Obama Overturns Bush Records Secrecy Order
American presidents and their staff work for the American people, they are not monarchs with an inner court of priviliged nobles. President Obama has reminded all his predecessors of that simple fact, living up to a campaign promise to "nullify attempts to make the timely release of presidential records more difficult."
President Barack Obama, in his first full day in office, revoked a controversial executive order signed by President Bush in 2001 that limited release of former presidents’ records.
The new order could expand public access to records of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney in the years to come as well as other past leaders, said Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. …
Under Bush’s order, former presidents had broad ability to claim executive privilege and could designate others including family members who survive them to exercise executive privilege on their behalf.
Obama’s new order gives ex-presidents less leeway to withhold records, Aftergood said, and takes away the ability of presidents’ survivors to designate that privilege.
Separately, an Obama memorandum issued Wednesday also appears to effectively rescind a 2001 memo by President Bush’s then-Attorney Gen. John Ashcroft giving agencies broad legal cover to reject public disclosure requests.
Over at MoJo blog, they quote CREW chief counsel Anne Weismann as explaining:
"[Obama]'s putting former presidents on notice that if you want to continue a claim of executive privilege that [Obama] doesn't think is well-placed, you're going to have to go to court."
Even Ed Morrissey at Hot Air is impressed, writing "On Inauguration Day, I promised to offer praise for Barack Obama when he pursued good policy, and it didn’t take long." At least one other conservative thinks this executive order is "nothing more than him throwing a meaty bone to his constituency who hopes to be able to find out “The Truth” about the Bush administration’s alleged plans to turn this nation into a dictatorial theocracy." That's simply mean-spirited hyperbole, hiding an implied argument. Who would really want to argue, out there in plain words, that stopping Bush's bosses (the American people) from finding out what's in millions of his administration's emails is a good thing?
Crossposted from Newshoggers
So we can see the extent of the criminal activity that went on in the most corrupt administration in history.
http://harpers.org/archive/2009/01/hbc-90004250
And one more thing: It appears Obama may have a little bit of a "control" problem with his new Intelligence appointee Blair as it relates to waterboarding:
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/i...
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
Starting with those 3 million emails that Rove and Cheney accidentally deleted?
(Followed by accidentally taking their computers apart and crushing the hard-drives? I have to admit, I've accidentally crushed MY hard drive now and then when I'm emptying my email folder. I hate it when that happens...)
That after having these sorry lowlife republican scum in the office for eight years.
That we finally got a person with honor, integrity, and a sense of right and wrong.
Not that the republicans don't know right from wrong, but they never do anything right!
Yeah, it seems surreal.
and the rest of us.
Sunshine! Makes a great disinfectant.
doublepost- dammit :D
Yes it does! :-)
I remember when Bush made that order. It was disgusting, because it was so obviously meant to serve him individually by allowing him to keep his father's records private.
I've got to admit, I've been a bit of an Obama cynic, but he's really impressed me in the last couple of days.
But then again, it works both ways. His father managed to keep junior's records as governor of Texas a secret by (illegally) moving them to the Bush Sr. Presidential archives.
But yes, I agree, I'm totally impressed with Obama, so far. It's just unfortunate that he probably won't get credit for it. NOW the dumbass MSM have decided to do their job. Now that they've managed to shake off eight years of being in a Stockholm Syndrome catatonic stupor, I'm pretty sure they're going to go after the DEMOCRATIC president (democratic in every sense of the word) tooth and nail just to prove they've got a collective spine, afterall.
How to make a FOIA Request:
http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/04_1.html
my file.
Drk, drk....
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
Geez, people call me obscure, and you're using Secret Squirrel?
I probably would've used Lancelot Link Secret Chimp, Cool McCool, or even Tom of T.H.U.M.B.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
With quotes like "said Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. "
He will later go on to work with Cochrane.
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
I would've gone with Secret Agent Man
He's a cultural icon. :-)
makes sense. But making it SS instead of Tom and Jerry would be akin to saying Don Knotts is on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Three's Company instead of Barney Fife.
SS does work adequately here though.
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
is there going to be something cool like this every day?
I am impressed. I was tickled to see the Freedom of Information Act resumed. And his attack on lobbyists and those aspiring to be lobbyists was a thing of beauty.
Ed wants President Obama to succeed but the other guy and most commenters do not. Like their hero Rush. Sad.
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/01/22/limbaug...
Still stuck on failed ideology.
its not even been 2 days and i'm already seriously impressed by obama, in fact i did not predict it would be this good right out the gate
is this normal? was Bush just that bad? Or is what obama is doing actually a little unprecedented?
The man seems to be hitting the ground running and coming out swinging. As long as this keeps up we may just save America yet.
Hope so.
If you want to keep up with his campaign promises, here ya go:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promi...
Wow - this is a great idea! He does have one hell of a mess to try to clean up. If a refuse technician is his main occupation, he will have done this country an invaluable service!
Thanks for the link.
Very good move, Mr. Obama! I hope that Dick and company have not shredded everything yet. Given the scope and frequency of their crimes, however, I am sure that there is plenty of evidence to support what most Americans have understood as unconstitutional over the last eight years.
Kudos to Obama for freezing the pay of 100k staffers. This is one of those policy decisions that has more theatrical impact, but it is good theater and supports his position of seriousness regarding the economic crisis.
If he would only break from his Israeli butchers and hold his foreign policy up to the same high standards!
I agree. Bravo!! President Obama is making very smart moves for putting this country back together again. There was another really great article on this act here. The article is by Robert Parry of ConsortiumNews.
All I want to see right now is some accountability for all the damage done over the last 8 years. I think we can hold people accountable AND move forward dealing with crucial issues facing us at the same time.
Finally, we will get the Reagan papers and I don't think there will be enough lawyers to stop them from seeing the light of day now. I feel a lot less ashamed today than I have felt in almost eight years; and it has only been two days.
I was impressed to watch the video of Obama signing Executive Orders ..
.. in public !!
.. with bright lights !!
.. and media taking pictures & recording the video !!
Executive Orders in PUBLIC !!
Democracy is too important to be entrusted to politicians.
Rise Up!
Protest!
As opposed to releasing signing statements at midnight on New Year's Eve, while the entire Washington Press Corps is out getting hammered? Yes, that's a refreshing change.
Imagine what government can do when it operates in the LIGHT rather than in the DARK!
Government BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE!
What a breath of fresh air!
GOBAMA!
that we, the American people, must help. Remember, he said we need to help him get our country back. So it makes sense to me that the first thing he does is ask us to file FOIA requests for anything we need to know.
Rove deleted the emails and Cheney shredded the papers.
Did anybody notice Cheney during the Inauguration in the wheelchair with the black wide-brimmed hat on? It was weird. Kind of "Dr. Strangelove-ish"?
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
It looked like he was making a play to steal the bride's thunder.
me-oww!
More like Guy Cabaliaro from SCTV.
From "its a wonderful life"
that Bush's head exploded over some news that President Obama has nullified some illegal shit Bush himself put into place.
me-oww!
We are witnessing what might very be one of the best presidents in US history on the heels of the very worst.
this is good news if it means more than the paper it's written on, I would think after 2 days calling somone one of the best presidents in history is reaching.
I would also think that not very much would ever be allowed to be aired publicly regardless, using the excuse of security like all presidents have done for decades.
reread it "We are witnessing what MIGHT very be one of the best presidents in US history"
I didn't say he was yet, or does the word "might" not have a translation in the Canadian dictionary?
Just been reading cheeleading all day on all the blogs. Some people are REALLY jumping the ship. Sure he's making changes. Who wouldn't after Bush? But like I said, very little Prez records would be available to public anyway due to security. Same excuse used by Presidents for decades. You'll get a big long paper with "THE..." and a whole lotta blacked out.
Yeah we keep forgetting you're the resident America expert.
in claiming that Democrats and Republicans are the same. He simply cannot admit that President Obama is significantly different from President Bush and that the new Democratic administration will be much, much better for the country and the world.
This is great. I guess that acting so fast to reverse most of Bush's iilegal and immoral programs in less than 100 hours in office should shut the cry babies and naysayers on this blog.
That's my point exactly. He's been in office just 2 DAYS and he's out of the gate!
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/22/part_ii...
[Yes. But it's off topic. Please don't post something like this in a thread where it doesn't fit. Thanks-Sitemonitor]
come back and crow when the papers that bush and cheny accumilated that gives us proof positive to convict them with , by now they have sredded , burnt up , deleted anything that will convict them !
The paper shredding truck outside of Dick's. That's a lotta lawlessness when you need to bring in a truck because an ordinary paper shredder from Staples won't do the job.
That's ok, maybe his wheelchair will go down a flight of stairs. You can't escape karma forever.
Does a wheelcchair fit in a shredder?
they'll open the JFK files!! And the 911 files!!
we chose to harvest Canada instead of annex it!
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
Its refrigerated up there.
Canadians have giant organs? If it's frozen, I'dve thought it'd be all shrinky dinks...
me-oww!
brain drain. Once we got Lorne Greene it was like the levies breaking in Katrina. You can go through miles of intellectually empty space and the WHAM, you're in Wasilla.
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
If he keeps up this pace, he might actually reverse the most of the damage inflicted upon us by BushCo.
Obama will have to work like this everyday for the next 4 years if he hopes to accomplish that.
No matter what Obama can do for us as a country I always think about the millions dead, maimed, injured, homeless in our military, Iraq and Afghanistan that needn't have been but for an American asshole named Bush.
How can that be healed?
... all Obama has to do for a little approval bump is to overturn a Bush decision. It's cheaper than going to war, and there's not going to be a shortage over the next four years ...
I used to think Bush screwed up so bad that no matter how good Obama did, he'd look terrible cause he couldn't possibly deal with the mess left to him. But now it looks like Bush screwed up so bad, Obama looks good just by doing what should have been ethically the norm.
been my point. People are jumping with joy in the sheer ecstasy that at least so far, he is doing what he is supposed to be. Now that is scary.
It's cause the Kool Aid really is THAT good. Try some and idolotrize.
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
I figured historically no way Obama (anyone actually) comes out of this looking good. But maybe contrasted with just how bad Bush was, he comes out looking good, no matter how he does, assuming he's at least mediocre.
was a hero after 9/11. ANYTHING is possible.
I knew that GDCSer was guilty from the moment I turned on thre tv and saw...
me-oww!
Maybe to you guys up there.
I distintly recall e-mailing my sister down in MD the day after Bushs incredibly stupid "You're with us or you're with the terrorists" comment and asking her if he was trying to start a new American civil war or what.
When he straightens this out I'll be impressed: http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/down-pres...
out with anything but a steamroller.
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
anything to make yourself look good?
He is the best thing that could have happened to this country at this point in time. Period.
Canuck.
Very well done. Anything that's going to piss off Poppy and the chimp (with Mr. Potter thrown in for good measure) is OK by me. With any luck this is the gateway to some prosecutions!
I hear that Obama has back peddled on his campaign pledge to over turn the secret illegal spying on American citizens.
None
I heard he's a Muslim.
there are little grey aliens stored in area 51. your point ?
But do you have a link?
Regards, C
^^
FOIA? GDR! GFY, GWB.
and learn.
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