White House's penchant for secrecy prompts scrutiny

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White House's penchant for secrecy prompts scrutiny

Deb Riechmann / Associated Press

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WASHINGTON -- The White House's limited offer of documents and interviews in the controversial firing of U.S. attorneys fits its track record of secrecy.

From the time he walked into the Oval Office, President Bush has tried to tighten the government's hold on information and restrict public scrutiny. He says he's defending the executive branch from encroachment by overzealous lawmakers and needs to make sure that he and the presidents who follow him have the chance to get confidential advice from advisers.

That push to strengthen the powers of the presidency and clamp down on public disclosure, however, is now contributing to lawmakers' wariness of the White House's latest offer in the U.S. attorney dispute.

"There is no doubt that the Democrats in Congress are strengthened by their perception of public opinion, which appears to be that the White House has not been forthcoming on this and other issues," said Karl Racine, a former associate White House counsel who advised President Clinton and members of his staff on civil and criminal investigation matters.

Critics of the Bush White House's penchant toward secrecy point to: Bush's executive order restricting the public release of the papers of past presidents; his move just after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to clamp down on the declassification of government documents; and the fight, all the way to the Supreme Court, to keep secret closed-door meetings of Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force.

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