Obama promises more openness

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Advocates of open government were pleasantly surprised Wednesday when President Obama as one of his first acts in office signed a directive to his department heads that they try to release, rather than withhold, information to the public.

"Hot damn! This is astonishing. And wonderful," said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. "You know there's a new sheriff in town."

Obama announced his new directive before he swore in his senior staff.

"For a long time now there has been too much secrecy in this city," Obama said. "The old rules said that if there was a defensible argument for not disclosing something to the American people, then it should not be disclosed. That era is now over. Starting today, every agency and department should know that this administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information, but those who seek to make it known."

Obama said government documents that would jeopardize national security or individuals' privacy will still be withheld but his administration would not try to expand other exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act, which is designed to open government to public scrutiny.

"The mere fact that you have the legal power to keep something secret does not mean you should use it," Obama said. "The Freedom of Information Act is perhaps the most powerful instrument we have for making our government honest and transparent and holding it accountable. I expect my administration not only to live up to the letter but the spirit of this law."

Obama said he would likewise hold himself to a higher standard, requiring the attorney general and the White House counsel to sign off on his decisions to claim "executive privilege" against releasing documents.

"Information will not be withheld just because I say so," Obama said.

That order reverses a Bush Administration order that allowed former presidents or their heirs to keep executive information sealed in spite of laws that require openness, Dalglish said.

"We had meeting after meeting with Obama's transition team, and I told them, in my dream world, Obama would get up there on Inauguration Day and say, 'Transparency will be the watchword of this administration,'" Dalglish said. "I'm speechless. I am dreaming, right?"