Bush 'kills' Freedom of Information Act compliance officer

[groovychk]

Buried on page A17 of Wednesday's Washington Post is a bit of a non-surprise: President George W. Bush has effectively killed a position monitoring compliance with government efforts to release documents.

Late last year, Washington watchdogs won over a reluctant President Bush, who agreed to sign a law enforcing better compliance with the Freedom of Information Act.

"But in his budget request this week," the Post's Elizabeth Williamson writes, "Bush proposed shifting a newly created ombudsman's position from the National Archives and Records Administration to the Department of Justice. Because the ombudsman would be the chief monitor of compliance with the new law, that move is akin to killing the critical function, some members of Congress and watchdog groups say."

"Justice represents the agencies when they're sued over FOIA . . . It doesn't make a lot of sense for them to be the mediator," staff lawyer for the National Security Archive Kristin Adair told the Post. The group has filed suit against the White House to force it to preserve e-mails relating to Iraq and the

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Bush_effectiveless_kills_Freedom_of_Information_0206.html

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Nothing surprises me about President Jack-Ass anymore.

Comments

[compudoc.livejournal.com]

He definitely wants to leave a lasting impression...

01/20/2009 can't come soon enough...

BTW - happy early birthday!