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Sunshine Week press release: “Two national polls conducted on the eve of the second national Sunshine Week open government initiative, March 12-18, show a public that equates open government with effective democracy and is concerned about the rise in official secrecy at the national, state and local levels.” Scripps Survey Research Center poll Washington State …
“Press release: The oldest Freedom of Information requests still pending in the U.S. government date back to 1989, before the fall of the Berlin Wall, according to the Freedom of Information Audit released [March 12] by the National Security Archive at the George Washington University.”
Research on the Case Management/Electronic Case File system (PACER), conducted by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), documented 469 missing criminal cases and 65 missing civil cases over the five-year period of Jan. 1, 2001 to Dec. 31, 2005. Also from the RCFP: This related editorial, In search of the secret docket …
Press release: CIA Wins 2006 “Rosemary Award” for Worst Freedom of Information Performance by a Federal Agency “The Central Intelligence Agency has won the second annual Rosemary Award, recognizing the worst performance by a federal agency in complying with the Freedom of Information Act. The Award is named after President Nixon’s secretary Rosemary Woods and …
Press release: “In New York on March 9, 2006, attorneys with the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed a significant motion for summary judgment in the challenge to the legality of the NSA Domestic Spying Program (CCR v. Bush), asserting that the Bush Administration has already admitted enough incriminating facts to prove the NSA Program …
USNews.com: Finding out what Uncle Sam has on you: “The U.S. Freedom of Information Act is approaching its 40th birthday. Given that March 12 begins national Sunshine Weekan effort to cast light onto the growing recesses of government secrecyU.S. News is providing links so its readers can file requests for federal records under the FOIA …
Declan McCullagh reported that NORAD orders Web deletion of transcript: “In an unusual follow-up to a public event, the Defense Department has ordered that a transcript of an open hearing on aviation restrictions be yanked from the Web.” North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) See also Current Administration Classifying Documents at Unprecedented Rate and the …
As posted on the Memory Hole: “After a certain number of years, the CIA, like many other agencies, turns over its films and other documents to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The lengthy list of CIA films at the Archives has never been publicly released, but researcher Michael Ravnitzky requested and received a …
National Journal: Defense Attorney, March 3, 2006. “To his backers, Gonzales is a quiet, hardworking attorney general notable for his open management style and his commitment to the administration of justice and to the war on terrorism. To his critics, Gonzales is a Bush yes-man who never really left the White House and who continues …
Washington Post via MSNBC, White House trains efforts on media leaks – Bush administration targets sources, reporters under espionage laws
NARA press release: “Archivist of the United States Announces New Steps in Response to Withdrawal of Declassified Records from Open Shelves at the National Archives” Related documents, news and postings: Public Interest Declassification Act of 2000 Public Interest Declassification Board Holds First Meeting: Document Withdrawal from the National Archives a Serious Concern, 2/28/2006. New York …
From People for the American Way, this new website, Make a FOIA Request: “Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), anyone has the right to request information from the government. Last strengthened by Congress in response to the Watergate scandal, FOIA gives citizens a way to demand transparency from the Administration — and take the …
