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Obama signs executive orders calling for transparency and ethics

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] US President Barack Obama on Wednesday issued the first executive orders of his presidency, focusing on White House ethics and transparency. The Executive Order on Presidential Records grants broader public access to the records of previous presidential administrations, reversing restrictions implemented by former President George W. Bush. The second Executive Order on Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel bans those individuals from accepting gifts from lobbyists and implements so-called "revolving door bans" to restrict personnel movement between related public and private sector jobs within certain time frames. Obama also issued a memorandum calling for new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) agency guidelines and a presumption of transparency:All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA. The presumption of disclosure also means that agencies should take affirmative steps to make information public. They should not wait for specific requests from the public. All agencies should use modern technology to inform citizens about what is known and done by their Government. Disclosure should be timely. I direct the Attorney General to issue new guidelines governing the FOIA to the heads of executive departments and agencies, reaffirming the commitment to accountability and transparency.During remarks at the document signing, Obama called the FOIA "perhaps the most powerful instrument we have for making our government honest and transparent, and of holding it accountable."Obama campaigned on promises to increase White House transparency, following criticisms of secrecy in the Bush administration. The Presidential Records order revoked a November 2001 executive order from Bush, purportedly issued to further implement the Presidential Records Act of 1978 by ensuring that former presidents and vice-presidents had the power to review presidential papers and documents before their release to the public under the FOIA. In October 2007, a federal judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the National Archives could not rely on that executive order to delay the release of administration records.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on January 22, 2009 (boomark / email).