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White House Website Catches up with White House Secrecy
We noted two weeks ago that the Bush administration had refused a Freedom of Information Act request for records concerning the loss of millions of White House emails. Justice Department lawyers argued that the office which maintained that information, the Office of Administration, was not subject to FOIA.
But sometimes the administration surprises even itself with its capacity for secrecy. And so it was here, since the White House website clearly stated that the Office of Administration was subject to FOIA. And the office had been busily fulfilling FOIA requests for years, even employing a FOIA officer (the Department lawyers explained in their filing that this wasn't a problem). Here's the website as it was last month:
No more. Finally, the website has caught up, as Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the D.C. watchdog that filed the FOIA request notes. Now it's:
Problem solved!
Comments (15)
Anonymous wrote on September 4, 2007 12:27 PM:If OA is an office that exists "solely to advise the President... yadda yadda" then why does it have government career employees?
KestrelBrighteyes wrote on September 4, 2007 12:36 PM:"And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'"
"Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date. In this way every prediction made by the Party could be shown by documentary evidence to have been correct; nor was any item of news, or any expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the moment, ever allowed to remain on record. All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary."
~ George Orwell, "1984"
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mo2 wrote on September 4, 2007 12:46 PM:Click on the Office of Administration link and the next page shows says
"The OA's Regulations concerning FOIA are currently being updated."
Anonymous wrote on September 4, 2007 1:18 PM:"~ George Orwell, "1984""
George Bush's TRUE bible... the other one is just for decoration...
I've read that only 50% of American adults ever watch or read the news. I've also seen studies that show only about 42% of our qualified voters ever vote. I have a sneaking suspician these two groups do not contain the same people...
If you don't believe me, just look who our current president is...
V. Populi wrote on September 4, 2007 1:35 PM:I was wondering when the WH was going to catch up with this. We should put together a video of all the great Bush & WH contradictions for which they've been caught in the act...John Kerry should narrate and he should be holding a pair of flip flops and a waffle iron.
mission accomplished
WMD
"The AG can still be effective in his position and his testimony has only increased our confidence in him."
"that's why we're regretfully accepting his resignation."
"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him."
- G.W. Bush, 9/13/01
"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."
- G.W. Bush, 3/13/02
and on and on and on.
This FOIA O of A stuff is only the latest example of hypocrisy in a long pattern of it.
Only two more weeks till AG leaves the DoJ!!
jonathan wrote on September 4, 2007 1:35 PM:September 1:
Oceania is at war with Eurasia.
Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia.
Oceania is allied with Eastasia.
September 2:
Oceania is at war with Eastasia.
Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.
Oceania is allied with Eurasia.
remember, thoughtcrime prevention begins at home.
mo2 wrote on September 4, 2007 3:01 PM:@mo2
Bill Evenson wrote on September 4, 2007 4:04 PM:Thanks for finding that tidbit about updating FOIA regs. Unfortunately for them, revision of regulations is very public. They have to submit them, the Federal Register publishes a notice, then the proposed regs, then allows for a comment period. I'll have to peruse that section of the Federal Register now.
It would be ironic, if there were actually such a thing as irony any more.
ahem wrote on September 4, 2007 4:13 PM:Isn't the White House web site subject to the archiving requirements of the Presidential Records Act? Anyone fancy filing a FOIA request to cover revisions to that page?
kevo wrote on September 4, 2007 4:16 PM:One word for those occupying the WH at this moment in our history - COWARDS! -Kevo
MikeC wrote on September 4, 2007 4:20 PM:I wonder if Carol Ehrlich (OA FOIA Officer) and Keith L. Roberts (Chief OA FOIA Officer) still have jobs at the OA, and if so, what are they doing.
Rooben wrote on September 4, 2007 5:25 PM:http://www.whitehouse.gov/oa/foia/foia_improvement_plan2006.html
Fixed!
"OA does not concede that it is Federal agency for purposes of the FOIA. OA has processed FOIA requests as a matter of administrative discretion."
So, previously, they were processing FOIA requests, not because they HAD to, but because they were being NICE! Ohhhhhh I get it now!!!
Adam C wrote on September 4, 2007 10:30 PM:"I wonder if Carol Ehrlich (OA FOIA Officer) and Keith L. Roberts (Chief OA FOIA Officer) still have jobs at the OA, and if so, what are they doing."
That's easy to find out; we just have to file a FOIA request and--
Oh, wait.
Anonymous wrote on September 4, 2007 11:02 PM:They're both civil servants - so they are answerable to the people:
carol_ehrlich@oa.eop.gov
keith_l._roberts@oa.eop.gov
Keep in mind that both are career employees, and are likely acting (or not acting) on the order of their political bosses.
The whole purpose of having a career staff at the White House was to avoid political influences that could bubble into the mundane administrative matters of running the head office of the Executive. I guess no one ever expected the career staff to be forcably co-opted by the political appointees.
Slippery Slope wrote on September 5, 2007 9:53 AM:Isn't the White House web site subject to the archiving requirements of the Presidential Records Act? Anyone fancy filing a FOIA request to cover revisions to that page?
Posted by: ahem
Date: September 4, 2007 4:13 PM
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That cannot be allowed. After all, any public record of what this administration has done is strictly private.
Executive Privilege, don't ya know.
Now on to Act III.