Attorney General Holder's non-transparency exposed by watchdog group

This week, the U.S. Department of Justice celebrated the one-year anniversary of Attorney General Eric Holder’s 2009 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) guidelines.

Issued exactly one year ago, Holder's guidelines were supposed to aid President Barack Obama’s “new era of open government” by establishing a “criteria governing the presumption of disclosure” and creating “effective systems for responding to requests.” 

Unfortunately, after only the first year under these heralded guidelines, Judicial Watch reported on March 17 that its officials have experienced little improvement in U.S. government transparency or accountability.

In fact, a recent analysis finds that government secrecy has actually increased under Obama. Indeed, the first year of the Obama administration is ripe with examples of absent accountability and selective transparency. From the secrecy surrounding Obama’s czars, to the backroom deals in the health care legislation, there is little cause for celebration over Obama's “new era of open government.”

During the celebration held in the Great Hall at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, the hour-long festivities featured several self-congratulatory speeches by FOIA representatives from the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

Attorney General Holder made some short remarks touting the Justice Department’s work in creating a new era of transparency. According to Mr. Holder, President Obama has “delivered” on his pledge “to restore the sacred bond of trust that should exist between our nation’s government and its citizens.”

Holder also announced that the Justice Department will present an Open Government Plan on April 7, 2010. Ironically, the celebration of government transparency failed to feature a question and answer portion, a disturbing absence of transparency since there were dozens of reporters and opinion writers in attendance. 

Judicial Watch officials stated they did not encounter the idyllic open government that Eric Holder referenced in his celebratory remarks. In fact, the Justice Department, and specifically the Attorney General’s Office, has stonewalled Judicial Watch in a number of recent FOIA requests.

For example, in February, Judicial Watch attorneys filed a FOIA lawsuit against the Department of Justice to obtain documents related to Eric Holder's decision to prosecute terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other 9/11 conspirators in New York federal court.

The lawsuit is the result of a complete failure by the Attorney General’s Office to comply with the statutory requirement to respond within a 20-day time period. Judicial Watch’s experience demonstrates that noncompliance is common practice with this Attorney General’s Office.

However, the facts surrounding the DoJ's noncompliance with its own guideline did not prevent Monday’s celebrants from highlighting their accomplishments. They also avoided addressing -- or even acknowledging -- any problems with Obama administration transparency (other than the occasional ‘there is more work left to be done’ comment).