Mar 22 2009
Attorney General Holder rescinds Ashcroft’s strict FOIA guidelines
In a positive step toward more open and accountable government, Attorney General Eric Holder issued new Freedom of Information Act guidelines for federal agencies and departments. The new guidelines advocate “a presumption of disclosure” and implement the Presidential Memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act, which President Obama signed his first day if office.
In a statement, Holder declared:
By restoring the presumption of disclosure that is at the heart of the Freedom of Information Act, we are making a critical change that will restore the public’s ability to access information in a timely manner. The American people have the right to information about their government’s activities, and these new guidelines will ensure they are able to obtain that information under principles of openness and transparency.
In stark contrast, an October 12, 2001 memo by then Attorney General John Ashcroft informed federal departments:
Any discretionary decision by your agency to disclose information protected under the FOIA should be made only after full and deliberate consideration of the institutional, commercial, and personal privacy interests that could be implicated by disclosure of the information…
Under these rules, secrecy reigned supreme. Ashcroft said he would use the Justice Department to defend any denial of a FOIA request if it could be legally justified. Holder’s new guidelines say an agency “should not withhold records merely because it can demonstrate, as a technical matter, that the records fall within the scope of a FOIA exemption.”
An open government is an accountable and responsible government. The new FOIA guidelines are a great step in that direction.
Sources: USA Today - Holder rescinds Ashcroft-era FOIA guidelines
March 19, 2009
Ars Technica - New FOIA rules official - let the data flood begin March 20, 2009
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Hopefully the FIOA requests will allow the people to move the Just-is Department to prosecute the war crimes and crimes against humanity that were perpetrated by the Bush administration, because it doesn’t appear that Mr. Obama or Mr. Holder have any intention of doing so in the absence of public pressure.
each piece of additional information revealed is one step closer. a number of FOIA requests from the ACLU were pending the new guidelines - hopefully these will now be fulfilled and show us the full extent of despicable acts perpetrated in our names.