Posted on 05/04/2011 12:21:58 PM PDT by RobinMasters
Barack Obama has finally decided against releasing a photo of Osama bin Laden's corpse as proof of his death. But the former chief freedom of information expert for the U.S. government tells Gawker that he may not have that choice.
Up until a few moments ago, when CBS News reported Obama's decision, the Administration had issued mixed signals on whether it intended to release graphic evidence of Osama's demise. CIA director Leon Panetta stated that he expected a photo would eventually be released, while Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton were reportedly opposed. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said yesterday that "there are sensitivities here in terms of the appropriateness of releasing photographs of Osama bin Laden in the aftermath of this firefight."
But all the agonizing may have been for naught. According to Daniel Metcalfe, the former chief of the Department of Justice's Office of Information and Privacy—a post that effectively made him the government's top expert in the Freedom of Information Act—the odds are better than even that a FOIA lawsuit seeking the photo's release would succeed.
"If someone brought a FOIA complaint seeking the photo, and the government had improperly classified it, I think the government would lose," Metcalfe, who supervised the defense of more than 500 FOIA and Privacy Act lawsuits for the U.S., told Gawker. He is now the executive director of the Collaboration on Government Secrecy at American University's Washington College of Law.
(Excerpt) Read more at gawker.com ...
we don’t wanna offend anyone by these showing pics unless they are photos from Abu Ghraib
Reminds me of the advice John Connally gave Richard Nixon:
“Just burn the damm tapes”
Nixon of course didn’t listen.
FOIA has privacy and National Security exemptions, and I’m pretty sure that a FOIA request would be refused on the basis of National Security, since Obama’s claim is that releasing the photo(s) would endanger our troops (and civilians working) overseas because of a Muslim backlash and Al Qaeda retaliation.
If anyone requests FOIA...
Nah, the media is too in love with him to do that.
No Photos, no bounce.
Once he realizes this, look for the DNC to offer coffee mugs and mouse pads with the images on them.
Mr. Donald Trump, please pick up the red courtesy phone.
Methinks “would cause a general irritation among those who already hate us” would hardly stand in court.
Fact is the WH was on the verge of releasing them, so any “national security” claims would be very weak.
Failing to release means many who believed the story are now starting to doubt.
Obama wants to be forced to show the pictures. He isn’t not releasing the pics for the sake of the troops, mind you, he is doing it because he is worried for his own behind.
If he worried about troops he would have not wanted to release 2000 pics from the Iraqui prison while Bush was in office.
Remember when the Dems fought to get photos of our troops in coffins?
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