The NYT has posted a “Room for Debate” feature on whether Edward Snowden should be seen as a whistle-blower or a criminal (if not both). My contribution begins: Investigating and prosecuting Edward Snowden is a priority, but it should not distract from the far more important issues raised in the past week. Although some Americans […]
Archive | Government Transparency
Did James Clapper Lie to Congress?
By Jonathan H. Adler on June 11, 2013 9:42 pm in Government Transparency, Uncategorized, War on Terror
In March, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told a Senate Committee that the National Security Agency does not “collect any type of data” on Americans, at least “not wittingly.” Recent leaks about NSA surveillance activity suggest this was not true. Here is Clapper’s exchange with Senator Wyden from the March hearing: Senator Wyden: “Last […]
DoJ Seeks to Keep FISA Court Decision Invalidating NSA Surveillance Under Wraps
There have been some interesting disclosures in the past week or so about the extent of federal government surveillance. Could there be still more to come? On Friday, the Department of Justice filed a motion opposing public release of a 2011 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court decision declaring some aspect of National Security Agency surveillance under the […]
CIA Loses Drone Strike FOIA Appeal
By Jonathan H. Adler on March 15, 2013 12:46 pm in Counter-Terrorism Policy, Government Transparency, Targeted Killing, War on Terror
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) seeking information about drone strikes. The CIA filed a so-called “Glomar response,” refusing to confirm or deny the existence of material responsive to the ACLU’s request. The ACLU then sued, and the district court granted summary […]
No More Transparency, But Less Outside Scrutiny
Paul Thacker writes that the Obama Administration has “failed miserably” to fulfill its promises of more open and transparent government. What’s changed, however, is that the press and self-appointed good-government watchdogs are less interested in covering such questions. Whether it’s responding to Congress, media questions, or FOIA requests, this administration is no better than its […]
Update on Lawsuit Challenging CFIUS Action Blocking Chinese Wind-Farm Development
With my firm’s CFIUS experts, I put together a fuller analysis of the potentially significant CFIUS lawsuit I blogged earlier this month. For those just tuning in now: the U.S. government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States issued an order that blocked a Chinese-owned developer from proceeding with four wind-farm projects in Oregon; […]
The New Transparency as Opaque as the Old
It sounded like an April Fool’s joke: President Obama accepted a “transparency” award behind closed doors. Only as many are learning, it’s easier for a Presidential candidate to promise transparency than it is for the federal government to deliver. (Ditto for Congressional leaders.) As Charles Ornstein and Hagit Limor wrote in the Washington Post this […]
The TSA’s Response to the Breast Milk Incident
Last week, I posted a link to this video of one woman’s experience with airport security after asking to have her breast milk visually screened instead of x-rayed (as TSA procedures allow). At the time, I said I’d like to hear the TSA’s side of the incident, as the video appears to show TSA employees […]
Is Stimulus Funding Political?
Has the distribution of simulus funds been influenced by political factors? A study by Veronique de Rugy suggested a partisan tilt in the disbursement of stimulus funds; she found a strong correlation, but no definitive evidence of causation. This prompted a response from Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight. de Rugy replied here, prompting a surreply from […]
Copenhagen on $2,200 a Day
CBS News has been reporting on what the government spent to send over twenty members of Congress, along with staff, spouses, and others, to the Copenhagen climate conference, and what they’ve uncovered isn’t pretty. More here.
TSA Nominee Withdraws
In other news, the Washington Post reports that Transportation Security Administration nominee Erroll Southers has withdrawn his name from consideration. I assume the next nominee will not have violated the federal Privacy Act nor provide false testimony to the Senate Government Affairs Committee. I think Radley Balko would also like the next nominee to replace […]
Will the Health Care “Conference” Be on C-Span?
Congressional leaders may dispense with the traditional House-Senate conference to reconcile the two chambers’ competing health care bills in favor of less formal negotiations. Whatever form the process takes, C-Span would like to be there. On December 30, C-Span CEO Brian Lamb sent a letter to Congressional leaders requesting that his network be able to […]
An Interesting Wrinkle in the Reid Bill Entrenchment Provisions
Over at NRO’s Bench Memos, Matt Franck points out that insofar as the Reid bill alters Senate rules in order to entrench some of the bill’s reforms, there may not have been enough votes for cloture on the bill. while cloture to end debate on legislation ordinarily takes “three-fifths of all the Senators duly chosen […]
Future Amendments Are Out of Order
By Jonathan H. Adler on December 22, 2009 11:01 am in Congress, Government Transparency, Health Care
The Senate health care bill contains provisions that purport to prevent a future Congress from revising portions of the legislation my majority vote. Specifically, at pages 1019-1021, the bill requires a three-fifths vote in order to alter or repeal recommendations made by the Independent Medicare Advisory Board. The relevant language is below. As noted here, […]
Opening the Archives
The AP reports President Obama is likely to sign an executive order before year’s end to create a National Declassification Center to review Cold War era documents for potential declassification and discourage the classification of documents going forward. This would be a very welcome step.