The ACLU and CREW have asked the Obama administration for the release of documents including Office of Legal Counsel opinions and White House e-mail. Groups sued the Bush administration to gain access to these and other documents. -DB
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Jan. 28, 2009
By Hannah Bergman
WASHINGTON, D.C. – At least two groups are asking the Obama administration to reconsider its stance on pending Freedom of Information Act lawsuits.
The American Civil Liberties Union and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington are pushing for the release of documents the Bush administration fought to keep secret.
The ACLU on Wednesday sent a letter to the Justice Department asking that it reevaluate whether several Office of Legal Counsel opinions should still be withheld in light of Obama’s transparency priorities, McClatchy Newspapers reported.
Similarly, CREW called on the Obama administration to release Secret Service visitor logs, missing White House e-mail, and a host of other records the watchdog group has been suing for access to.
McClatchy also reported the Justice Department’s Office of Information and Privacy told officials to process FOIA requests with a “clear presumption in favor of disclosure, to resolve doubts in favor of openness, and to not withhold information based on ‘speculative or abstract fears.'”