Jennifer Epstein and MJ Lee
Politico
March 28, 2011
Ahead of a congressional hearing this week on whether senior political appointees at the Department of Homeland Security have blocked the release of some documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act, a series of newly uncensored emails indicate that some staffers complained for months of internal “meddling” by Obama-appointed officials.
Obtained by The Associated Press, the emails describe “crazy” and “bananas!” political reviews of document requests, and “constant stonewalling” as files went to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s political staff as part of the pre-release vetting process.
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President Barack Obama has said that federal workers should “act promptly and in a spirit of cooperation” to fulfill FOIA requests, and Attorney General Eric Holder has stressed that “unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles have no place in the new era of open government.” But critics say that the administration has been bogged down by political interests in fulfilling document requests from journalists, watchdog groups and ordinary citizens.
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