Freedom of Information

There are few things more important to self-government than the free flow of information. We citizens absolutely must have access to the records on the actions of our public servants. This is the very essence of the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act.)

Barack Obama promised to be the "most transparent... in history". Unfortunately, he has fallen short of his promise according to a new report from  Cause of Action, and reported at the Washington Examiner. The report describes the Obama administration's "Greg memo", which instructs federal agencies to route all FOIA requests involving "White House equities" to the White House for review.

The FOIA is intended to provide independent, reliable public access to public records. This is particularly important to journalists. The Obama administration, by requiring pre-review, in essence re-writes the law, by telling the agencies to disregard the FOIA, and its clear requirements and deadlines.

This is yet another case where the Obama administration is stepping over the line, exercising power it does not have. This is a precedent that may or may not be abused by this president, but is certain to be abused by future presidents.

I expect presidents to "push the envelope". I do not expect the people to cheerlead when they do. This is a serious abuse, and I hope our representatives in Congress will respond appropriately.