Government secrecy in the Obama White House

by Allan C. Brownfeld - Mar 26, 2015 - http://www.commdiginews.com/politics-2/government-secrecy-in-the-obama-white-house-38616/#I2PxdykEXGGoefV3.99

The Obama administration is filled with secrecy even as he promises transparency. Hillary's emails are just one more rung on that ladder
WASHINGTON, March 26, 2015 — As a candidate for president, Barack Obama promised that his would be the most “transparent” administration in American history. It hasn’t worked out that way. Instead, it may be the most secretive, threatening the very fabric of representative democracy, which depends upon the American people and their elected representatives in Congress knowing  exactly what government is doingin our name and with our taxpayer dollars.
For the second consecutive year, the Obama administration censored government files or outright denied access to them under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, according to an analysis of federal data by the Associated Press, released in mid-March.
The government took longer than other administrations to turn over files when it provided any, said more regularly that it couldn’t find documents and refused a record number of times to turn over files quickly that might be especially newsworthy. It also acknowledged in nearly 1 in 3 cases that its initial decisions to withhold or censor records were improper under the law, but only when challenged. Its backlog of unanswered requests at year’s end grew by 55 per cent to more than 200,000.
These government figures covered all requests to 100 federal agencies during fiscal 2014 under the Freedom of Information law, which is heralded globally as a model for transparent government. Citizens, journalists, businesses and others made a record 714,231 requests for information. The government responded to 647,142 requests, a 4 per cent decrease over the previous year.
The government more than ever censored materials it turned over or fully denied access to them, in 39 percent of all requests. According to the Associated Press, sometimes the government censored only a few words or an employee’s phone number, but other times it completely marked out nearly every paragraph. http://www.commdiginews.com/politics-2/government-secrecy-in-the-obama-white-house-38616/#I2PxdykEXGGoefV3.99