. “Yet the Center’s analysis shows that the logs routinely omit or cloud key details about the identity of visitors, whom they met with and the nature of their visits.” (Viveca Novak and Fred Schulte, “White House Visitor Logs Leave Out Many,” Politico, 4/13/11) 

“‘If This Is Transparency, Who Needs It?’ Said Steven Aftergood, Director Of The Project On Government Secrecy At The Federation Of American Scientists. He Called The White House Visitor Logs ‘Very Thin Gruel.’” (Viveca Novak and Fred Schulte, “White House Visitor Logs Leave Out Many,” Politico,4/13/11) 

And Don’t Include The Hundreds Of Off-Site Meetings Obama Staffers Have Had With Lobbyists 

White House Officials Have Met “Hundreds Of Times” With Lobbyists At Coffee Shop Across Street From White House. ”Here at the Caribou on Pennsylvania Avenue, and a few other nearby coffee shops, White House officials have met hundreds of times over the last 18 months with prominent K Street lobbyists — members of the same industry that President Obama has derided for what he calls its ‘outsized influence’ in the capital.” (Eric Lichtblau, “Across From White House, Coffee With Lobbyists,” The New York Times, 6/24/10)

• Or To Jackson Place So That They Are Kept “Off The Books” And Hidden From The Public.  “The White House scoffs at the notion of an ulterior motive for scheduling meetings in what are, after all, meeting rooms. But at least four lobbyists who’ve been to the conference rooms just off Lafayette Square tell POLITICO they had the distinct impression they were being shunted off to Jackson Place – and off the books – so their visits wouldn’t later be made public.” (Chris Frates, “Lobbyists: W.H. Hides Meetings Off-Site,” Politico, 2/24/11)

The Meetings Are Being Held Off-Grounds So That The White House Visitor Logs Would Not Be “Released To The Public And Embarrass The President” “Some lobbyists suspected they were being kept outside the gates for political, rather than logistical, reasons. ‘My understanding was they were holding the meeting there because it included several high-level business and trade association lobbyists,’ said a senior business lobbyist who attended the meeting. ‘This was an effort to not have to go through the security protocols at the White House which could lead to the visitor logs at some point being released to the public and embarrass the president.’” (Chris Frates, “Lobbyists: W.H. Hides Meetings Off-Site,” Politico, 2/24/11)

Meetings “Reveal A Disconnect Between The Obama Administration’s Public Rhetoric … And The Administration’s Continuing, Private Dealings With Them.” ”But because the discussions are not taking place at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, they are not subject to disclosure on the visitors’ log that the White House releases as part of its pledge to be the ‘most transparent presidential administration in history.’ The off-site meetings, lobbyists say, reveal a disconnect between the Obama administration’s public rhetoric — with Mr. Obama himself frequently thrashing big industries’ ‘battalions’ of lobbyists as enemies of reform — and the administration’s continuing, private dealings with them.” (Eric Lichtblau, “Across From White House, Coffee With Lobbyists,” The New York Times, 6/24/10) 

Obama’s Administration Falls Short On Answering FOIA Requests

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 “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) 

After Putting FOIA Requests Through A “Meddling” Political Vetting Process 

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)

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)

AND HAVE LED TO A SERIES OF AWKWARD MOMENTS FOR THE WHITE HOUSE 

The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart: “When you were running for the White House you wanted to look at what the White House was hiding. Now you live in the White House and you want everyone to stop being so f***ing nosy.” (Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” 4/4/11)

• Stewart: “When you don’t live in the White House sunlight is the best disinfectant. When you live in the White House, disinfectant stings.” (Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” 4/4/11) 

Obama Censored Information About His Administration’s Efforts To Be Transparent 

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

Obama Even Accepted An Award For Transparency… In Secret

“President Obama Finally And Quietly Accepted His ‘Transparency’ Award From The Open Government Community This Week — In A Closed, Undisclosed Meeting At The White House On Monday.” (Abby Phillip, “Shh! Obama Wins Anti-Secrecy Award,” Politico, 3/30/11)

Obama Was Supposed To Accept The Award In Front Of The Press Pool 2 Weeks Earlier, But The Actual Acceptance Ceremony Wasn’t Disclosed On The Public Schedule And No Reporters Were Present. “The secret presentation happened almost two weeks after the White House inexplicably postponed the ceremony, which was expected to be open to the press pool. This time, Obama met quietly in the Oval Office with Gary Bass of OMB Watch, Tom Blanton of the National Security Archive, Danielle Brian of the Project on Government Oversight, Lucy Dalglish of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and Patrice McDermott of OpenTheGovernment.org, without disclosing the meeting on his public schedule or letting photographers or print reporters into the room.” (Abby Phillip, “Shh! Obama Wins Anti-Secrecy Award,” Politico, 3/30/11)