Although Barack Obama promised to improve government transparency, his record shows that his administration is the most secretive in U.S. history. An AP analysis shows that “More often than ever, the administration censored government files or outright denied access to them last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) , cited more legal exceptions it said justified withholding materials and refused a record number of times to turn over files quickly that might be especially newsworthy….” (Associated Press, March 17, 2014, by Ted Bridis and Jack Gillum)
The analysis shows that in 2013, in denying FOIA requests, the government cited privacy and national security concerns a record 546,574 times. (Time, March 17, 2014, by Denver Nicks)
The news from AP was not well received in editorial offices across the nation. In an editorial, the Topeka Capital-Journal, March 17, 2014, wrote that open records laws are not in place to protect public officials, “Democracy works best when the voters have access to as much information as possible. Efforts by elected and appointed officials to restrict the free flow of information usually are undertaken primarily to protect those in control from embarrassment, or worse.” The Orange County Register wrote in an editorial that the administration was transparent in releasing documents less than 65 percent of the time. A Brownsville Herald editorial quoted Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis on the value of transparency, “Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.”