President Obama is simultaneously accused of running the most secretive White House in history and applauded for making transparency reforms resisted by his predecessors.
It’s one of the central paradoxes of the Obama presidency, according to government watchdogs. They argue that the White House should be criticized for not meeting pledges to usher in an era of unprecedented transparency and commended for making some more subtle fixes.
Still, six years after he entered the Oval Office, Obama’s legacy on transparency is still muddled. Unless things change, it’s not likely to be positive.
“It’s a really mixed bag,” said Patrice McDermott, executive director of OpenTheGovernment.Org.
“For those thinking it would be a new day, it hasn’t happened,” she said. “This administration has been an enormous disappointment on prosecution of leakers. He and this administration are captive to the expanded executive powers that President [George W.] Bush worked hard to restore and Congress has conceded.”
As a presidential candidate, Obama accused Republicans of sacrificing American values in the pursuit of security. He framed transparency as a virtue that would endure in the face of the messiness of governing.
That sentiment didn’t last long.
Under Obama, there have been more prosecutions of whistleblowers than any administration in history. Department heads have issued directives to federal employees to avoid leaking information to the media or face punishment.
And last year, the Justice Department admitted to monitoring the phone records of Associated Press journalists — a controversy that erupted against the background of controversial National Security Agency surveillance techniques revealed only after disclosures made by former government contractor Edward Snowden.
In congressional investigations, communications demanded by lawmakers have gone missing, episodes repeatedly blamed on computer crashes. Freedom of Information Act requests have seemingly been ignored, frustrating journalists, government watchdogs and everyday Americans alike.
The relationship between the president’s communications team and the White House press corps remains combative, as reporters vent about Obama aides going around traditional media to publish photos, videos and other tidbits by themselves.
Yet the White House continues to tout its commitment to transparency in historic terms.
“The president has set an historically high standard of transparency that is part of the legacy to which future presidents will aspire, and the president and his administration are justifiably proud of these accomplishments,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest wrote in a recent letter to the Society of Professional Journalists.
For his part, the president has acknowledged criticisms of his transparency record, but hasn’t always acted upon them.
“I think it’s fair to say that all governments think they’re doing what’s right, and don’t like criticism,” he said at a recent meeting at the United Nations General Assembly. “And it’s shocking to say that not all criticism from civil society is always fair. But, as leaders, making our governments more open does mean that as a consequence of that criticism, there’s self-reflection.”
Still, Obama has lived up to some campaign promises to apply more sunlight to White House activities.
The president made White House visitor logs public and ordered government agencies to publish information more frequently online.
He has also centralized ethics and lobbying information in a searchable database, created a national declassification center to make government documents more readily available, and required insurers to disclose the percentage of healthcare premiums applied to patient costs.
The president has also reformed the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of metadata, but as McDermott argues, “baby steps are being made” only “because of Snowden,” who has been accused of espionage for leaking secrets about U.S. intelligence-gathering programs.
The broader narrative that has formed about an insular White House has overshadowed administration efforts to foster an image of openness.
On Thursday Obama attended a $50,000-a-head fundraiser for Illinois Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn in Chicago. Reporters were forced to wait outside.
