Quotes of the Month
June 2008
"The Bush administration lacked real accountability in large part because Bush himself did not embrace openness or government in the sunshine." Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception.
July 2008
"The Justice report also gives credit in some places where it isn't due. In citing specific agencies for 'improvements in the area of backlog reduction' it named Agriculture, Education, and Labor. Whatever gains they made, it wasn't in actually reducing their percentage backlog. Indeed, Education and Labor showed both a numerical and percentage gain." Retiring Coalition of Journalists for Open Government Coordinator Pete Weitzel, analyzing the Attorney General's Report to the President Pursuant to Executive Order 13,392 (May 30, 2008) in the in-depth assessment of actual agency executive order performance entitled, "An Opportunity Lost" (July 3, 2008).
August 2008
"We're independent, uh, we're transparent . . . we're transparent [in that] we transparently provide to the Congress and others the basis of our findings and we do that to the extent possible." Department of Justice Inspector General Glenn A. Fine, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the subject of politicization of Justice Department career hiring during 2002-2006, July 30, 2008.
September 2008
"Corruption thrives in secrecy." Philippine journalist Juan L. Mercado, Philippine Daily Inquirer, September 15, 2008.
October 2008
"Transparency and secrecy are but two sides of the same coin. And speaking of which ..."
Anonymous (October 2008)
November 2008
"We may never learn the full extent of the vandalism conducted in the dark by Bush Inc., but in two months, this national disgrace will collapse into the history books. And now, suddenly, overnight, there are expectations." Journalist Billy Cox, Sarasota Herald Tribune, in "The Fierce Urgency of FOIA," November 5, 2008.
December 2008
"Obama will require Cabinet officials to have periodic 21st Century Fireside Chats, restore meaning to the Freedom of Information Act, and conduct regulatory agency business in public." The Change We Need in America, www.barackobama.com (September 2008).
January 2009
"For a long time now, there's been too much secrecy in this city. . . . Let me say it as simply as I can: Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency." President Barack H. Obama, speaking of his new transparency and Freedom of Information Act directives at their signing ceremony (Jan. 21, 2009).
"And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account, to . . . do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government." President Barack H. Obama's Inaugural Address (Jan. 20, 2009).
"Transparency -- President Obama has committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history . . ." The Briefing Room: The White House Blog, "Change Has Come to WhiteHouse.gov." (Jan. 20, 2009, 12:01 p.m.).
"Transparency is the best thing." Attorney General-Designate Eric H. Holder, Jr., before the Senate Judiciary Committee (Jan. 15, 2009).
February 2009
"This is an incredible, transformative opportunity for all of us." OMB Watch Founder and Executive Director Gary D. Bass, speaking at CGS's FOIA Community Conference, "Information Policy in the New Administration," January 29, 2009.
March 2009
"When the Congress unanimously passed the OPEN Government Act, Democrats and Republicans alike joined together in promising the American people a more open and transparent government. FOIA's defenders in Congress must work to ensure that this was not an empty promise. I intend to build on the FOIA reform work that Senator Cornyn and I began several years ago by proposing new legislation to further strengthen FOIA." Senator Patrick Leahy (D. Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and recipient of CGS's 2009 Robert Vaughn FOIA Legend Award, at CGS's Second Annual FOI Day Celebration (Mar. 16, 2009).
April 2009
"Could go with CJ [Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist] extreme or JPS [Justice John Paul Stevens] extreme. Get all in or all out." Supreme Court Justice Antonin G. Scalia, quoted by Justice Harry A. Blackmun in his conference notes of December 9, 1988 (available at the Library of Congress's collection of Justice Blackmun's papers, Box 522, Folder 5), in the case of Department of Justice v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, as the explanation of Justice Scalia's equivocal conference vote to apply Exemption 7(C) either to all "rap sheet" criminal history information held by the FBI or to none at all, categorically, in order to "avoid[] endless balancing" -- as disclosed at CGS's FOIA Community Conference: Privacy Protection After Twenty Years Under Reporters Committee (Apr. 28, 2009).
May 2009
"[We must consider] effective measures to address the problem of over classification [sic], including the possible restoration of the presumption against classification, which would preclude classification of information where there is significant doubt about the need for such classification, and the implementation of increased accountability for classification decisions." President Obama's Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies Regarding Classified Information (May 27, 2009).
June 2009
"White House spokesman Ben LaBolt says Obama 'has backed up his promise' with actions including the broadcast of White House meetings on the Web." Statement of White House when asked to identify any concrete example of increased FOIA disclosure under Holder FOIA Memorandum of March 19 in implementation of Obama FOIA Policy Memorandum of January 21. Newsweek, "Obama Closes Doors on Openness," June 29, 2009.
July 2009
"The Office of Administration, whose sole function is to advise and assist the President, and which has no substantial independent authority, is not subject to FOIA and related authorities." White House Office of Administration Web Site, as of July 2009.
August 2009
"The court of appeals in this FOIA case has ordered the disclosure of photographs related to allegations of abuse and mistreatment of detainees in United States custody, notwithstanding the professional judgment of the Nation's top military officers -- confirmed by the President of the United States -- that disclosure could reasonably be expected to endanger the lives and safety of United States and Coalition forces and civilian personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. Review by this Court is necessary to prevent that danger." Petition for a Writ of Certiorari filed by Solicitor General in United States Department of Defense v. ACLU, No. 09-160 (filed Aug. 7. 2009) (invoking Exemption 7(F) of the FOIA).
September 2009
". . . the new President should keep in mind the virtues of transparency." Paul Horwitz, "Honor's Constitutional Moment: The Oath and Presidential Transitions," 103 Nw. Univ. L. Rev. 1067, 1078 (2009).
October 2009
"Whether you visit the NARA Web site, I could care less . . . I could care less how many hits it gets. By making it machine readable and by exposing its core elements we will simplify mash-ups of every sort." Obama Administration Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, speaking of "Data.gov," an element of the Obama Administration's much-anticipated "Open Government Directive," at the "Excellence in Government" conference held in Washington, D.C., October 5, 2009.
November 2009
"[You should] understand that what the President campaigned on -- toughening our ethics rules, making more transparent our transparency policy -- was something that he was passionate about and is proud of the progress that we've made in ensuring that." White House Press Secretary Robert L. Gibbs (Oct. 28, 2009).