Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Obama Administration More Secretive Than The Bush Administration Was

For all Obama's promises of openness, and all the fears over the secrecy of the Bush administration, it terms out the Obama administration was much more secretive his first year then Bush was during his last year. By the numbers, about 50% more secretive.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hI24fNqhDbP2mY1wZyUBRJRa_UqAD9EFJ3F80 (via)

"The government's use of legal exemptions to keep records secret rose during President Barack Obama's first year in office, despite promises of increased openness, an Associated Press review found.

The review of annual Freedom of Information Act reports filed by 17 major agencies found that overall, the use of nearly every one of the open-records law's nine exemptions to withhold information rose in fiscal year 2009, which ended last October.

Among the most frequently used exemptions: one that lets the government hold back records that detail its internal decision-making. Obama had directed agencies to stop using that exemption so frequently, but that directive appears to have been widely ignored.

Major agencies cited that exemption to refuse records at least 70,779 times during the 2009 budget year, compared with 47,395 times during President George W. Bush's final full budget year, according to annual FOIA reports filed by federal agencies. Obama was president for nine months in the 2009 period.
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