Posted on 08/18/2014 11:54:02 AM PDT by jazusamo
A watchdog group on Monday sued the U.S. government, accusing the Obama White House of interfering in and thwarting the release of public documents under the Freedom of Information Act.
The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the group Cause of Action (CoA) names 12 federal agencies that delayed the release of documents so officials could consult with White House under a new process established in spring 2009.
The process, which gave White House officials review authority over documents that federal agencies wanted to release that mentioned the White House or presidential aides, was based on a previously secret April 15, 2009 memo by then-White House Counsel Gregory Craig that instructed all federal agencies to consult with Mr. Obama's lawyers on the release of documents containing "White House equities."
The lawsuit challenges that process, and says the term "White House equities" was never mentioned in the FOIA law and has been used to delay the legitimate release of public information.
"The White House is demanding access to records and otherwise influencing agencies' FOIA obligations to produce responsive documents in a manner that is not countenanced by the law," CoA argued in its lawsuit. "Indeed, the 'most transparent administration in history' has injected itself into a process (FOIA) presumably to self-regulate what agency records are produced to the public."
The suit references a June 30 story in The Washington Times that reported on the impact of the "White House equities" memo and quoted FOIA officers at federal agencies as saying the new review process had been used to keep information embarrassing to the Obama administration from being released.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
We all knew that when , during an examination of "Fast and Furious"
Eric Holder wanted Obama to use " EXECUTIVE PRIVILEDGE". Why ?
I think we already know the answer ... !
Exactly...0bama’s administration is beyond corrupt, it’s a criminal enterprise.
When there’s no one to hold you accountable, you can do anything you want.
Why do you think he needs all those czars?
We don’t even know how much is really being spent on the immigrant invaders or how many will be in public schools.... some transparency
The EPA director who had a special email address to avoid FOIA requests and some of Lois L's email revelations/deletes make it clear that folks are doing a end run.
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