FOI agents issue 30% fewer records after 9-11

In the wake of the 9-11 terrorists attacks on the United States, the Bush administration passed sweeping, unprecedented measures that have hampered the public’s right to know and made newsgathering more difficult.

That was the message Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, gave at the Jan. 23 luncheon during the TPA 57th Midwinter Conference & Trade Show in Houston.

“These are very scary times for anyone who cares about open government, the First Amendment and the public’s right to know,” Dalglish said.

“In the days immediately after Sept. 11 the U.S. government embarked on a path of secrecy that is unprecedented in this country.”

It took a few months for journalists to become skeptical and by then it was too late, Dalglish said.

“When the media cannot do its job the voting public does not have the information it needs to make decisions in a democracy,” she said.

Shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft issued a directive to agencies that allows great latitude in denying access more often to records if privacy or breach of national security claims are alleged, she said.

“Now we have concrete evidence that less information is getting out,” Dalglish said.

A report issued by the General Accounting Office last summer showed that 30 percent of government records officers say they are giving out less information than under the previous administration and Attorney General Janet Reno, she said.

Dalglish pointed to nine other actions that have closed off public access, including cloaking court proceedings and immigration hearings in secrecy.

“This is a presidential administration that places a very high value on government secrecy,” she said.

In the last 18 months, Dalglish said calmer heads have begun to prevail and access appears to be opening to some proceedings such as military tribunals.

“In our biggest victory more than 600 journalists from all over the world were embedded with combat troops during the war in Iraq,” she said.

Problematic legislation also came on the heels of the 9-11 attacks, including the U.S.A. Patriot Act that stripped substantial civil liberties from the public, she said.

Dalglish said the attorney general has indicated that Section 215 of the act may be interpreted to apply to newsrooms so reporters who interview suspected terrorists can have their notes and computer seized and their newspaper cannot report that it has been searched.

“I think this is blatantly unconstitutional,” she said.

The act also prevents the release of critical infrastructure information to anyone who does not have a need to know. If it is released, the requester must agree to keep the information secret. As an example Dalglish said this could prevent a newspaper from running a map showing a pipeline leak or other utility danger posed to citizens.

The Reporters Committee publishes white papers on the state of public access and makes them available on its Web site, www.rcfp.org. The committee provides free advice and a hotline service to journalists who need help with access issues.

Dalglish called on TPA members to report these secrecy issues in their newspapers and track down the secret cases at their federal courthouses.

“Despite Attorney General John Ashcroft’s assertions, it is not un-American to question what your government is doing. It is our duty as Americans to participate in the democratic process. And it is the media’s responsibility to make sure the public has enough information to participate in the process. The press must zealously guard the public’s right to know or we risk losing that right altogether.”