Tuesday, October 02, 2012

Obama administration Words vs. Actions: transparency edition

The Words:

"I will also hold myself as president to a new standard of openness.... Let me say it as simply as I can: Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency." - Barack Obama, Welcoming speech to Senior staff (Jan. 2009)

"This administration has been the most transparent ever." - White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew

The Actions:

"The Obama administration has charged more people (six) under the Espionage Act for the alleged mishandling of classified information than all past presidencies combined." - Peter Van Buren

"As a candidate for President, Obama criticized the Bush administration for using the state secrets privilege more than any previous administration to shut down lawsuits alleging government misconduct. But in every state secrets case that it inherited from the Bush administration, Obama’s Justice Department has continued to assert the privilege. Can you explain why Obama now supports using the privilege in the very cases in which he ostensibly opposed its use previously?" - Elizabeth Goitein

No comments: