Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Circling the wagons
Expect more secrecy and protecting the President from the new Attorney General.
A new report from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press paints a picture of White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales -- who has been nominated to replace U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft -- as someone who has worked tirelessly to keep information from the press and public if he believes it could hurt the president, and does not appear ready to change.
Gonzales has "played a key role in keeping presidential records out of the public eye and asked for several extensions to deadlines for turning over papers of past presidents," the report says. "Earlier this year, Gonzales also pressured the nation's archivist, John Carlin, to resign, according to Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.). Carlin's departure -- he resigned without giving a reason -- sparked speculation that he was forced out in order to protect the records of the first President Bush."
The report also cited Bush's efforts to protect his advisors from being forced to testify, saying, "Gonzales picked one battle in particular to doggedly fight: that the president and those working closely with him must be able to receive counsel from advisers without public inquiry. Gonzales argued throughout the summer of 2002 that Vice President Cheney and the records of his energy policy task force should not be subject to open-government laws."
The report also cited Gonzales' comments following the release in June 2002 of memos and documents detailing the administration's decisions on the use of torture. In "a rare appearance at a news conference later, Gonzales hinted that secrecy would remain the norm for related documents. 'The government is releasing an extraordinary set of documents today, and this should not be viewed as setting any kind of precedent,' Gonzales said. 'But we felt it important to set the record straight. Additional documents may be withheld in the future for national security and other reasons.'"
Story.
posted by chris at 5:23 PM
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