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Today's Must Read
We've noted before this administration's extraordinary talent for secrecy. A growing number of agency reports, fact sheets, databases, and records have been re-classified, discontinued, or simply withheld.
And it seems that sometimes the administration surprises even itself. On the White House website, a trip to the Freedom of Information Act page about the Executive Office of the President gives you a list of the agencies subject to FOIA:
Right there, you can see that the Office of Administration is listed as an agency subject to FOIA. But apparently that's because the administration never gave it much thought.
In a motion filed yesterday, Justice Department lawyers argued that the Office of Administration is not subject to FOIA. Their reasoning: the office is not an "agency," by the definition of FOIA.
The motion was triggered by a suit from the D.C. watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, seeking documents relating to the disappearance of at least 5 million missing White House emails between 2003 and 2005. The White House has suggested that the problem stemmed from a move from Lotus Notes to Microsoft Outlook.
But the Office of Administration's non-agency status hasn't stopped the office from processing plenty of FOIA requests up until now -- as many as 65 last year alone, the AP reports.
The Department lawyers admit as much in their motion, but say that doesn't matter. "To be sure," they write, "OA currently has regulations implementing FOIA and has not taken the position in prior litigation that it is not subject to FOIA." But every day is a new (secret) day in the Bush White House.
Comments (25)
gchaucer2 wrote on August 22, 2007 9:56 AM:Interesting since the Office of Administration has complied with the FOIA and produced regulations which can be found at 5 CFR 2502. The DOJ cannot unilaterally alter a regulation. There must be notice and comment.
C92 wrote on August 22, 2007 10:01 AM:I hate to carry the water for these guys, but it's also important to note that the Executive Office of the President/EOP (of which OA is a component) was established by Executive Order during the Carter Administration.
Nowhere does the EOP appear talked about as an "Agency" or anwhere in the Constitution, strictly speaking.
It stinks, stinks, stinks that the Bush Administration would make such a radical departure from past practice. But it may very well be technically legal. Kinda like the VP not being an "agency" by definition.
Legalize wrote on August 22, 2007 10:01 AM:For the trolls and/or wingers reading this site:
When President Clinton invokes this position as a means of keeping otherwise public documents secret, what will your position be?
gcs wrote on August 22, 2007 10:03 AM:Why in the hell should anyone be surprised by this?
There is no precedent, no law, no agreement, no function of government that this piss-ant spoiled little shit pretender president will not simply overrule by imperial whim.
Dear God, if the Founders didn't have this drunken moronic frat rat in mind when they wrote the Articles of Impeachment, then they have no meaning and we need to stop pretending we even have a representative government. Today.
Fred M. wrote on August 22, 2007 10:05 AM:When will the American people wake up?
George W. Bush and the 14 Points of Fascism
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm
1.) Powerful and Continuing Nationalism: Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2.) Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights: Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3.) Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause: The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4.) Supremacy of the Military: Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5.) Rampant Sexism: The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.
6.) Controlled Mass Media: Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7.) Obsession with National Security: Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses
8.) Religion and Government are Intertwined: Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9.) Corporate Power is Protected: The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10.) Labor Power is Suppressed: Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed
11.) Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts: Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
12.) Obsession with Crime and Punishment: Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13.) Rampant Cronyism and Corruption: Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections: Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
C92 wrote on August 22, 2007 10:10 AM:@Legalize
Let's step this up a notch.
Why is President Bush preventing the National Archives from releasing records about Hillary Clinton's time in the White House?
Given the reach of the Executive Order that Bush signed barring release of Presidential records, this is EXACTLY what he's doing.
Punchy wrote on August 22, 2007 10:11 AM:"The DOJ cannot unilaterally alter a regulation. There must be notice and comment."
I just fell out of my chair laughing at this. As if "cannot" even matters anymore.
Sam's Uncle wrote on August 22, 2007 10:14 AM:No chance they went that long without backing up data either. It's such a transparent, flimsy excuse, a move from Exchange to Notes/Domino would most certainly involve backups/archiving of all data, especially for the EOP!!! They may just have well said that a swarm of locusts or frogs marched out of the White House with the servers, it would've been just as believable.
Scott L wrote on August 22, 2007 10:32 AM:And the Banana Republic becomes stronger and stronger. Heil Bush!!!!
matt Longmire wrote on August 22, 2007 10:39 AM:My head hurts...
Somebody please give me the strength to deal with this administration/congress, mentally. I used to love politics and government interplay when there were rules and consequences... at least then you could say "GOTCHA" when someone F'd-up.
This game sucks, now-- God-damned dirty Facists!
Martin wrote on August 22, 2007 10:43 AM:Ouch....America is truly in trouble.
Seriously why are Americans tolerating this abuse of power. You invade a sovereign country, albeit Saddam was not a "nice guy" - but what America did, they did for revenge and money and concealed it in known lies about weapons of mass destruction.
The greatest country in the world - for whom? The population, or the regime?
burro wrote on August 22, 2007 10:44 AM:I just fell out of my chair laughing at this. As if "cannot" even matters anymore.
Posted by: Punchy
Succinct. Accurate.
Code-Clean. Like hell.
fastfeat wrote on August 22, 2007 11:01 AM:Is Generalissimo Francisco Franco still dead? Are we sure?
lysias wrote on August 22, 2007 11:02 AM:Changing a reg requires, besides notice and comment, an articulated reasoned basis for the change that is sufficient for a court to buy. The courts have struck down such changes when they didn't buy the agency's rationale, and they have certainly struck them down when the agency didn't even bother to articulate a reason.
joseph loiacano wrote on August 22, 2007 11:10 AM:dog democrats need exposure
joseph loiacano wrote on August 22, 2007 11:10 AM:dog democrats need exposure
TheraP wrote on August 22, 2007 11:15 AM:fastfeat:
We walked on his grave. I mean literally. Course, I can't vouch that he's in it. But I believe so.
As for bush being fascist, the signs are all there. That's what's so worrisome here.
biggerbox wrote on August 22, 2007 11:34 AM:Legal opinions from the Bushistas are not intended to hold water, they are meant to provide a pretext for doing what they want, during the long, drawn-out process of getting a ruling that says they are bogus.
Didn't they try a similar "not an agency" scam in the Vice-Presidential fourth branch flap? Despite the fact that the legislation itself defined 'agency' in its own text to include the VP?
I think, before anyone takes their word for it, review of the actual text is in order. Agency, shmagency, what does the text say? Perhaps "any other entity"?
pajarito wrote on August 22, 2007 11:40 AM:"OMG--if the rabble ever find out what we've been up to, they will hang us from the WH gate."
"Dick--where is my imperial guard? Can you take care of this? I hear the stripers are running up in Maine."
Anonymous wrote on August 22, 2007 11:59 AM:It'll be interesting to follow these attorneys of Bush after he is out of office. It's difficult enough to follow and parry their moves here. Just think how much havoc they will be raising when they are dispursed throughout the country chasing ambulances....
Of course, the rest of us have at least one little consolation... they, too, will be tossed aside as our new regime refines itself.
Xman wrote on August 22, 2007 12:28 PM:"For the good of America"
"For national security reasons"
"To prevent a miscarriage of justice"
"Because I'm the decider"
It's best to keep these things hidden until we are all long dead and it doesn't matter...and besides, Karl is leaving to make sure that history gets written the way we want anyway.
moondancer wrote on August 22, 2007 1:25 PM:The average American just can't grasp the need to do things in a new way. We are fighting a new enemy and the enemy is both within and without. We must fight fire with fire in order to preserve the ability to do things the way we think is best.
The constitution is just a quaint scrap of gd paper anyway.
I think Karl is going to have a tough time bending history to his will Xman. With no substantiation to his spin, it will remain just that, bullshit.
outrageoftheday wrote on August 22, 2007 1:36 PM:Besides, he's far from out of the woods legally anyway. I suspect he'll be tarred further if not convicted before the run of all this. Then he gets to be like the rest of the criminals of the nixon party, names that come up now and then then fade back into the oblivion of disgrace.
No chance they went that long without backing up data either. It's such a transparent, flimsy excuse, a move from Exchange to Notes/Domino would most certainly involve backups/archiving of all data, especially for the EOP!!!
Posted by: Sam's Uncle
Not only is it unbelievable, but any IT professional who managed to 'lose' 5 million emails, and thereby break the Presidential Records law, would be frogged marched out of the White House by any honest government. So, has anybody written the White House and asked for this incompetent's name and the disposition of his employment? I really, really want an answer to that. That idiot was/is a government employee and I have a right to know.
Oh, wait...he's waiting for his Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Xman wrote on August 22, 2007 3:19 PM:MoonDancer,
Hope you are correct, but if I was a crooked bastard I'd be out speaking to groups all over the country marshalling the faithful, justifying actions, raising money and preparing a warm welcome for Bush when he ends his reign and does the same. Rally the faithful, justify his actions and raise money. They have not given up on their New World Order. This is just a temporary setback. A time to re-group and get a second wind.
Unfortunately, I see scant evidence that the Dems are going to ride the scattering Bushies to the ground and exile their supporters to Siberia.
code word: Warm. As in a warm place in history for crooks.
procrastinat* wrote on August 22, 2007 8:12 PM:code word: goat
as in, my pet goat.