You are here: Home / Politics / American Government / Obama Cabinet Biggest Violator of Public Records Laws
Obama Cabinet Biggest Violator of Public Records Laws
Sep 29, 2012

Obama Cabinet Biggest Violator of Public Records Laws

By · 18 Comments

As President Obama completes his first term, he has failed miserably to deliver on his promise of being the “most transparent administration ever,” and cabinet-level agencies are among the worst offenders in violating public records laws.

Nineteen of 20 presidential cabinet-level agencies blew off the law requiring disclosure of public information, according to an analysis conducted by a major news syndicate. What are they mostly withholding from American taxpayers? The cost of travel by top officials, which is supposed to be public information. Other federal agencies did the same, with only 8 of a total of 57 meeting the 20-day window required by the federal law known as the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

FOIA is a valuable tool in Judicial Watch’s work and we too see it violated consistently. To be fair, it happens in every administration—both Democrat and Republican—and JW regularly must go to court to obtain public records that should be furnished without the need for litigation. Obama promised this would all change, that there would be a “new era of open government” when he moved into the White House.

It hasn’t materialized. A former longtime director at the Department of Justice (DOJ) office that monitors the government’s FOIA compliance, put is simply in the news story; “When it comes to implementation of Obama’s wonderful transparency policy goals, especially FOIA policy in particular, there has been far more ‘talk the talk’ rather than ‘walk the walk.’”

In the news agency probe, the administration failed to provide records for the taxpayer-funded travel expenses of cabinet secretaries and top officials of major departments. This includes heads of agencies that publicize their events in the media, including Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Requests for the travel costs of other cabinet officials—including Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson—have also been blown off.

For the complete and original article click here.

Filed Under: American Government ·
  • http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Peacock/100001241183282 David Peacock

    you only hide things when you are cheating. Romney will go insane when he gets the records open;; it will take his first term just to undo the evil this chimp has created.

  • Shannon

    I read this morning in another article by a reporter that was trying to verify that the Obozo’s used their own funds for their vacations. The article stated that the expense records for these vacations have been destroyed. This includes all of their vacation expenses, including the vacation that 1 of his daughter’s took to Mexico and invited over 12 of her friends. All expenses for this trip have been destroyed including but not limited to secret service for the entourage, cost of the use of Air Force One, fuel, lodging, food & all other expenses. These expenses are NOT supposed to be paid for by the tax payer but taken out of the Obozo’s private funds. They were NOT! It is beyond me how anyone in their right mind would even consider voting for this fraud! Let’s remove him & his evil spawn from our White House in November! VOTE ROMNEY/RYAN 2012!

  • Luis D Rey

    Mitt Romney doesn’t want to get tough with The Ugly Simian from Planet of the Apes and for that reason ONLY people that would vote for Romney are hesitant, to say the least !!

    • squeak

      Oh, Please…. Because Romney { according to you } does not want to get tough with Obama, does not mean that he will not make a great President & will bring America back for what it stands for !! We have not seen the debates yet & you are condemning him …what people ?? Or are you just guessing… I for one do not agree with your comment !

      • peggyc41

        I’ll be disappointed if I hear from Romney “Obama cares about the middle class” (which he is on an agenda to control the middle class) or “that he is a nice guy” (because in reality he is a selfish man). I sit in disbelief that he would even suggest these things much less use these statements in his campaign ads.

        • squeak

          I truly believe the gentleman that Romney is, he is not going to come right out say what he thinks Obama is as a person… we must concentrate on what Romney is going to do for the American people, Constitution, Country & our Freedom… won’t it be a pleasure to have Romney as president & Ann as First Lady occupying the White House… i for one will welcome that with open arms… Romney/ Ryan 2012 !

          • peggyc41

            But I don’t like to hear Romney say things Obama isn’t.

        • lolajmay

          If I hear one more person say Obama is a nice guy (in truth, he is phony), or say he is a wonderful orator (he can read, but not always correctly), or he is intelligent (he can’t answer a simple question on his own), he is thin-skinned (his anger shows quite plainly). He lies constantly (then forgets what the first lie was).
          SELFISH, SOCIALIST, MARXIST leaning, ARROGANT!!! In over his head, on and on and on!!
          I can’t believe anything he says, and he keeps getting more bold with his socialist, marxist statements. He may be conditioning, and indoctrinating us. He thought it would be done by now, but there are some wide awake people out there!

        • Shannon

          I don’t like to hear Romney say ANYTHING nice about OBOZO either – however, Romney (and Ryan for that matter) know best how to get the vote they need from these “left leaning, black-guilt” white people (some independents & Democraps) that are trying to prove something – I guess to themselves (like Joe Biden & most Democrats) that say stupid things like “see – I’m not a racist – I even voted for a mulatto/black guy, although I don’t really like him”. Romney and Ryan are NOT potty mouth’s either! Romney & Ryan are wonderful business men, as well as, great human beings with a whole lot of common sense! Besides – even if you don’t like the fact that Romney’s too nice – YOU DON’T HAVE A CHOICE in this election! VOTE ROMNEY/RYAN 2012! Let’s roll! Stop criticizing Romney & stand behind him – let us & others bad-mouth Obozo – like he deserves!

    • bifatjac

      Although the Obamas HAVE stripped the dignity from the office of President, I don’t think we need to have a rumble on the White House lawn to prove Romney is tough enough to be President. I am happy that the R/R ticket has shown some class. Aren’t you tired of theatrics and threats?

  • Guest

    A vote not voted for Mitt Romney is one for Obama. We don’t need another four years of him if we want to have a free America.

    • bifatjac

      Yes. Ron Paul needs to tell his followers that it is okay to vote for Romney and save the Constitution. We can brawl about other issues later, unless we allow the United States to become Cuba North. Then all conversations will be closed.

  • Debra

    When Obama talked about being transparent, he meant with telling our classified top government secrets, to our enemies. I guess he forgot to make that clear to the American people and our military!

    • lolajmay

      The ”other thing” that is transparent is Obama himself. I have learned to see right through him. Can’t figure out how ALL citizens can’t do the same! It seems to me that the really important “flaws” he has go unmentioned, and the “trivial” flaws are denied. He ignores when it is said he is homosexual; he ignores the fact that his advisors, and many or all of his czars have questionable backgrounds. When will We The People wake up, hope it’s before the election!!

      • Shannon

        I whole-heartedly agree with you! If there is anyone that cannot see right through OBOZO & company by now – they are NOT looking!

  • Kathy Jenson

    We have to remind ourselves. Romney isn’t just running against obutzo. He’s running against the media. Never before has the blatant liberal media contorted the facts to manipulate an election like this year. Anything that is exposed about obutzo us just not reported. The other day I checked all the channels to see how they were reporting on Benghazi. Not one had a story with the exception of Fox. Americans must wake up.

    • squeak

      You are soooo right… the Liberal news media even manipulates the polls.. only Fox had looked into it & got the true facts out to the voters,…do not go by the polls that are saying obama is way ahead, not true, it is to discourage the Romney people from voting by thinking Obama is winning… Fox is the ONLY news that will get the truth out to the American people, unless you are a Socialist Liberal , then you will believe otherwise !

  • rchguns

    All Hail King Obama!
    Interesting word transparency I do not believe that Obama or anyone of his Obama zombies has the slightest idea of what that word means. Neither does the mainstream media because obviously they overlook the fact that it does not exist in this administration. I see that the Justice Department definitely has no concept of the meaning with the effort they go to to cover up their mess ups. Then you have Dirty Diaper Head Obama and this massive cover-up of his past, school transcripts, explanations of the obvious problems presented by his birth certificate, his grandmother statement of where he was born, the fact that he has the Social Security number of a French immigrant who died in Hawaii, with a stated fact that he himself told the world that he was happy to come home to his birthplace when he was in Kenya.