James Risen: Obama Is 'Greatest Enemy To Press Freedom In A Generation'

[Wilikon]

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter James Risen is not mincing words about President Barack Obama.

Risen has been fighting the Obama administration's efforts to get him to testify about his sources for six years. The Department of Justice has ordered him to testify against former CIA agent Jeffrey Sterling, who it believes leaked information about a failed CIA operation in Iran that Risen reported on in his book. Risen recently lost his bid to have the Supreme Court revisit his case.

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd spoke to Risen for her Sunday column "Where’s the Justice at Justice?"

"How can he [Obama] use the Espionage Act to throw reporters and whistle-blowers in jail even as he defends the intelligence operatives who 'tortured some folks,' and coddles his C.I.A. chief, John Brennan, who spied on the Senate and then lied to the senators he spied on about it?" Dowd wrote.

Risen had one word to describe Obama's actions: "hypocritical."

"A lot of people still think this is some kind of game or signal or spin," he told Dowd. "They don’t want to believe that Obama wants to crack down on the press and whistle-blowers. But he does. He’s the greatest enemy to press freedom in a generation."

Many others have joined Risen in his condemnation of the White House's campaign against leak cases. Over 100,000 people have signed a petition demanding that the government stop all legal action against Risen.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/17/james-risen-obama_n_5685705.html

[tinof]

The government might censor the press, but they can not control the internet.

[Wilikon]

[...]
The lawsuit references a June 30 article in The Washington Times that reported on the impact of the “White House equities” memo and quoted FOIA officers at federal agencies who said the review process had been used to prevent the release of information embarrassing to the Obama administration.

Cause of Action Executive Director Daniel Epstein said in an interview that the organization sued federal agencies that refused to disclose communications related to documents that the agencies had shared with the White House. Although the initial complaint was filed under FOIA, he said, other claims could be added.

“We are simply suing because we want the documents in these agencies that they have failed to produce,” he said. “There is currently only one count in that there is a violation of FOIA, but that is not to say that we may not later amend the complaint if we think other issues arise.

“We are statutorily entitled to documents that have not been produced,” he added.

The White House, in a statement Sunday to The Washington Post, defended its record on openness, citing what it said was a huge number of FOIA requests processed since Mr. Obama took office.

The president is “committed to a transparent and open government and has taken unprecedented steps to ensure that members of the public have access to information,” the statement said, noting that administration agencies and departments processed almost 680,000 FOIA requests last year, the third consecutive year of processing increases. The White House also has argued, despite its critics, that it is simply following precedent set by previous administrations on FOIA requests in which “White House equities” are involved.

Congressional interest?

Anne Weismann, chief counsel of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonpartisan watchdog group that has sued the Obama administration over White House visitor logs, said the Cause of Action lawsuit is a “bread-and-butter FOIA case” but could force Congress to take greater notice.

“In this case, the lawsuit is trying to compel documents that could explain how the ‘White House equities’ policy is being implemented,” she said. “If it turns out that the policy is being used to intentionally slow the process, … it could lead to congressional oversight.”


http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/18/lawsuit-accuses-obama-wh-thwarting-foia-requests/