DOCSLIB.ORG

Remarks on the Resignation of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales in Waco, Texas August 27, 2007

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Remarks on the Resignation of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales in Waco, Texas August 27, 2007 Administration of George W. Bush, 2007 / Aug. 27 Remarks on the Resignation of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales in Waco, Texas August 27, 2007 This morning Attorney General Alberto one of Texas’s most prestigious law firms Gonzales announced that he will leave the to be my general counsel. He went on to Department of Justice after 21⁄2 years of become Texas’s 100th secretary of state and service to the Department. Al Gonzales is to serve on our State’s supreme court. In a man of integrity, decency, and principle. the long course of our work together, this And I have reluctantly accepted his resigna- trusted adviser became a close friend. tion, with great appreciation for the service These various positions have required that he has provided for our country. sacrifice from Al, his wife Becky, their sons As Attorney General and before that as Jared, Graham, and Gabriel. And I thank White House Counsel, Al Gonzales has them for their service to the country. played a critical role in shaping our policies After months of unfair treatment that has in the war on terror and has worked tire- created a harmful distraction at the Justice lessly to make this country safer. The PA- Department, Judge Gonzales decided to re- TRIOT Act, the Military Commissions Act, sign his position, and I accept his decision. and other important laws bear his imprint. It’s sad that we live in a time when a tal- Under his leadership, the Justice Depart- ented and honorable person like Alberto ment has made a priority of protecting chil- Gonzales is impeded from doing important dren from Internet predators and made en- work because his good name was dragged forcement of civil rights laws a top priority. through the mud for political reasons. He aggressively and successfully pursued I’ve asked Solicitor General Paul public corruption and effectively combated Clement to serve as Acting Attorney Gen- gang violence. eral upon Alberto Gonzales’s departure and As Attorney General, he played an im- until a nominee has been confirmed by the portant role in helping to confirm two fine Senate. He’s agreed to do so. Paul is one jurists in Chief Justice John Roberts and of the finest lawyers in America. As Solic- Justice Samuel Alito. He did an outstanding itor General, Paul has developed a reputa- job as White House Counsel, identifying tion for excellence and fairness and earned and recommending the best nominees to the respect and confidence of the entire fill critically important Federal court vacan- Justice Department. cies. Thank you. Alberto Gonzales’s tenure as Attorney General and White House Counsel is only part of a long history of distinguished pub- NOTE: The President spoke at 10:50 a.m. at lic service that began as a young man when, the Texas State Technical College Airport. after high school, he enlisted in the United The Office of the Press Secretary also re- States Air Force. When I became Governor leased a Spanish language transcript of these of Texas in 1995, I recruited him from remarks. 1109 15 2010 09:21 Jan 25, 2011 Jkt 214670 PO 00000 Frm 00207 Fmt 1240 Sfmt 1240 E:\HR\OC\214670.008 214670 Aug. 27 / Administration of George W. Bush, 2007 Remarks Congratulating Iraqi Leaders at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico August 27, 2007 I congratulate Iraq’s leaders on the It’s in our interests that we help the Iraqi agreement reached yesterday in Baghdad. people succeed. Success in Iraq will be a I’ve been briefed on the agreement, and major blow to the extremists and radicals this morning I spoke to Iraq’s elected lead- who would like to attack America again. ers. These leaders represent all the Iraqi And that’s why the United States will con- communities. These leaders of Prime Min- tinue to support Iraq’s leaders and all the ister Maliki, President Talabani, Vice Presi- Iraqi people in their efforts to overcome dent Hashimi, Vice President Abd Al- the forces of terror that seek to overthrow Mahdi, President Barzani recognize the a nascent democracy. true and meaningful reconciliation that In this regard, I welcome and accept the needs to take place, and they recognize this expressed desire of the Iraqi leadership to is a process. Yesterday’s agreement reflects develop a long-term relationship with the their commitment to work together for the United States based on common interests. The United States is committed to devel- benefit of all Iraqis to further the process. oping this relationship and to strengthening The agreement begins to establish new diplomatic, economic, and security ties with power-sharing agreements and commits to the Iraqi Government and its people. supporting bottom-up security and political Thank you. initiatives and advances agreement among Iraq’s leadership on several key legislative NOTE: The President spoke at 11:33 a.m. In benchmarks. his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister While yesterday’s agreement is an impor- Nuri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani, and tant step, I reminded them, and they un- Vice Presidents Tariq al-Hashimi and Adil derstand, much more needs to be done. Abd Al-Mahdi of Iraq; and Masoud Barzani, The Iraqi parliament will convene again in president, Kurdistan region in Iraq. The Of- early September, and it will need to act fice of the Press Secretary also released a to codify this political progress. Spanish language transcript of these remarks. Remarks at a Reception for Congressional Candidate David G. Reichert and the Washington State Republican Party in Bellevue, Washington August 27, 2007 Thank you all. Thanks for coming. I ap- an independent thinker. He’s the kind of preciate it. Okay, thank you. Thanks for person who has done a fabulous job in the coming. How’s your elbow, Dave? [Laugh- United States House of Representatives, ter] First of all, I thank you all for sup- and he deserves to be reelected. And I porting an honest, decent, hard-working, thank you for supporting him. I particularly fine American in Dave Reichert. You call want to thank Julie for standing with him ‘‘the sheriff.’’ I look at him as a sheriff. Dave—and the family. He’s tough when he has to be, he’s com- I know something about families and pol- passionate when he needs to be, and he’s itics. Like Dave, I married above my head. 1110 15 2010 09:21 Jan 25, 2011 Jkt 214670 PO 00000 Frm 00208 Fmt 1240 Sfmt 1240 E:\HR\OC\214670.008 214670.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Presidential Appointments Primer
    2021 NALEO Presidential Appointments Primer 2021 NALEO | PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS PRIMER America’s Latinos are strongly committed to public service at all levels of government, and possess a wealth of knowledge and skills to contribute as elected and appointed officials. The number of Latinos in our nation’s civic leadership has been steadily increasing as Latinos successfully pursue top positions in the public and private sectors. Throughout their tenure, and particularly during times of transition following elections, Presidential administrations seek to fill thousands of public service leadership and high-level support positions, and governing spots on advisory boards, commissions, and other bodies within the federal government. A strong Latino presence in the highest level appointments of President Joe Biden’s Administration is crucial to help ensure that the Administration develops policies and priorities that effectively address the issues facing the Latino community and all Americans. The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund is committed to ensuring that the Biden Administration appoints qualified Latinos to top government positions, including those in the Executive Office of the President, Cabinet-level agencies, sub-Cabinet, and the federal judiciary. This Primer provides information about the top positions available in the Biden Administration and how to secure them through the appointments process. 2021 NALEO | PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS PRIMER 2 2021 NALEO Presidential Appointments Primer TABLE OF CONTENTS BACKGROUND 4 AVAILABLE POSITIONS AND COMPENSATION 5 HOW TO APPLY 8 TYPICAL STEPS 10 In the Presidential Appointments Process NECESSARY CREDENTIALS 11 IS IT WORTH IT? 12 Challenges and Opportunities Of Presidential Appointments ADVOCACY & TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 13 For Latino Candidates & Nominees 2021 NALEO | PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS PRIMER 3 BACKGROUND During the 1970’s and 1980’s, there were very few Latinos considered for appointments in the federal government.
    [Show full text]
  • Congressional Record—Senate S5492
    S5492 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 2, 2007 Mr. HARKIN. Yes, I have received a assurances of the chairman and the system. Small ‘‘p’’ politics, the imposition of good many calls as well. And, I have to ranking Republican on the committee. discretionary preferences, policies and prior- ities in the focus of prosecutorial discretion, say that I would be very concerned, as f I know the Senator from Utah is, if generally are proper. Partisans must accept MORNING BUSINESS them, like it or not. They are not the basis anything in the bill we are considering, for replacing attorneys general. S. 1082, would overturn DSHEA, a law Mr. MENENDEZ. Madam President, I The distinction is important. When the we fought side-by-side to see enacted. ask unanimous consent that there now Justice Department that I served in during Mr. ENZI. It might be helpful if I ex- be a period of morning business with the Kennedy administration came to office, plained the provision you are dis- Senators permitted to speak therein ‘‘political’’ priorities changed. The internal cussing, as my office has received for up to 10 minutes each. security division, active and robust during many calls as well and I believe the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without the Eisenhower administration when loyalty callers are not informed about this objection, it is so ordered. was a major concern, was de-emphasized and eventually was deactivated. The organized matter. Subtitle B of title II of S. 1028 f crime and the civil rights sections, small and establishes the Reagan-Udall Founda- DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE quiet in earlier years, grew into major cen- tion for the Food and Drug Administra- ters of departmental work and were the cen- tion.
    [Show full text]
  • Report of Investigation Regarding Allegations of Mishandling of Classified Documents by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Septe
    U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Report of Investigation Regarding Allegations of Mishandling of Classified Documents by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Office of the Inspector General Oversight and Review Division September 2, 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 1 II. BACKGROUND................................................................................. 2 A. Gonzales’s Professional Background........................................ 2 B. Overview of National Security Information Classification.......... 3 C. Security Facilities Available to Gonzales as Attorney General for the Handling of Classified Materials ................................... 4 1. Justice Department ....................................................... 4 2. Gonzales’s Residences.................................................... 5 D. Security Briefings Received by Gonzales as White House Counsel and as Attorney General ............................................ 7 III. GONZALES’S HANDLING OF CERTAIN CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS... 8 A. Creation and Handling of the Handwritten Notes as White House Counsel .............................................................. 8 B. Gonzales’s Handling of the Handwritten Notes After He Was Sworn In As Attorney General ........................................ 11 C. Gonzales’s Handling of the Notes and Other SCI Documents as Attorney General............................................................... 14 1. OAG practices
    [Show full text]
  • Political Interference and the Challenges Facing the US
    THE YALE LAW JOURNAL FORUM JANUARY 15, 2021 Treat Every Defendant Equally and Fairly: Political Interference and the Challenges Facing the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices as the Justice Department Turns 150 Years Old Joyce White Vance abstract. The US Attorneys’ Offices are the flagships of the federal government’s law-en- forcement work. But as the Department of Justice (DOJ) approaches its 150th anniversary, there are deep concerns for their future. The four years of the Trump Administration have shaken public confidence in DOJ, and during his tenure, Attorney General William Barr all too ofen took on the role of the President’s lawyer rather than upholding the integrity and credibility of line prosecutors to work free from political interference. This Essay, written in the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election,1 argues that, in a new administration, there must be a hardcore realignment of cultural values inside of the Justice Department that supports its independence and permits line prosecutors to effectively resist and reject political interference in criminal matters. The past four years have revealed frailty in the Department that requires more than the new laws and new poli- cies that will be designed to shore up some of the weaknesses that have been revealed. Ultimately, even with those new laws and policies, there must be a culture restoration that guarantees they will be implemented effectively so that the independence of prosecutions from political influence, which is critical to our criminal-justice system, is firmly in place. introduction The moment when Aaron Zelinsky, an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the District of Maryland, refused to silently stand by while Attorney 1.
    [Show full text]
  • The Court's Constitution
    THE COURT’S CONSTITUTION L.A. Powe, Jr.* Departmentalism—the ability and right of each branch of the federal government to interpret the Constitution for itself—has a long and often honorable history.1 But within the past seven decades the Supreme Court has come to dominate constitutional interpreta- tion, and more recently has made clear that it intends to keep the Constitution as its own preserve. If a successful case or controversy can be framed, then when faced with claims for independent consti- tutional interpretation from other branches, the Court may assert that it defers when it agrees with that branch’s interpretation, but the deference disappears when it disagrees. I Three months after his landslide 1936 reelection victory, Presi- dent Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed expanding the number of Su- preme Court justices from nine to fifteen. The Court-packing plan was a direct response to a conservative majority on the Court that had invalidated ten major New Deal statutes, including its industrial and agricultural centerpieces, in the previous two years and seemed poised to finish off the rest of the New Deal in the next year or so. A cartoon shows FDR rehearsing his six new smiling justices. He instructs: “Great! Now, once more, all together.” The six exclaim “Yes!” in unison. The Constitution and the Scales of Justice are par- tially visible in a trash barrel.2 The cartoon was spot on. Not only Republicans, but also a number of Progressives believed that Roose- * Anne Green Regents Chair, The University of Texas. This essay is largely taken from my THE SUPREME COURT AND THE AMERICAN ELITE, 1789–2008 (2009).
    [Show full text]
  • Statement of Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General, Before the Select Committee on Intelligence United States Senate Concerning
    U.S. Department of Justice Seal Department of Justice STATEMENT OF ALBERTO R. GONZALES ATTORNEY GENERAL BEFORE THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE UNITED STATES SENATE CONCERNING THE TERRORIST SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM AUTHORIZED BY THE PRESIDENT PRESENTED ON FEBRUARY 9,2006 PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. ALBERTO R. GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES We cannot forget the threat that the al Qaeda terrorist network poses to our Nation. Long before September 11th, al Qaeda promised to attack the United States. In 1998, Osama bin Laden declared a jihad against our country, and incited "every Muslim who can do it" "[t]o kill the Americans and their allies—civilians and military" "in any country in which it is possible to do it." Statement of Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, et al., Fatwah Urging Jihad Against Americans, published in Al-Quds al-'Arabi (Feb. 23, 1998). Al Qaeda members and agents have carried out bin Laden's orders with a vengeance; al Qaeda attacked the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen, the United States Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and then, of course, the United States itself on September 11, 2001. On September 11th, the al Qaeda terrorist network executed the most deadly foreign attacks on this Nation's soil in history. Al Qaeda planners and operatives carefully selected and hijacked four commercial jetliners, each fully loaded with fuel for a transcontinental flight. Within hours, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center lay in ruin. The terrorists also managed to strike the headquarters of the Nation's Armed Forces, the Pentagon.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Control of Federal Prosecutions: Looking Back and Looking Forward
    Columbia Law School Scholarship Archive Faculty Scholarship Faculty Publications 2009 Political Control of Federal Prosecutions: Looking Back and Looking Forward Daniel C. Richman Columbia Law School, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship Part of the Administrative Law Commons, Law and Politics Commons, and the President/Executive Department Commons Recommended Citation Daniel C. Richman, Political Control of Federal Prosecutions: Looking Back and Looking Forward, 58 DUKE L. J. 2087 (2009). Available at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/2464 This Essay is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Publications at Scholarship Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Scholarship Archive. For more information, please contact [email protected]. POLITICAL CONTROL OF FEDERAL PROSECUTIONS: LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD DANIEL RICHMANt ABSTRACT This Essay explores the mechanisms of control over federal criminal enforcement that the administration and Congress used or failed to use during George W. Bush's presidency. It gives particular attention to Congress, not because legislators played a dominant role, but because they generally chose to play such a subordinate role. My fear is that the media focus on management inadequacies or abuses within the Justice Department during the Bush administrationmight lead policymakers and observers to overlook the
    [Show full text]
  • Senior Leadership Electronic Records from Administration of Janet Reno (1993-2001 ), John Ashcroft (2001-2005), Alberto Gonzales
    NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION Request for Records DlsposlUon Aulhority Records Schedule: DAA-0080-2015-0008 Request for Records Disposition Authority Records Schedule Number DAA-0060-2015-0008 Schedule Status Modified Approved Version Agency or Establishment Department of Justice Record Group I Scheduling Group General Records of the Department of Justice Records Schedule applies to Major Subdivsion Major Subdivision Senior Leadership Offices Minor Subdivision Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Associate Attorney General Schedule Subject Electronic Records of the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, Associate Attorney General, and their program staffs from the administrations of Janet Reno (1993-2001 ), John Ashcroft (2001-2005), Alberto Gonzales (2005-2007), and Michael Mukasey (2007-2009). Internal agency concurrences will No be provided Background Information These records are legacy electronic records that do not fall under old, paper-based, non-media neutral schedules, nor do they fall under the 2010 media neutral schedule, which is for the administration of Eric Holder and forward. Item Count Number of Total Disposition Number of Permanent Number of Temporary Number of Withdrawn Items Disposition Items Disposition Items Disposition Items 1 1 0 0 GAO Approval Eleclronlc Records Archives Page 1 of& PDF Created on: 11/20/2017 NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION Request for Records DlsposlUon Aulharlty Records Schedule: DAA.OD&D.ZD15-0DD8 Outline of Records Schedule Items for DM-0060-2015-0008 Sequence Number 1 Electronic Records of the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, Associate A ttorney General, and their program staffs from the administrations of Janet Reno (1 993-2001), John Ashcroft (2001-2005), Alberto Gonzales (2005-2007), and Michae I Mukasey (2007-2009).
    [Show full text]
  • Detention and Military Trial of Suspected Terrorists: Stretching Presidential Power
    Detention and Military Trial of Suspected Terrorists: Stretching Presidential Power Louis Fisher* The system of detention and military trial authorized by President George W. Bush on November 13, 2001,1 and additional claimed authority to hold terrorist suspects indefinitely without process, have been litigated in several judicial circuits, moving from district courts to the Supreme Court and back down again. In 2006, these authorities returned to the Court for further exploration in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.2 Regrettably, until very recently the separation of powers issues raised by the President’s initiatives received little attention from Congress, which, under the Constitution, has primary responsibility over military courts, tribunals “inferior to the supreme Court,” “Offenses against the Law of Nations,” the war power, and “Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water.”3 Because of congressional passivity, the principal checks on presidential power have been supplied instead by litigants and courts. The constitutional issues that emerge from this concentration of power in the presidency form the central theme of this article. I. CONSTITUTIONAL JUSTIFICATIONS The military order issued by President Bush on November 13, 2001, provides for the detention and trial by military commission of non-U.S. citizens who are members of al Qaeda or who participate in or offer assistance to the terrorist activities of that group or similar organizations.4 The order draws heavily from language in Proclamation 2561,5 issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 after the capture of eight German saboteurs. The proclamation denied access to the courts by enemy saboteurs and spies entering the United States, and a contemporaneous military order6 appointed * Specialist in Constitutional Law at the Law Library, Library of Congress.
    [Show full text]
  • Proceedings of the United States Senate in the Impeachment Trial Of
    1 116TH CONGRESS " ! S. DOC. 2d Session SENATE 116–12 PROCEEDINGS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE IN THE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF PRESIDENT DONALD JOHN TRUMP PART III PART III OF IV VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:12 Jan 20, 2020 Jkt 039382 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6012 Sfmt 6012 E:\HR\OC\SD012P3.XXX SD012P3 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with SENATE DOC E:\Seals\Congress.#13 1 116TH CONGRESS " ! S. DOC. 2d Session SENATE 116–12 PROCEEDINGS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE IN THE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF PRESIDENT DONALD JOHN TRUMP PART III PART III OF IV U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 39–382 WASHINGTON : 2020 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:12 Jan 20, 2020 Jkt 039382 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4012 Sfmt 4012 E:\HR\OC\SD012P3.XXX SD012P3 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with SENATE DOC E:\Seals\Congress.#13 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:12 Jan 20, 2020 Jkt 039382 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4012 Sfmt 4012 E:\HR\OC\SD012P3.XXX SD012P3 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with SENATE DOC C O N T E N T S Page PART III 1. Replication of the United States House of Representatives to the Answer of President Donald J. Trump to the Articles of Impeachment ............................................................................................... 129 2. Trial Memorandum of President Donald J. Trump .................................. 139 (III) VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:28 Jan 20, 2020 Jkt 039382 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 0486 E:\HR\OC\SD012P3.XXX SD012P3 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with SENATE DOC VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:12 Jan 20, 2020 Jkt 039382 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 0486 E:\HR\OC\SD012P3.XXX SD012P3 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with SENATE DOC IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES Sitting as a Court of Impeachment In re IMPEACHMENT OF PRESIDENT DONALD J.
    [Show full text]
  • Important Figures in the NSC
    Important Figures in the NSC Nixon Administration (1969-1973) National Security Council: President: Richard Nixon Vice President: Spiro Agnew Secretary of State: William Rogers Secretary of Defense: Melvin Laird Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA): Henry Kissinger Director of CIA: Richard Helms Chairman of Joint Chiefs: General Earle Wheeler / Admiral Thomas H. Moorer Director of USIA: Frank Shakespeare Director of Office of Emergency Preparedness: Brig. Gen. George Lincoln National Security Council Review Group (established with NSDM 2) APNSA: Henry A. Kissinger Rep. of Secretary of State: John N. Irwin, II Rep. of Secretary of Defense: David Packard, Bill Clements Rep. of Chairman of Joint Chiefs: Adm. Thomas H. Moorer Rep. of Director of CIA: Richard Helms, James R. Schlesinger, William E. Colby National Security Council Senior Review Group (NSDM 85—replaces NSCRG/ NSDM 2) APNSA: Henry A. Kissinger Under Secretary of State: Elliott L. Richardson / John N. Irwin, II Deputy Secretary of Defense: David Packard / Bill Clements Director of Central Intelligence: Richard Helms Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: General Earle Wheeler / Admiral Thomas H. Moorer Under Secretary’s Committee: Under Secretary of State: Elliott L. Richardson / John N. Irwin, II APNSA: Henry Kissinger Deputy Secretary of Defense: David Packard / Bill Clements Chairman of Joint Chiefs: Gen. Earle G. Wheeler / Adm. Thomas H. Moorer Director of CIA: Richard M. Helms Nixon/Ford Administration (1973-1977) National Security Council: President: Richard Nixon (1973-1974) Gerald Ford (1974-1977) Vice President: Gerald Ford (1973-1974) Secretary of State: Henry Kissinger Secretary of Defense: James Schlesinger / Donald Rumsfeld APNSA: Henry Kissinger / Brent Scowcroft Director of CIA: Richard Helms / James R.
    [Show full text]
  • On Secrecy and Transparency: Thoughts for Congress and a New Administration
    On Secrecy and Transparency: Thoughts for Congress and a New Administration By Geoffrey R. Stone June 2008 All expressions of opinion are those of the author or authors. The American Constitution Society (ACS) takes no position on specific legal or policy initiatives. On Secrecy and Transparency: Thoughts for Congress and a New Administration Geoffrey R. Stone* The actions of the George W. Bush Administration over the past several years have raised serious concerns about the appropriate level of government secrecy. The Administration has attempted to shield from public and even congressional scrutiny a broad range of controversial government decisions, including, for example, the secret creation of the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance program, the secret authorization of the use of torture and rendition, the secret approval of the incommunicado detention of American citizens, and the secret establishment of prisons in Eastern Europe. To achieve an unprecedented level of secrecy, the Bush Administration has promulgated secret policies, narrowly interpreted the Freedom of Information Act, broadly interpreted its power to classify government documents, closed deportation proceedings from public view, redacted vast quantities of “sensitive” information from government documents and websites, fired and otherwise punished government whistleblowers, jailed journalists for refusing to disclose confidential sources, threatened to prosecute the press for publishing confidential information, and aggressively invoked both executive immunity and the state secrets doctrine.1 To some degree, the Administration’s emphasis on secrecy is an understandable consequence of the distinctive nature of the war on terror. In most circumstances, threats to the national security, like threats to the public safety, can be addressed through the conventional policies of deterrence and punishment.
    [Show full text]