White House Comments on its Open Government Initiative

Over on the White House blog, Beth Noveck, Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Open Government, writes that the administration is officially ending the “brainstorming” portion of its Open Government Dialogue process tonight at midnight. Noveck states that the administration will begin reviewing the submissions for preparation of the “discussion” phase which begins on June 3rd.  The brainstorming phase, however, was incredibly short and wrought with problems which I will outline below.  I only hope that the administration’s subsequent steps in the process represent dramatic improvements.

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BREAKING: Administration Creates Interagency Review Teams for Overclassification and CUI

Today, the Obama administration released a memo requiring reviews of overclassification and the current Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)/ Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) process.  The memo does not dictate any new procedures on how agencies must handle such designated material.  However, it does establish an interagency 90-day review process to advise the administration on actions it should take to advance on previous efforts to reform these problems.

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Obama Administration Views Torture Transparency Inconsistently

On May 21, President Obama gave a speech defending his administration’s controversial positions on national security and transparency.  Despite his campaign promise to bring change and accountability along with greater transparency, some open government advocates have been worried that his actions have not lived up to the hype.

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BREAKING: Lieberman Looks to Make Detainee Photos Indefinitely Secret

Sen. Lieberman (I-CT) has submitted an amendment to the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009 which would withhold any “photograph relating to the treatment of individuals engaged, captured, or detained after September 11, 2001, by the Armed Forces of the United States” if the Secretary of Defense certifies that the release of the photos could endanger citizens or the armed forces.   This incredibly broad statement could cover photos of all detainees captured in any future actions taken by the U.S. military.  If passed, these government records which belong to the people would no longer be available under FOIA.

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Obama Administration Flip-Flops on Torture Photos

President Obama has reversed his position on releasing photos of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan being abused while in US custody – now arguing that they could stoke anti-American sentiment and endanger U.S. troops.  It seems, however, that greater anti-American sentiment is provoked by conducting such abuses and then hiding the evidence.

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Help Reform the State Secrets Privilege

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has launched its campaign to ramp up support for the State Secrets Protection Act of 2009 (S. 417).   Although a recent appellate court decision has thrown the executive branch’s broad interpretation of power into question, legislation is still needed to codify restrictions to presidential authority.  Please act now to make your voice heard on this important issue.

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BREAKING: Open Government Directive to be Open for Public Comment Next Week

Next week, Aneesh Chopra, who has been appointed though not yet confirmed as Chief Technology Officer, will issue long-awaited recommendations for the Open Government Directive.  Sources indicate that the recommendations will be open to public comment through unspecified new media conduits.  While a nice gesture, I worry that the vague and apparently last minute plans for gathering public input will fall short of the more collaborative and participatory process that the administration has been promising.

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Courts Give up Hope on Executive Branch State Secrets Claims

In a blow to a key position held by the Bush and Obama administrations on executive branch power, an appeals court has ruled against the administrations on a major state secrets case.  On April 28, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Boeing subsidiary Jeppeson DataPlan, which participated in flying suspected terrorists to foreign countries to be tortured as part of the CIA “extraordinary rendition” program, can be sued.

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DOJ Gives FOIA Memo a Little More Bite

On April 17, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) at the Justice Department (DOJ) issued new guidance that expands upon the March 2009 FOIA memo by Eric Holder.  The OIP assessed the impact of Holder’s new guidelines as “a sea change in the way transparency is viewed across the government” and that implementation would require agencies to “review all aspects of their approach to transparency.”  The OIP further defined some of the accountability statements of the memo.

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NSA Leaks Info to Embarrass Elected Congresswoman

In a brazen and sophomoric act, the National Security Agency (NSA) spied and then released information on Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), a member of the House Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk, in what can only be an effort to discredit her. 

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