The Associated Press recently discovered that a package sent between two reporters last September was illegally confiscated by the Customs Service and FBI, claiming it contained “sensitive” information. The document which prompted concern was an unclassified 1995 FBI lab report that has been made public in two open court cases. No warrant was obtained for the seizure and AP was never notified. This incident is alarming because the entire process of how and why the package was seized has been kept secret.

Five Michigan counties have been forced to file requests under the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in order to obtain documents which the State Police are keeping secret. The efforts, led by Oakland County, aim to obtain state antiterrorism plans in order to strengthen their own emergency readiness plans. A number of requests for the information have been filed over the past year but have gone unfulfilled, prompting the counties to file under FOIA. While FOIA requests are usually filed by the public to gain access to government information, government can also utilize the laws.

Two useful resources from journalists' document efforts to close the doors of government as the public continues to worry about the safety of our communities.

The Bush administration has been screening nominees for federal scientific advisory committees based on their political views rather than their scientific qualifications. Inevitably, as the list below documents, this has meant tilting committees -- whose findings frequently form the basis for regulation -- in favor of corporate interests and conservative ideologues. If you know of any examples we are missing, please e-mail our Regulatory Policy staff CDC Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning