No better tool exists for working reporters covering the U.S. government than the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Through FOIA, reporters can get access to information about governmental operations that is not otherwise available and, often, open a window into the internal deliberations of those who represent us.
That should make an upcoming hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee of interest to all reporters. According to Politico, Congress is investigating whether “political meddling at the [Department of Homeland Security] has led to delays in responding to requests, and could violate a law that forbids ‘arbitrarily or capriciously’ withholding information through FOIA.”
As a former Homeland Security official I confess to some ambivalence about this inquiry. Speaking from personal experience, I certainly wanted situational awareness about potentially explosive FOIA requests that were being answered. If the DHS FOIA office was about to release emails, or documents that were likely to wind up on the front page of a newspaper, or in the hands of a Congressman asking questions, any reasonable political appointee would want to know about it, so that s/he could be prepared to answer questions, instead of having the “deer in the headlights” look.
On the other hand, and equally clearly, political appointees are all aware of the dangers of trying to massage and control the message by editing or limiting the information being disclosed. It’s pretty easy to see how an effort by political appointees to have situational awareness about what is happening could be misinterpreted by career staff as seeking control of the disclosure. It’s also pretty easy to see how a program that begins as one of awareness can slowly morph (without any malevolent intention) into one where the appointees try to exert some control.
Politico reports that there is no apparent wrongdoing in what has been disclosed so far. But you don’t have to think that a law has been violated to be concerned that the effort to manage FOIA responses reflects an “unacceptable” degree of political control.
Earlier: http://nationalsecurityzone.medill.northwestern.edu/mixed-bag-of-results-for-national-security-agencies-in-foia-sniff-test/
