Today Barack Obama's budget director Peter Orszag made official an unprecedented White House power grab.
From the White House blog:
"There have been other advancements, from providing online access to White House staff financial reports and salaries, adopting a tough new state secrets policy, reversing an executive order that previously limited access to presidential records, and web-casting White House meetings and conferences."
Obama's state secrets policy, established by Attorney General Eric Holder in the midst of a lawsuit over Bush's warrantless wiretapping program back in June, has nothing to do with transparency. The policy dictates that nobody can sue Obama's government over sensitive issues related to national security. Of course, what constitutes a sensitive issue related to national security is also left up to Obama's government. It's a breathtaking power grab that goes well beyond anything George W. Bush ever wanted, and Holder came under fire from both the right and the left at the time. Now this is apparently official policy, despite Obama's pledge to run "the most open and transparent administration in American history." File it in the stuffed "Broken Promises" folder.
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