ACLU challenges federal government on records of drone attacks killing U.S. citizens in Yemen

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Obama administration to force them to release records related to the deaths by drone attacks of three U.S. citizens in Yemen. The administration cited national security in denying the request for the documents under the Freedom of Information Act, but the ACLU said the drone program should [...]

Appeal in the works in Twitter/WikiLeaks case

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are set to file an appeal concerning the U.S. government’s attempts to obtain Twitter records in their investigation of WikiLeaks. The ACLU and EFF are seeking to prevent the government from sealing records of their efforts to obtain private information of Internet users without a [...]

California: Los Alamitos councilman in trouble for violating confidentiality of closed meetings

The Los Alamitos City Council voted 3-1 to prosecute Councilman Warren Kusumoto for an alleged violation of the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law. Kusumoto had disclosed that in closed-door discussions on a lawsuit against the city, he had a different viewpoint  from the council majority. The City Attorney said in that disclosure he [...]

Federal agencies evading freedom of informaton requests

A recent study found that under the Obama administration, in 2010 federal agencies used exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act 33 percent more than they did under George W. Bush in 2008. Watchdog groups are now trying to hold Obama to his pledge to make his administration the most transparent and accountable in history. [...]

American Civil Liberties Union claims secrecy hurting democracy

The quest for national security after 9/11 has resulted in a number of secret agencies, Congressional committees, courts and even laws argues the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU claims that these practices deprive lawmakers and the public of information needed to check abuses and to make policy. -db From a commentary for the American [...]

CIA changes course, agrees to process request for documents on Open Source Works

The Central Intelligence Agency says it will now consider a Freedom of Information Act request for documents on Open Source Works, a new CIA open source intelligence division. An historian had asked for the charter of Open Source Works with the reply that the CIA could not confirm or deny the existence of the charter. [...]

Justice Department freezes music blog for a year supposedly for copyright infringement

The Justice Department seized the assets of a popular music blog, Dajaz1, reportedly for violations of copyright, but did not give the blog a day in court to fight the action. Writing in TechDirt, Mike Masnick says it was an outrageous act, “I suspect that nearly all of you [readers] would say that’s a classic [...]

Bloomberg News makes point-by-point response to Fed charge of ‘egregious errors’ in story on bank bailouts

After Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve sent a letter to lawmakers criticizing Bloomberg News for “egregious errors” in a story on the bank bailout, Bloomberg responded with a detailed rebuttal of the key charges. Among other issues, the rebuttal addressed factual errors, disputes over transparency, and fairness in reporting. -db From Bloomberg News, December [...]

State Department still says cables WikiLeaks released last year are classified

The Obama administration is still insisting that cables WikiLeaks released last year are classified even though the cables were released by the State Department in compliance with a Freedom of Information Act request. The classified information concerned targeted killings, detention at Guantanamo, torture and rendition. -db From a commentary for the American Civil Liberties Union, [...]

Report shows history of closed Congressional sessions

A report from the Congressional Research Service shows the justification, history and frequency of Congressional secret sessions. -db From Secrecy News, December 1, 2011 by Steven Aftergood. Full story  

Reporter sues to find out how Bush and Cheney sought to shape perceptions of their administration

A Gawker reporter is suing the National Archives and Records Administration for information about how former President George W. Bush and his vice president, Dick Cheney tried to shape public opinion during their tenure. The reporter is not seeking the Bush administration documents protected under law from disclosure but rather the identities of those who [...]

California: State senator bids to improve access to Public Utility Commission documents

State Senator Leland Yee of San Francisco will introduce a bill in January to repeal a law requiring a vote of the Pubic Utilities Commission before most records can be released to the public. Yee is sponsoring the bill after allegations that Pacific Gas and Electric was less than forthcoming with documents concerning the pipeline [...]

Call it the Not-so-public Utilities Commission

If you’re worried about natural gas pipelines running near your home or business, prepare for a long battle to get key information from California’s Public Utilities Commission. Under a 60-year-old law, vast numbers of documents — including regulatory reports and safety studies — are secret, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. What’s more, PG&E often has [...]

Defense Department makes it easier to obtain court filings in Guantanamo trials

As trials of accused terrorists begin at Guantanamo Bay, the Defense Department released new regulations designed to create better access to court filings. Journalists have objected to the long review processes for obtaining court filings without which they were lost when covering the trials. -db From The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, November [...]

Candidate Cain: Public loses when confidentiality agreements settle grievances

The public may never know the truth about alleged sexual harassment by Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain because Cain’s former employer, the National Restaurant Association, signed confidential settlement agreements sealing the lips of all involved. These confidential agreements, argues Wesley J. Smith of the Discovery Institute, often do great harm by shielding dangerous people and [...]

Science board recommends new government group to assess impact of climate change on security interests

The Defense Science Board (DSB) reported that the U.S. intelligence community needs a new organization charged with assessing the impact of climate change on national security interests. The CIA already has an Center on Climate Change and National Security but does not share its information or collaborate with groups outside the government. The DSB said [...]

Report cites lack of transparency in operation to set oil slick on fire during Gulf oil spill

A toxicologist working for a client sickened by toxic compounds used in the cleanup released a report charging that the operation to set the oil slick on fire during the gulf oil spill was characterized by secrecy. The report said that the client employed to work on cleanup reported that airplanes flying overhead dropped dispersants [...]

Bloomberg editors call National Security Agency secrecy policy ‘dysfunctional’

Bloomberg editors Max Berley and Tobin Harshaw were unimpressed with NSA’s declassification of 50,000 pages of historic documents and the agency’s boast that the act demonstrated the Obama administration’s commitment to openness. The editors said one of the documents released was already long in the public domain and that the release of the documents was [...]

California: Sanitation district vote on pay raises challenged as open meeting violation

The Orange County Sanitation District admitted to violating the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law, when it voted on pay raises for 17 managers and 18 “confidential” workers behind closed doors. They will conduct a revote. Because the workers are not represented by a bargaining group, the public has the right to discuss the [...]

Digital freedom watchdog sues Justice Department over Patriot Act

The Electronic Freedom Foundation sued the Department of Justice for its failure to release documents detailing its interpretation and use of Section 215 of the U.S.A. Patriot Act. The section allows the FBI to obtain a court order for “any tangible thing” related to a terrorism investigation. The EFF claims the government has been misusing [...]

Miami judge in controversial child custody case pursues gag order violators

A Miami child welfare judge, angered by apparent leaks of a custody hearing to a reporter, has asked over 30 Florida child welfare workers to appear before her to sign statements verifying that they were not the leakers. A retired judge says that although unusual, the judge was acting within her authority to demand the [...]

Obama administration wants to open old grand jury records

The Justice Department is proposing a rule change to allow disclosure of transcripts from grand jury proceedings at least 30 years old if it would not affect a living witness or investigative target. Attorney General Eric Holder is also suggesting that historically significant transcripts of at least 75 years old be released without court review. [...]

Challenge to federal appeals court’s extending Espionage Act to unclassified info

An effort is underway to challenge a federal court ruling that extended the application of the Espionage Act to unclassified, non-governmental information. An attorney for a man convicted on charges of economic espionage filed a petition with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals claiming the conviction for “gathering national defense information” was unjust in that [...]

Secrecy News laments lack of accountability in denying information

Some argue that if government classifiers were required to justify their classifications with clear, precise written explanation, there would be less information consigned to secrecy, writes Steven Aftergood for Secrecy News. As of now, officials get away with saying “it is secret because it’s secret,” but Aftergood thinks that it is not enough to require [...]

Diplomat shares perspective on reading diplomatic cables released by WikiLeak

A former diplomat provides a practical guide for reading diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks with perspectives for working journalists and others on the value of the information. -db From Wired, October 7, 2011, by Daniel Serwer. Full story

Federal judge rules for CIA in destruction of interrogation videotapes

The American Civil Liberties Union and allies lost a bid in federal court to find out who was responsible for destroying nearly 100 videotapes of interrogations in 2001 of al Qaeda leaders. The judge noted that the CIA had erred in destroying the videotapes but had since made changes to prevent the destruction of videos [...]

Drone strikes out in open but still classified and not subject to discussion

When a U.S. drone strike killed a U.S. citizen in Yemen who was a prominent al Qaeda terrorist, President Barack Obama would not acknowledge the obvious – that a drone had done the task or that the C.I.A. was involved. Nor would the Obama administration provide the public with details on the policy behind an [...]

Study suggests way to reduce government overclassification

A report by the Brennan Center for Justice proposes a pilot program for the government to insure employees are accountable for improper classification decisions. The report calls for better training for employees on what should be classified. The report also suggests building in incentives for declassifying documents. -db From The Reporters Committee for Freedom of [...]

Senators charge public deceived by government on justification for domestic spying

Two Democratic senators on the Senate Intelligence Committee accused the Justice Department of misleading the public on legal justification of domestic spying under the Patriot Act. The DOJ denied that they provided any misleading information. The senators  are concerned about Section 215 of the Patriot Act that allows a secret national security court to enable [...]

CIA’s climate change center proclaims all records and activities secret

All requests for CIA reports on the impact of global warming have been denied on national security grounds prompting skepticism from Steven Aftergood of Secrecy News. “The CIA response indicates a fundamental lack of discernment that calls into question the integrity of the Center on Climate Change, if not the Agency as a whole. If [...]

Free press advocate asks Supreme Court for ‘presumption of openness’ for court records

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has asked the Supreme Court to make every document in their court open to the public unless it designates otherwise. A New York Times editorial backs the suggestion noting that in the last 18 years the court has increased the practice of sealing records, a troubling trend. [...]

Opinion: Congress should pass law requiring budget supercommittee to conduct open sessions

An editorial in the Beaumont Texas Enterprise argues that the Congressional supercommittee to find $1.5 trillion to cut from the federal budget should conduct its deliberations in public. Some legislators and sponsoring a bill requiring the committee to hold open hearings and disclose any contacts members of the committee make with lobbyists. That latter requirement [...]

Republicans call for open meetings for supercommittee on budget cuts

A group of Senate Republicans wants the Congressional supercommittee formed to make $1.5 trillion in cuts to the budget open to the public. The Republicans not only favor admitting the press and public but also live streaming of the proceedings. In its first meeting, the subcommittee voted to allow some closed meetings but pledged to [...]

Global decline in press freedom with ‘war on terror’

Since 9/11 the free press has been under attack in the U.S., providing inspiration and cover for governments around the world  to limit press freedom in the name of the “war on terror,” writes Joel Simon in a commentary for CNN. Among the most repressive countries are Pakistan, Ethiopia, Columbia, Mexico, Yemen, Syria and Sri [...]

Council of Europe criticizes U.S. ‘cult of secrecy’

The inter-parliamentary  Council of Europe has issued a draft resolution blasting the U.S. for its “cult of secrecy” and said whistleblowers played a vital tole in challenging government secrecy. The resolution pointed up the ill effects of secrecy, “In some countries, in particular the United States, the notion of state secrecy is used to shield [...]

Guradian denies it caused leak of U.S. diplomatic cables from WikiLeaks website

The Guardian said it had no role in the release of thousands of unredacted U.S. diplomatic cables. WikiLeaks claimed that the newspaper had caused the security breach. A Guardian News & Media spokeswoman said their story about WikiLeaks in February contained a password but nothing about the location of the files and that WikiLeaks had [...]

New book: Secret security bureaucracy burgeons after 9/11

Since 9/11, “Top Secret America” has grown to gargantuan proportions according to a new book by Dana Priest and William M. Arkin, writes Steven Aftergood in a review of the book for Secrecy News. Office buildings devoted to secret intelligence have grown to the equivalence of almost three Pentagons with more than 250,000 contractors working [...]

Editorial: Feds drag heels on releasing records going back as far as World War II

While the Obama administration is making some progress in breaking the backlog of Freedom of Information Act requests, the National Security Archive says that there are still requests that go back over a decade and even to World War II. There are reasons for the slow pace but none that make much sense or could [...]

CIA wants to censor book by former FBI agent about 9/11 and terrorism

The Central Intelligence Agency is demanding that a memoir of a former FBI agent be heavily cut before publication. The agent was at the forefront of the fight against Al Qaeda and terrorism and makes some pointed criticisms of CIA errors including the harsh interrogation of the first important captive after 9/11. People close to [...]

Justice Department refuses to declassify opinion on legality of warrantless surveillance

The Justice Department has refused to declassify a 2001 opinion written by John C. Yoo on the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program. Critics of the program want to obtain the entire 21-page opinion to make sure misguided legal opinions do not live on to guide government policy. -db From Secrecy News, August 26, 2011. by [...]

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