Some Government reform groups are claiming President Obama has fallen short on many of his promises to make the White House more transparent.
During his 2008 presidential campaign, Obama promised to create a searchable public database for campaign finance filings,ethics records and lobbying reports. The promise was part of the Obama-Biden ethics plan to lessen the degree of influence special-interest groups have on his administration.
Telegraph | Mr Obama’s justice department has proposed that if documents requested by the public are exempt from freedom of information laws, federal agencies should be able to “respond to the request as if the excluded records did not exist.”
Transparency campaigners described the move as a “stunning” reversal of Mr Obama’s pledge to run “the most transparent administration in history” during his campaign for the presidency.
In a joint statement, the American Civil Liberties Union, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and OpenTheGovernment.org said the plan threatens to “destroy integrity in government”.
“It is very problematic,” said Patrice McDermott, the director of OpenTheGovernment.org. “There are options open to them other than this nuclear option of lying to requesters”.
The plan is the latest in a string of controversial moves by Mr Obama, who earlier this year even insisted on collecting an award for his commitment to transparency behind closed doors at the White House..Read More
