President Barack Obama took a long step forward last week to fulfill a promise of greater transparency in government by mandating a 180-degree change in the handling of Freedom of Information requests. Attorney General Eric Holder directed all agencies to act on the presumption that documents should be released, rather than finding a pretext to keep the information secret. “In the face of doubt, openness prevails,” he said.
This reverses the policy put in place by former Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2001, which treated requests for information as hostile attempts to obtain public records. Holder’s order basically restores the standard set by former Attorney General Janet Reno in 1993. It says each agency will also be responsible for responding in a “timely manner.”
This does not mean everything the government knows is now public information. Exceptions will be made if any agency “reasonably foresees that the disclosure would harm an interest” protected by one of the exemptions to release or if it is prohibited by law.
Still, it puts the onus on bureaucrats to show why they can’t comply. Given that the Freedom of Information Act is the chief tool used by researchers, academics, journalists and other interested citizens to fight needless government secrecy, the decision is timely and welcome.
Obama does not have a perfect record on the issue of secrecy. Last month, his Justice Department endorsed the “state secrets” argument used by the previous administration to argue for dismissal of a case without any evidence being presented. The case involves five men who were seized and transported to American facilities abroad or countries known for torturing prisoners.
There’s a better way to handle such cases — allow judges to examine evidence in private. Obama should support legislation that aims to do away with the “state secrets” privilege. Then he can throw his support behind a federal shield law to protect reporters from overzealous prosecutors who want to deny their right to confidential sources and information. Only then can he boast of strong First Amendment credentials.
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