The Patriot Post® · Administration Sets New Record Censoring FOIAs

Earlier this week, the White House made it official U.S. policy to exempt the Office of Administration from FOIA requests. During Tuesday’s press briefing, Obama spokesman Josh Earnest rejected critics by insisting the decision doesn’t tarnish the administration’s claim of representing the most open governing body ever known to mankind. The procedural change, he explained, “has no bearing on the Office of Administration and the role that they do play in ensuring that the administration is the Most Transparent Administration in History™.” Then how do they explain this? The AP reports, “The Obama administration set a new record again for more often than ever censoring government files or outright denying access to them last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, according to a new analysis of federal data by The Associated Press. The government took longer to turn over files when it provided any, said more regularly that it couldn’t find documents, and refused a record number of times to turn over files quickly that might be especially newsworthy. It also acknowledged in nearly 1 in 3 cases that its initial decisions to withhold or censor records were improper under the law – but only when it was challenged.” Substitute “transparent” for “opaque” and Earnest would be right. And just imagine what a Hillary Clinton presidency would look like. More…