Critics Skeptical Of Obama's 'Openness' Vow

[L. Coyote]

Legal Affairs
Critics Skeptical Of Obama's 'Openness' Vow
by Ari Shapiro
Listen Now = 4 min 19 sec - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103143642


All Things Considered, April 15, 2009 · President Obama came to the White House promising a new era of openness in government. On his first full day in office he said, "The way to make government responsible is to hold it accountable, and the way to make government accountable is to make it transparent." Now, some activists say, he has not done enough to keep that promise on the national security front.

A major test of the Obama administration's openness on national security issues is coming on Thursday. The Justice Department faces a court-imposed deadline to say whether it will release some controversial classified memos from the Bush administration.

In an interview last week on CBS, Attorney General Eric Holder told Katie Couric, "This is a very transparent administration. This is going to be a very transparent Justice Department, but I'm not going to sacrifice the safety of the American people or our ability to protect the American homeland, and that is first and foremost."

Jameel Jaffer, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Security Project, says that rhetoric is "very encouraging, but I don't think that rhetoric has translated into reality."

An 'Imperial' Attitude?

In two high-profile national security cases, ................

[w4rma]

1. Too many Clintonites in his administration. (nt)