30 Years of Enabling the Executive

Matt Welch | December 1, 2004

Keeping on today's theme of government secrecy, the National Security Archive has put together a declassification-packed extravaganza to mark the 30th anniversary of Congress overriding President Ford's veto of the newly tightened Freedom of Information Act. The NSA's lead:

President Gerald R. Ford wanted to sign the Freedom of Information Act strengthening amendments passed by Congress 30 years ago, but concern about leaks (shared by his chief of staff Donald Rumsfeld and deputy Richard Cheney) and legal arguments that the bill was unconstitutional (marshaled by government lawyer Antonin Scalia, among others) persuaded Ford to veto the bill, according to declassified documents posted today by the National Security Archive.

More Scalia stuff here. Included in the harvest is a September 1974 letter from Scalia CIA director William Colby, in which he expresses "serious concern over the interjection of the courts into the classification process. The courts themselves have consistently so indicated and have pointed to the ability of the Executive branch to bring to bear all the necessary knowledge to make proper judgments on matters of classification."

Or, "all the necessary knowledge" to create a National Security precedent by lying its ass off to cover up incompetence. Another NSA excerpt:

The question remains, why did Buchen and President Ford change their minds? The available documents do not provide a definitive answer, but notes from key meetings in September and October provide clues to Ford's priorities -- and these were far from government transparency. For example, handwritten notes of the first White House senior staff meeting presided over by Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy Richard Cheney (September 30, 1974) show Rumsfeld's rising concern about leaks, a discussion that takes up a major part of the meeting.

I wrote about the FOIA veto, and the Rumsfeld/Cheney campaign to roll back post-Watergate reforms, back in August.

Comments

|12.1.04 @ 3:07PM|#

Rummy and Cheney - keeping secrets secret for 30 years!

|12.1.04 @ 3:24PM|#

That letter is by W.E. Colby, not Scalia. Unless Scalia was using a pen name, I guess.

Matt Welch|12.1.04 @ 3:31PM|#

Thanks, Sarnath!

Matt|12.1.04 @ 3:56PM|#

"In his earlier role as head legal counsel at the Department of Justice, Antonin Scalia actively worked to curtail and defang the Freedom of Information Act."

You mean as a lawyer he "actively" advocated his client's position? He must be impeached!

|12.1.04 @ 7:16PM|#

Rumsfeld is the worst of all. The guy was one of the original sponsors of the bill, back when he was in congress!

What a cad. What a hypocrite. What a bastard.

Read Rumsfeld's original remarks here. They say that power corrupts...

Warren|12.1.04 @ 7:53PM|#

Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck, fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.... fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. The fuck? Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fucking bastards

|12.1.04 @ 9:37PM|#

I don�t know why everyone�s panties are in a wad over this. The members of our Government would never lie to us about anything that really mattered. The reason they classify, or keep from public view, any document is not a matter of �Just because, it is to protect vital National Security concerns. I mean our politicians have a war to run and they can�t be taking time out from that important job to answer every stupid question some bozo citizen has about things these fine people are doing. Besides, hasn�t the past four years proven there is absolutely no need for this quaint and intrusive law. Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney say �trust us�, and by god that�s good enough for me.

|12.1.04 @ 11:03PM|#

I would post "I, for one, welcome our information-hiding overlords", but I think the joke is about 25,000 years too late.

|12.2.04 @ 12:46AM|#

Bush II: Nixon without the sweat.

|12.18.04 @ 6:05PM|#

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